‘Special program’ at Boise State lured co-defensive coordinator from Montana State roots
Boise State co-defensive coordinator Kane Ioane spent the better part of two decades at Montana State as a player and coach, but he said Tuesday that he “jumped all over” an offer to join the Broncos’ staff.
“Boise State has always been a place that I’ve viewed as a special program,” he told reporters Tuesday during his introductory press conference. “I couldn’t possibly pass up on this opportunity to not only be a part of this, but to continue to grow.”
Ioane was a four-time All-American and two-time first-team All-Big Sky Conference selection as a safety at Montana State from 2000 to 2003. He led the Bobcats to a pair of Big Sky Conference titles, and after what he described as a “cup of coffee at the next level,” he joined the staff at MSU shortly after his playing career ended.
In all, he spent 14 years coaching at Montana State, and just as he was leaving for Boise State, Bobcats head coach Jeff Choate left to coach linebackers at Texas, where former Boise State player and assistant coach Pete Kwiatkowski is the new defensive coordinator.
Ioane was seen as a likely candidate for the head coaching job in Bozeman, but he said Tuesday that the one thing you can’t always control in life is timing, and he’s happy to be a Bronco.
“That’s my alma mater, and it will always be special to me. I will always have an eye on Montana State as it continues to progress and continues grow and do big things,” said Ioane, who helped the Bobcats advance to the semifinals of the FCS playoffs in 2019. “Montana State has a process, and I have no question they’re going to put the right person in that chair.”
The native of Billings, Montana, was announced as the Broncos’ new defensive coordinator and safeties coach on Monday. He’s the final on-field assistant to join new coach Andy Avalos’ first staff at his alma mater, and he’s the fifth member of the staff with experience as a defensive coordinator, joining Avalos, Spencer Danielson, defensive line coach Frank Maile and special teams coordinator Stacy Collins.
Ioane called the plays for the Bobcats’ defense in 2019. He said that will be a collaborative effort at Boise State, but suggested that Danielson will make the final calls.
“Spencer, being a guy who is new to that role, he’s going to lean on us, and we’ve got a great staff,” Ioane said. “My role on the back end is to connect that front piece with the back piece and make sure the back end is all tied into everything we’re doing up front, and he feels comfortable with the coverages we have going into that game plan.”
The 39-year-old Ioane is joining a staff that includes five former Boise State players: Avalos, wide receiver coach Matt Miller, running backs coach Winston Venable, cornerbacks coach Jeron Johnson and defensive analyst Kharyee Marshall. There are also four holdovers from former head coach Bryan Harsin’s staff (Danielson, Miller, Venable and tight ends coach Kent Riddle).
Even though he never wore the Broncos’ blue and orange, Ioane still has plenty of connections to Boise State.
Ioane credits Kwiatkowski for getting him into coaching in the first place. He was the defensive coordinator at Montana State during Ioane’s playing career.
“He sees the game so differently than everybody else,” Ioane said. “Breaking down film with him at Washington, it was like a master’s program in football.”
The Broncos’ new safeties coach spent the 2017-18 seasons at Washington studying under Kwiatkowski and former Boise State head coach Chris Petersen as a defensive analyst, before going back home to Montana.
“It was necessary for me to see something different. To go into a program that I’m not connected with as far as I didn’t go to school there,” Ioane said. “It allowed me to take a step back from coaching and really dive into as many different things about running a program as possible.”
Messina heads to Maine
Former Boise State kicker Jonny Messina has found a new home.
Messina, who entered the transfer portal late last season, announced on Twitter that he has committed to the University of Maine.
The native of Orlando, Florida, joined the Broncos last March as a graduate transfer from Stetson University, where he went 15-of-16 on field goals in 2019.
He never saw the field for the Broncos, though, as freshman Jonah Dalmas handled the field goals — connecting on 7-of-8 — and filled in on kickoffs while senior Joel Velazquez was out.
Messina is one of four Boise State players who have transferred since the end of the season, joining wide receiver Khyheem Waleed, defensive back Marques Evans and tight end Mason Sikes. Waleed landed at Arkansas State, but neither Sikes nor Evans has announced where they’re headed.
