Boise State’s top CB will miss spring ball; new number for Cobbs; Finley on the move
Boise State will be without one of its top cornerbacks this spring as the Broncos search for replacements for starters Jalen Walker and Avery Williams.
Junior Markel Reed said Friday that he will miss the spring after having surgery in January to repair a torn labrum in his shoulder, but he expects to be healthy in time for fall camp.
“I’m watching the guys compete every single day,” Reed told reporters on Friday. “They have their heads on right, they’re grinding it out and it’s a different vibe around here right now.”
Reed said he injured his shoulder during his freshman season in 2019 but played through it that year — appearing in 11 games — and again last season when he appeared in all seven games and finished with a career-high 16 tackles.
The timing of the injury isn’t ideal for the Broncos, who are lacking in experienced cornerbacks. Reed and redshirt juniors Tyric LeBeauf and Chris Mitchell are the veterans in the room, but none of them have started a game in their careers.
LeBeauf has appeared in 18 games the past two seasons — mostly on special teams — but he snagged his first career interception late in the Broncos’ 2020 season opener against Utah State. Mitchell has appeared in five career games but hasn’t recorded a stat.
Boise State added some experience in former Bowling Green cornerback Caleb Biggers, who joined the Broncos’ 2021 recruiting class in February. He comes in with 19 career starts but won’t join the team until sometime this summer.
In the meantime, a gaggle of young cornerbacks will get a shot at catching the attention of coaches, including former wide receiver Damon Cole, junior college transfer Jonathan Earl, freshman Isaiah Bradford and redshirt freshmen Donovan Clark and Kaonohi Kaniho, who is the younger brother of fifth-year senior nickel Kekaula Kaniho.
Clark, Kaniho and Earl were all members of the Broncos’ 2020 recruiting class, which included seven defensive backs. Bradford was initially part of the 2020 class, but he took a gray shirt year while rehabbing an injury suffered in high school and officially joined the team this year.
“It’s all about competing, and that’s what we’re going to do,” Reed said. “No spot is a given. We’re all encouraging each other to get that spot, and we’re all going to compete.”
Co-defensive coordinator Spencer Danielson said he just wants to see competition from the young cornerbacks this spring. He’ll worry about the depth chart in fall camp.
“Whether you’ve played one rep or never player, we’re going to compete,” Danielson told the Statesman on March 10. “I told the guys it’s an open slate. Come out and compete every single day. No excuses.”
Boise State is also without leading wide receiver Khalil Shakir this spring after he played most of last season with a fractured foot, which required surgery in January. The Broncos are also without defensive lineman Demitri Washington as he continues to recover from a knee injury suffered in week two last season at Air Force.
New number for Cobbs
Boise State wide receiver Stefan Cobbs will wear a new number this season.
In a nod to the number he wore during his career at Fossil Ridge High School in Texas, Cobbs switched from 82 to 5 this spring.
The number was available because safety Evan Tyler did not join the eight seniors who returned for the extra year of eligibility offered by the NCAA. Freshman wide receiver Kaden Dudley will wear 82.
As a senior at Fossil Ridge, Cobbs hauled in 67 passes for 1,332 yards and 24 touchdowns. He also returned nine kickoffs, averaging 22.1 yards per return.
Cobbs joined the Broncos as a three-star recruit in 2018. As a redshirt freshman in 2019, he scored the first touchdown of his collegiate career on a screen pass, which he turned into a 44-yard score against Portland State.
With fellow wide receiver Octavius Evans inactive for most of last season, Cobbs appeared in every game, catching four passes for 72 yards. He heads into the season with seven career receptions for 129 yards.
Evans and slot receiver CT Thomas are both back for their super senior seasons, and Shakir should put up big numbers again as a senior. Last fall, he led the team with 52 catches for 719 yards and six receiving touchdowns.
But Boise State coach Andy Avalos said before spring practice began that the Broncos will rotate in as many as six wide receivers this season, meaning Cobbs, Billy Bowens, Shea Whiting and Portland State transfer Davis Koetter are all competing for playing time behind the three returning starters.
The Broncos also signed a trio of explosive wide receivers this year in Dudley, Eric McAlister and Jalen Richmond.
Finley heading to Houston
The Cincinnati Bengals have agreed to trade former Boise State quarterback Ryan Finley to the Houston Texans, the Bengals announced Friday.
Finley, who finished his college career at N.C. State, was a fourth-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. He appeared in eight games for the Bengals the past two seasons, starting four.
The native of Phoenix appeared in eight games at Boise State between 2013 and 2015. He played in three as a redshirt sophomore in 2015 before suffering a season-ending ankle injury.
