5 questions for Boise State spring game, where Avalos will welcome a slew of alums
The Boise State football team is expecting to welcome more than 100 alumni to town this weekend for the first spring game under new head coach Andy Avalos — himself a BSU graduate and former player.
Four former players will serve as honorary captains for the game, which will begin at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Albertsons Stadium. Arizona Cardinals linebacker Tanner Vallejo and former defensive lineman Shea McClellin — who won a Super Bowl with the New England Patriots — will represent the defense, while Minnesota Vikings running back Alexander Mattison and former center Matt Paradis — a Super Bowl champ with the Denver Broncos — will represent the offense.
Vallejo (2013-16) was a three-time All-Mountain West pick at Boise State and finished his career with 226 tackles. He was picked in the sixth round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills and has since played for Cleveland, Washington and Arizona, where he re-signed last month.
McClellin (2008-11) finished his college career tied for No. 5 all-time in program history with 20.5 sacks. The Chicago Bears picked him in the first round of the 2012 draft, and he also had a successful stint with the Patriots. He’s now the offensive coordinator at Cole Valley Christian School in Meridian.
Paradis (2009-13) was a defensive scout team player as a freshman in 2019 and went on to start 26 consecutive games at center during his final two seasons. He was a two-time all-conference pick and a sixth-round draft pick by Denver in 2014. He signed with the Carolina Panthers in 2019.
Mattison (2016-18) racked up 2,829 rushing yards and 33 touchdowns in three seasons with the Broncos, and earned first-team all-conference honors as a senior with 1,415 yards rushing and 17 TDs. He was picked in the third round of the 2019 draft by the Vikings, and in two seasons, he’s posted 896 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.
Avalos has talked about the importance of connecting with former players since he was hired in January, and he plans to make them a part of the spring game every year.
“We want our brothers to come back and be part of this as much as possible,” Avalos said. “It is very beneficial to always have a reminder of who we are, where we come from and what it’s going to take.”
Mattison has been in Boise since Tuesday and said he’s excited to reconnect with old teammates and fellow alumni.
“It just goes to show Andy means it when he says ‘once a Bronco, always a Bronco,’” Mattison told the Statesman on Thursday. “That means a lot to me, especially now feeling like I have a place I can call a second home. That’s what it feels like at Boise State.”
Mattison will be keeping a close eye on freshman safety Isaiah Bradford, who is his cousin. Bradford took a gray shirt last year after suffering a torn ACL as a senior in high school, but Mattison said Thursday that he’s looking better than ever.
“I’m super proud of all the progress he’s made,” Mattison said. “It’s one of those long roads when it comes down to ACL tears. It can be discouraging, but he’s looking a lot better, putting on some more weight, and I’m excited to see how his Boise State career unfolds.”
Boise State’s spring game was canceled last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Saturday will be the Broncos’ first chance to get back on the field since they lost to San Jose State last December in the Mountain West championship game.
Saturday’s game will pit the offense against the defense, as opposed to splitting players into separate teams. They’ll play four 8-minute quarters, and Avalos said the “visiting team” will use the locker room in the Varsity Center, which housed the team when he played at Boise State from 2001 to 2004.
The offense will wear orange uniforms with white helmets, while the defense wears blue uniforms and helmets. Quarterbacks will wear all white.
Scoring will break down as follows: (Offense) TD — 6 points, field goal — 3 points, explosive play (run longer than 12 yards or a pass longer than 16) — 1 point, PAT — 1 point; (Defense) TD — 6 points, turnover/4th down stop — 3 points, 3 and out — 2 points, sack — 2 points, field goal attempt in red zone — 4 points.
Here are five key questions facing the Broncos heading into Saturday’s spring game.
What will the new offense look like?
Don’t expect Boise State to put too much of new offensive coordinator Tim Plough’s playbook on display, but fans will get their first glimpse at the new scheme, which he calls the “Valley of the Shred.”
At UC Davis, Plough engineered one of the top FCS offenses in the country, averaging more than 40 passing attempts a game between 2017 and 2019, and leading the Big Sky Conference with 484.7 yards of offense and 384.3 passing yards a game in 2017, and with 322.8 passing yards a game in 2018.
He was careful not to give too much away, but Avalos said Tuesday that the biggest difference fans will notice on Saturday is the tempo, which will vary at times from snap to snap, but will be a lot faster than what was run previously.
“There’s an opportunity to go and execute at a different speed that we consistently haven’t in the past,” he told reporters. “There is not as much substituting in an out, and when we’re in it, we’re going.”
The new offense definitely won’t be boring, he said.
“I think we’ll see an explosive offense with precision,” Avalos said. “We still have the motions and still have the shifts defenses have to prepare for, but it’s at a faster pace.”
How many fans will show up?
With more than 5,000 tickets available, the spring game will be, by far, the biggest event in Boise since everything shut down last March because of the pandemic.
It will be the first time Boise State’s players have taken the field in front of fans in Albertsons Stadium since the Broncos hosted Colorado State last November. The university got approval from Central District Health to admit up to 1,100 fans to the game against the Rams and a home loss to BYU.
Fans were not permitted to attend the Mountain West championship game in Las Vegas.
“I’m really excited because it’s been a really long time,” Boise State quarterback Hank Bachmeier said. “Just getting back to some normalcy for us, it’s going to be awesome to have fans on The Blue and for the spring game to happen.”
A Saturday afternoon game at Albertsons Stadium comes with a welcome sense of routine for players, coaches and fans.
“We’re getting back to a little normalcy,” Avalos said. “We’ve got The Masters ... this weekend, we’ve got a little spring ball action and we are going to have fans in the stands. We’re excited to keep moving forward.”
Who will start at QB?
The question on the minds of most Boise State fans is who will trot out there with the first-team offense as the quarterback?
The safe bet is Bachmeier, a junior who is 11-2 as the starter and has completed 62% of his passes the past two years, but has yet to play a full season because of injuries and COVID-19. He missed six games as a freshman because of injuries and two last season after testing positive for the virus.
After an impressive debut at Air Force last season, USC transfer Jack Sears has a lot of people excited to see how much he can push Bachmeier and how the coaching staff plans to use him this fall. Past Boise State coaches have never been shy about playing multiple quarterbacks.
Sears started at Air Force after Bachmeier tested positive, and his first pass of the game went for a 75-yard touchdown to CT Thomas.
Sears finished with 280 passing yards and four total touchdowns, signaling the start of what looked like a quarterback controversy. But he suffered an apparent head injury on the Broncos’ opening series the following week against BYU and missed the rest of the season after also testing positive for the virus.
Avalos has been clear that a starter will not be named until fall camp, but he’s been impressed with what he’s seen so far on and off the field.
“It doesn’t start with how they execute on field. It doesn’t start with their completion percentage,” he said. “It starts with their leadership off the field. How they’re bringing guys together and building confidence within each other to work together when we get on the field.”
Redshirt freshmen Cade Fennegan and Andy Peters should also see snaps on Saturday after both earned playing time last season. Freshman Taylen Green will make his debut after signing with the Broncos last December and arriving on campus in January after enrolling early.
Will a young playmaker emerge?
Avalos offered a measure of good news to fans on Tuesday when he announced that wide receiver Khalil Shakir has returned to practice in a limited role.
Shakir has missed the spring while rehabbing from a hamstring injury he suffered in the Mountain West title game and offseason foot surgery, but he took part in individual drills on Tuesday. He isn’t going to play in the spring game, though, and that opens the door for some young receivers to step into the spotlight.
Thomas and fellow fifth-year senior Octavius Evans will probably be out there as starters on Saturday, but a host of less experienced receivers will also get a shot. Chief among them are redshirt juniors Stef Cobbs and Billy Bowens, both of whom saw their roles increase last fall. Cobbs, who is sporting a new jersey number, has earned several mentions from the coaching staff this spring.
“It doesn’t matter which quarterback is in there, (Cobbs has) done a tremendous job,” Avalos said.
Redshirt sophomore Shea Whiting, redshirt junior MaClaine Griffin and redshirt freshman Latrell Caples will all see some passes come their way, but the wide receiver many around the program are most intrigued by is redshirt junior Davis Koetter, the son of former Boise State football coach Dirt Koetter.
Koetter, who transferred in this winter from Portland State, has the size (6-foot-2, 198 pounds) and intangibles to be a difference maker, Avalos said.
“He’s had some explosive plays, scored some touchdowns and made some nice catches,” Avalos said. “He’s willing to do it all on special teams. ... Already, he’s made a positive impact on our team.”
Boise State fans will also get their first live look at versatile freshman Kaden Dudley, who was one of five members of the 2021 class to enroll early. He’s a speedy slot receiver who also started at running back and defensive back at Palmer Ridge High in Colorado, and might get the chance to show what he can do as a punt and kick returner on Saturday.
Will players shine at CB, STUD?
The Broncos are returning the bulk of last season’s starters on defense, but there are two positions where new players have had a chance to emerge this spring: cornerback and STUD (Stand-Up Defensive end).
Boise State has to replace both starting cornerbacks after Avery Williams declared for the NFL Draft and Jalen Walker opted not to return for the extra season offered by the NCAA. Markel Reed and Bowling Green transfer Caleb Biggers may end up starting this fall, but neither is available this spring. Reed is recovering from shoulder surgery and Biggers won’t arrive until this summer.
That leaves redshirt junior Tyric LeBeauf as the veteran in a group of cornerbacks that includes Chris Mitchell, former wide receiver Damon Cole, junior college transfer Jonathan Earl and redshirt freshmen Donovan Clark, Jaylen Clark and Kaonohi Kaniho.
There’s also an open competition at STUD this spring. Demitri Washington is still recovering from a season-ending knee injury suffered last October, and Sam Whitney decided to call it a career after six seasons with the Broncos.
Redshirt sophomores Isaiah Bagnah and Casey Kline are expected to take starting reps on Saturday, but Idaho native Dylan Herberg, redshirt freshman Gabe Hunter and freshman James Wilborn Jr. should see action as well.
