Spring stock report: Find out which Boise State players are trending upward into summer
Boise State football coach Andy Avalos said his first spring back at his alma mater has been all about building dependable depth.
That depth was on display Saturday in the Broncos’ annual spring game, which was dominated by the defense.
With likely cornerback Markel Reed and defensive lineman Demitri Washington out while they rehab injuries and wide receiver Khalil Shakir only taking part in non-contact drills, Saturday’s game was a chance for young players to take advantage of the spotlight.
It was also a chance for players locked in key position battles to separate from the pack, including at quarterback, where the Broncos have a pair of veterans competing to take snaps, and cornerback, where they’re looking for a pair of starters to replace Avery Williams and Jalen Walker.
Here is a look at players whose stock is on the rise after Saturday’s scrimmage and some who have ground to make up.
Stock on the rise
QB Hank Bachmeier — What Bachmeier put on film Saturday doesn’t suggest he has created much distance between himself and USC transfer Jack Sears, but Avalos subtly suggested the junior has an edge in the race to start the season opener, which is scheduled for Sept. 4 at UCF. Avalos went out of his way to say the quarterbacks are “neck and neck,” but he also said Bachmeier’s completion percentage and touchdown-to-interception ratio have been better than Sears’ this spring.
“To be quite honest, it could have been a flip of a coin,” Avalos said about deciding which quarterback would open Saturday’s game with the starting offense. “Hank’s performance, if we’re going off the stats to this point, had been better.”
On Saturday, Bachmeier’s stats (15-of-26, 158 yards, 1 TD) were slightly better than Sears’ (11-of-20, 146 yards, 1 TD), but Bachmeier looked like he was more in command of the offense, especially on the few instances when the Broncos went with a faster tempo.
WR Stef Cobbs — Outside of the quarterbacks, Cobbs may have been the most talked about player on the team this spring. He earned praise from Avalos, wide receivers coach Matt Miller and his teammates, and he didn’t disappoint Saturday. Cobbs showed a burst off the line of scrimmage and the ability to stretch the defense, catching two passes for 53 yards. His longest completion of the day covered 29 yards.
Heading into the summer, Cobbs looks like a solid third option at wide receiver behind Shakir and CT Thomas. That’s especially true considering fifth-year senior Octavius Evans was held without a catch Saturday (see the stock down section).
WR Cole Wright — On Saturday, Wright looked like the best wide receiver that nobody has been talking about this spring. He looked bigger than the 6-foot, 175 pounds he’s listed at on the roster, ran crisp routes and showed sure hands on a couple catches near the sideline.
Wright was a late addition to the Broncos’ 2020 recruiting class after he caught 71 passes for 1,176 yards and 13 touchdowns as a senior at Carlsbad High in California. Freshman Kaden Dudley has been getting a lot of attention as the heir apparent to Thomas at slot receiver, but Wright looks like he’s going to have something to say about that.
NT Scale Igiehon — Expectations have been heaped on Igiehon since he arrived on campus in 2018 as a highly touted recruit, but depth at the position, injuries and COVID-19 have kept him from fulfilling that potential. If Saturday was any indication, that’s going to change this year. He’s slimmed down to 286 pounds, and he looked quick and explosive while posting two sacks, which is only half a sack from matching his career total.
DT Jackson Cravens — Cravens sat out in 2019 and never quite got his footing last season, despite playing in five games. He looked stout at the point of attack Saturday and led the defensive line with five tackles while matching Igiehon’s two sacks. If the Broncos can get that kind of production out of Cravens and Divine Obichere behind Igiehon and fellow starter Scott Matlock, Boise State’s defensive line will be a force. That’s especially true when you consider junior college transfer Shane Irwin is back at end after leading the team with six sacks last fall.
CB Kaonohi Kaniho — Kaniho was one of several young cornerbacks who saw playing time Saturday, and he may have been the most impressive. The younger brother of fifth-year senior nickel Kekuala Kaniho, Kaonohi trotted onto the field with the starting defense Saturday, and he never looked overmatched. He’s listed on the roster at 6 foot, but his long arms make him seem much taller, and he used that length to his advantage, breaking up a team-high two passes. He also made a nice over-the-shoulder catch while intercepting a pass from Sears.
S Seyi Oladipo — Speaking of impressive catches, Oladipo’s interception may have been the catch of the day. Bachmeier was high on a pass over the middle, and the freshman safety recognized it immediately, accelerated past the receiver and stretched out to make the catch.
After enrolling early and arriving on campus in January, Oladipo has been among the leaders on the Broncos’ “Takeaway Board” this spring. With JL Skinner and Tyreque Jones expected to start and Kekaula Kaniho also able to play safety, it’s hard to imagine Oladipo cracking the starting lineup this fall, but that doesn’t mean he won’t see playing time.
Neutral
QB Jack Sears — Sears looked like the more efficient quarterback early in Saturday’s game, and he put the first touchdown on the board with a 6-yard strike to tight end Tyler Eiguren. But as the game wore on, he seemed less decisive and held on to the ball too long. He also threw two interceptions and was unable to complete a pass in the end zone in the game’s final seconds.
Sears’ performance was far from poor on Saturday, but unlike when he dazzled fans with four touchdowns in his debut as the starter last season at Air Force, he didn’t wow the 5,777 fans in attendance at the spring game or do anything to separate himself from Bachmeier.
RB Andrew Van Buren — Van Buren’s workload was suspiciously light Saturday, especially considering that he carried the load for the backfield last season while starter George Holani was injured. When Van Buren did get his hands on the ball, he didn’t look especially explosive. He carried the ball four times for 12 yards, and his longest run covered just 6 yards.
He got fewer rushing attempts than walk-on Tyler Crowe, who finished with six carries for 29 yards. That’s not a knock on Crowe — a former standout at Skyview High in Nampa — but it speaks volumes when the presumed No. 2 running back on the depth chart sees so little work in the spring game. Van Buren’s workload is even more suspicious given that Holani, who only played in one full game last fall because of a knee injury, carried the ball 11 times, caught a pass that moved the chains and was still in the game late in the fourth quarter.
Van Buren did tie wide receiver Maclaine Griffin with a team-high four catches, but he finished with just 12 receiving yards. The 244-pound senior from West Hills, California, was active Saturday. He just wasn’t particularly productive.
EDGE Isaiah Bagnah — Especially with Washington out as he recovers from a knee injury, Bagnah’s stock has been on the rise this spring as the Broncos look for a consistent pass rusher. He has the length and athleticism coaches look for in edge rushers, and he racked up three sacks in the final two games of last season. But Bagnah didn’t play Saturday. Avalos didn’t explain why, saying only that the reason “stemmed from last season.”
Bagnah’s saving grace is that his competition didn’t do much Saturday, either. Former four-star recruit Casey Kline and redshirt junior Dylan Herberg saw the bulk of the snaps at edge, which was formerly known as STUD. Herberg was solid against the run, but neither did enough to separate themselves heading into the summer. The highlight of the day from the edge group was redshirt freshman Gabe Hunter batting down a pass late in the game.
Stock down
WR Octavius Evans — Evans joined seven other seniors in returning this season with an eye on finally living up to the potential his coaches and teammates say they see in him, but he wasn’t much of a factor Saturday. He was close to bringing in a couple passes, but he finished the game without a reception.
Evans was active for just two of the Broncos’ games last season, and he’s heading into his fifth season in the program with just 40 career receptions and four touchdowns. He’s going to have to fend off a slew of talented young receivers if he’s going to make his super senior season one to remember.
RB Taequan Tyler — Saturday’s game was supposed to be Tyler’s first chance to show Boise State fans what he can do, but he didn’t get on the field for a single carry. He transferred last year from Tyler Junior College and missed the season after suffering an Achilles tendon injury in the preseason. Avalos said Tyler is healthy and has been getting reps in practice but didn’t explain why he didn’t play.
With Holani out last season, it became painfully obvious that the Broncos needed to improve their depth in the backfield. After Saturday’s spring game, that still looks to be the case. Maybe things will change when Oregon transfer Cyrus Habibi-Likio arrives this summer.
