Boise State football loses its 2022 quarterback recruit as Big Ten programs court him
The Boise State football team is once again in the market for a quarterback.
St. John Bosco quarterback Katin Houser announced Thursday night on Twitter that he is re-opening his recruitment. The four-star prospect from Henderson, Nevada, was the first player to verbally commit to Boise State’s 2022 recruiting class.
“I hold nothing but the utmost respect and confidence in the Boise State football program and coaching staff,” he wrote. “This decision was very difficult but I felt this was the best decision for me and my future.”
Boise State has been in this position before. Zach Wilson verbally committed to the Broncos in 2017 before eventually going to BYU. The New York Jets picked him No. 2 overall in this year’s NFL Draft.
Houser committed to Boise State in April. Michigan State offered Houser a scholarship less than a month later, and he visited East Lancing, Michigan, over the weekend. He also picked up an offer from Iowa this month and has offers from the likes of Oregon State, Washington, Washington State, UNLV, San Jose State and Nevada, according to 247Sports.
The 6-foot-3, 200-pounder transferred to St. John Bosco in Bellflower, California, after his sophomore year at Liberty High in Nevada. His junior year was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic, and he split snaps this spring with four-star prospect Pierce Clarkson.
The Broncos aren’t in immediate need of help at quarterback. Hank Bachmeier is heading into his third season as the starter, and he has at least two more years of eligibility left after that. Jack Sears transferred in from USC last year and looked good in limited action, and the Broncos have signed quarterbacks in each of their past two classes: Cade Fennegan in 2020 and Taylen Green, who signed with this year’s class and enrolled early.
Boise State 2022 recruiting class
CB Dionte Thornton, 6-3, 185, Lawndale (California) High
OT Kage Casey, 6-6, 250, Clackamas (Oregon) High
TE Austin Terry, 6-5, 230, Tumwater High (Olympia, Washington)
LB Kaeo Akana, 6-3, 205, Theodore Roosevelt High (Honolulu, Hawaii)
WR Keenan McCaddy, 6-4, 180, Moanalua High (Honolulu, Hawaii)
OT Roger Carreon, 6-5, 295, Jal (New Mexico) High
DL JJ Talo, 6-3, 250, Kearns High (Salt Lake City, Utah)
Broncos add another cornerback
Boise State is looking for two new starters at cornerback this fall, and another player threw his name in the hat on Friday morning.
Junior college cornerback Jalen Neal announced on Twitter that he’ll join the Broncos this summer. The 5-foot-11, 180-pound native of College Park, Georgia, spent last season at San Bernardino Valley College in California.
Neal began his high school career at Trinity Christian School in Georgia, and he spent a postgraduate year at Good Elite Prep School in Alabama. He’s the third cornerback to transfer to Boise State this offseason, following Caleb Biggers (Bowling Green) and Jalen Reed (Utah State).
The Broncos are in search of two new starters at the position after Avery Williams was picked in the fifth round of this year’s NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons and Jalen Walker decided not to take advantage of the extra year of eligibility the NCAA offered players because of the impact COVID-19 had on the 2020 season.
Biggers, a veteran of 19 starts at Bowling Green, and junior Markel Reed are the favorites to open the season as the starters, but Biggers didn’t arrive on campus until this month and Reed missed spring ball while recovering from shoulder surgery. So, the competition could still be wide open.
This story was originally published June 25, 2021 at 8:27 AM.
