Boise State football coach Avalos names starting QB two weeks ahead of opener vs. UCF
Hank Bachmeier will lead the Boise State football team onto the field as its starting quarterback for the third season in a row, coach Andy Avalos announced Friday, after the team’s second scrimmage of fall camp.
“Hank was the more consistent quarterback through the course of this week and into this scrimmage,” Avalos told reporters, “and Hank moved the offense up and down the field today with the first team or the second team.”
Bachmeier — a 6-foot-1, 210-pound junior — is 11-2 as the starter the past two seasons, but he missed games because of injury in 2019 and after contracting COVID-19 last season.
He was competing with USC transfer Jack Sears for the job again this year. Avalos and offensive coordinator Tim Plough said the competition was close until Sears, a 6-2, 213-pound redshirt senior, suffered a lower-leg injury last week before the team’s first scrimmage and reaggravated it this week.
Sears was impressive in his only start last season — racking up 280 passing yards and four total touchdowns against Air Force — but he suffered a head injury the following week against BYU and missed the rest of the season.
With Sears limited in practice during camp, Bachmeier pulled away and won the job.
“I’m really proud of the guys for being competitive but not combative,” Plough said. “I think Hank and Jack really exemplify what our program is about, and that’s caring about people. Those two care about each other, but they do compete.”
Bachmeier and Avalos have a relationship that dates back to before the Broncos’ starter ever set foot on Boise State’s campus.
Avalos had already left to become Oregon’s defensive coordinator by the time Bachmeier arrived as a freshman, but he was the Broncos’ defensive coordinator when the quarterback verbally committed to the program in 2018.
Avalos grew up in Corona, California, which is only about a 30-minute drive from Bachmeier’s hometown of Murrieta. Avalos recruited that part of California heavily and was one of Bachmeier’s primary recruiters when he was at Murrieta Valley High.
The duo picked up right where they left off when Avalos was hired as the head coach at his alma mater in January. Just like when he was in high school, Bachmeier continues to show impressive command of whatever offense he’s running, Avalos said.
“His operation, quick delivery and ability to get the ball out to three good wide receivers all stood out back then,” Avalos said. “He was extremely, extremely successful in high school in terms of stats and winning, and it was impressive to watch how he operated practice.”
Bachmeier joined the Broncos as a four-star prospect after racking up 13,150 passing yards, 2,190 rushing yards and 188 total touchdowns as a four-year starter at Murrieta Valley. His 156 career passing touchdowns broke the CIF Southern Section record, previously held by former Mater Dei quarterback JT Daniels, who went on to play at USC before transferring to Georgia, where he’s expected to start this season.
Despite a couple of tough seasons at Boise State, Bachmeier has carried some of that success into college. He helped the Broncos win the 2019 Mountain West championship, though he missed the title game with an injury, and he took the team back to the championship game last season.
Bachmeier’s career completion percentage stands at 62%, and he’s thrown for 3,029 yards, 15 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He also shows no fear when scrambling to stretch plays with his legs and has three career rushing touchdowns.
His penchant for holding onto the ball too long has led to some sacks, though, and Plough said getting rid of it quicker has been priority No. 1 for Bachmeier this offseason.
“We really pride ourselves in this offensive system in not taking sacks,” Plough said. “Hank’s an extremely competitive guy. He’s very confident in his abilities, and sometimes that gets him into trouble. He still has days where that’s something he’s working on, but he’s made big strides in that area for sure.”
Bachmeier winning the starting job doesn’t necessarily mean Sears won’t play. Boise State has a long tradition of playing multiple quarterbacks, and while it’s not something Plough has done in the past, he’s not opposed to it.
“I’m about scoring points,” he said. “If we’ve got to do that with one guy, two guys, three guys; whatever we’ve got to do to score points and win that particular game is what we’re going to do.”
Quarterback No. 3 on the depth chart is likely to be 6-6, 215-pound freshman Taylen Green, who enrolled early and has been on campus since January. His reps in practice have increased with Sears limited, and so has his grasp of the offense, Plough said.
“He could run our offense if we had to play him in a game,” Plough said. “There may not be a guy on the team I’m more proud of than him. He’s going to be a very, very special player.”
Boise State is scheduled to open the season Sept. 2 at UCF (5 p.m. MT, ESPN).
This story was originally published August 20, 2021 at 4:17 PM.
