No snap count for Boise State RB Holani vs. Oklahoma State; endorsement deal for captain
Boise State football coach Andy Avalos confirmed Monday that running back George Holani was on a snap count Friday against UTEP as he continues to work his way back from the injury that kept him out of the season opener at UCF.
Holani scored on a 10-yard touchdown run during a decisive second quarter for the Broncos in a 54-13 win, but he finished the game with just five carries for 22 yards. Tyler Crowe, who doesn’t appear on Boise State’s weekly depth chart, led the team with 45 rushing yards.
Boise State (1-1) ranks last in the Mountain West this fall, averaging 70.5 rushing yards through their first two games, but it should get a much-needed boost against Oklahoma State on Saturday (7 p.m., FS1). Avalos said there should be no limitations on Holani this weekend because he will have had two full weeks of practice under his belt and fatigue won’t be an issue.
“We’re excited to have him back out there,” Avalos said. “He’s a talented player and he can make things happen. Obviously, getting him back healthy and getting him in the game more is a ‘to-do.’”
Without Holani for most of last season, Boise State (1-1) finished last in the Mountain West with 107.1 rushing yards per game. The Broncos finished with just 20 yards on the ground in this year’s season opener at UCF and 136 against UTEP on Friday.
Shakir announces NIL deal
Boise State wide receiver Khalil Shakir announced his first endorsement deal on Sunday with Pro Image Sports — a national retailer of apparel for professional sports teams.
Shakir announced the partnership with a video he posted on Twitter and Instagram. In it, he visited a Pro Image Sports store in the Boise Towne Square mall and tried on several hats.
Financial details of the deal were not released, but Shakir is the third Boise State player to officially announce an endorsement deal recently. In August, Crowe announced his deal with supplement company Bucked Up. Freshman quarterback Taylen Green announced a deal a couple weeks ago, retweeting a video of himself saying that he’s a “brand ambassador” for Crull Fitness — a gym and training center in Texas.
Shakir is being represented by The Society LLC — a brand and marketing agency founded in 2012 by former Boise State defensive lineman Alex Guerrero. Shakir also got paid for an autograph signing he took part in this summer, but the exact amount was not disclosed.
His deal with Pro Image Sports includes social media posts, promoting the company’s line of New Era hats and future appearances at Pro Image Sports locations in Idaho, according to a Tweet from The Society LLC.
College football players can now make money from their name, image and likeness thanks to an interim policy the NCAA adopted in July as NIL (name, image and likeness) laws went into effect in several states.
Two games, two targeting calls
Boise State will be without one of its most experienced defenders for a half for the second week in a row on Saturday because of a targeting penalty.
Linebacker Riley Whimpey was ejected in the second half of Friday’s home opener following a collision with a UTEP ball carrier. NCAA rules stipulate that he has to sit out for the first half of the following game.
Nickel Kekaula Kaniho found himself in the same situation against UTEP, after being ejected in the second half of the season opener at UCF. He was replaced by redshirt freshman Rodney Robinson in the first half against the Miners.
Avalos said the call against Whimpey wasn’t as clear as Kaniho’s because it was a “bang-bang play” and the ball carrier was in the process of falling from another tackle when Whimpey hit him, making the collision look more violent than it might have been. But at the end of the day, Avalos said it comes down to how the coaches are teaching tackling.
“We’ve just got to do an unbelievable job emphasizing the strike zone,” Avalos said. “There are going to be bang-bang situations. At the end of the day, (Whimpey) hit him high, and not only did he hit him high, he hit him hard and the ball carrier bounced off the ground. When you’re in those situations and with how the game is interpreted and the rules are today, you’re probably going to get flagged for those things — right, wrong or indifferent.”
Boise State co-defensive coordinator Spencer Danielson clarified that the strike zone is from the bottom of the numbers on a players’ jersey to the top of his knees. He also said the Broncos spent time drilling that in practice on Monday, “ ... so don’t put yourself in that situation to have head-to-head contact, and you don’t put yourself in a situation where you leave it up to a decision.”
Danielson said Monday that redshirt junior Brandon Hawkins will start for Whimpey on Saturday, but the linebacker positions are interchangeable enough in the Broncos’ defensive scheme that fellow redshirt junior DJ Schramm could see snaps as well.
Hawkins almost found himself on the wrong end of a targeting call after a tackle on a punt during the season opener at UCF, but the play was reviewed and overturned. He joined the Broncos in 2018 as a three-star recruit from Georgetown, Texas, and has appeared in 19 career games.
“Similar to DJ (Schramm), he’s very low ego and high output,” Danielson said of Hawkins, whom he helped recruit out of high school. “He’s an extremely athletic kid. He’s not going to be super loud, but you know he’s going to get his work in and he’s going to ask questions when he needs to and he’s going to be ready to go on Saturday.”
Filling in for Igiehon
Avalos wouldn’t comment Monday on whether he expects nose tackle Scale Igiehon to rejoin the team this season. Boise State announced a few minutes before kickoff on Friday that Igiehon has taken a leave of absence from the program while he deals with a personal issue.
Former Utah transfer Jackson Cravens has started at nose tackle in the Broncos’ first two games, and junior college transfer Divine Obichere was listed as his backup on the depth chart released Monday.
Cravens (6-2, 305) joined the Broncos in 2019 and sat out that season due to NCAA transfer rules. He appeared in five games last season and finished with 11 tackles and one sack. Through two games this year, he’s posted three tackles.
“Jackson is extremely violent at the point of attack,” Danielson said. “He’s very physical and a big dude, but he also has very quick feet for a big guy. He has good pass-rush ability, too, for being such a big guy. He has loose hips, and he’s a smart football player.”
Nose tackle and defensive tackle are similar enough in Boise State’s scheme that Scott Matlock or Michael Callahan could play nose if needed, as the Broncos wait for a couple of young interior defensive linemen to return from injuries.
Danielson said Monday that nose tackles Keeghan Freeborn (ankle) and Hebert Gums (ACL) are still recovering from season-ending injuries they suffered last November.
Safety named league’s freshman of the week
Boise State safety Seyi Oladipo was named freshman of the week by the Mountain West on Monday.
Oladipo replaced starting safety Tyreque Jones after he was injured in the second quarter of the Broncos’ 54-13 win over UTEP on Friday. The freshman from Centennial, Colorado, finished the game with two interceptions and a tackle for loss, and he almost nabbed a third interception.
He snagged his first interception in the end zone and returned it to UTEP’s 48-yard line. Running back Andrew Van Buren capped the ensuing drive with a 1-yard touchdown dive, which gave the Broncos a 41-13 lead at halftime.
Oladipo graduated from high school early and joined the Broncos in January. He was a three-star recruit from Eaglecrest High in Colorado, and 247Sports ranked him the No. 10 overall recruit in Colorado.
OKLAHOMA STATE AT BOISE STATE
When: 7 p.m. Saturday
Where: Albertsons Stadium
TV: FS1 (Aaron Goldsmith, Mark Helfrich). That’s channel 146 on Sparklight, 219 on DirecTV and 150 on Dish Network.
Radio: KBOI 670 AM/KTIK 93.1 FM (Bob Behler, Pete Cavender)
Records: Boise State 1-1; Oklahoma State 2-0
Series: This is the second meeting between the programs. Oklahoma State won the first, 44-21, in Stillwater, Oklahoma, in 2018.
Vegas line: Boise State by 4.5
Weather: High of 79 degrees, 24% chance of rain, 10 mph winds
