Boise State’s red zone running back to spend final college season elsewhere
A day after the Boise State football team signed 22 recruits, a spot opened up on the depth chart.
Boise State running back Andrew Van Buren has decided to transfer. He was removed from the roster on Thursday, and a spokesperson for the program confirmed that he is no longer on the team.
Van Buren rushed for 1,027 yards and 21 touchdowns in four seasons with the Broncos. The 240-pound senior transfers with one year of eligibility remaining.
He was primarily used as a short-yardage back during his career, but with starting running back George Holani injured, Van Buren carried the load in 2020, rushing for a career-high 382 yards and leading the Mountain West with eight touchdowns on the ground.
Holani was limited by injuries again this season, but Van Buren had help. Boise State added Oregon transfer Cyrus Habibi-Likio, who finished second on the team with 374 yards and two touchdowns on 107 carries.
Van Buren rushed for 217 yards and nine touchdowns on 70 carries in 2021. Most of his work came inside the 10-yard line. He scored five touchdowns on runs of 3 yards or less this season.
Despite missing three games with a hamstring injury, Holani led the Broncos with 569 rushing yards but finished the season with just one rushing touchdown.
Holani and Habibi-Likio are both expected to return next season.
Holani, a redshirt sophomore, deflected questions last month about a possible jump to the NFL and said he felt like he needed another year. Habibi-Likio, who would be a sixth-year senior, said he wants to come back, but decisions about which seniors to bring back won’t be made until after the Arizona Bowl, coach Andy Avalos said.
Boise State signed four-star running back recruit Ashton Jeanty on Wednesday. He plans to enroll early and be on campus by January. As a senior at Lone Star High in Frisco, Texas, Jeanty rushed for 1,843 yards and 31 touchdowns, and added 42 receptions for 803 yards and 10 more touchdowns.
Former walk-on Tyler Crowe, who earned a scholarship earlier this year, junior college transfer Taequan Tyler and redshirt junior Danny Smith remain on Boise State’s roster at running back.
This story was originally published December 16, 2021 at 2:13 PM.
