Spring practice: Can Boise State’s D keep racking up turnovers, produce more sacks?
The Boise State football team will take the field Friday for the first of its 15 spring practices, which will culminate with the annual spring game on April 9.
While the Broncos’ offense focuses on improving in year two under offensive coordinator Tim Plough, the defense hopes to pick up where it left off last season.
Boise State struggled against the run early on, but that changed after the bye week in mid-October. In the month that followed, the Broncos surrendered less than 100 rushing yards a game, made Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener look average and shut down Wyoming’s potent rushing attack.
Boise State surrendered the fewest points among Mountain West teams last season, giving up just 19 per game, and the Broncos ranked No. 5 in the conference in total defense, allowing 364.4 yards per contest. But like most teams around the country this time of year, the Broncos have questions to answer.
Here is a look at the most pressing issues facing the defense this month, and some players to watch.
Which transfer will make the quickest impact?
From a grizzled veteran like Weber State transfer George Tarlas to a couple of junior college pass rushers with untapped potential, Boise State added some players to the defensive front seven.
There is never enough depth on the defensive line, Boise State football coach Andy Avalos said in February, and the Broncos didn’t hit the transfer market with their sites set on the future. They need players who can make an impact now, especially when it comes to producing more sacks.
With that in mind, Tarlas — an edge rusher set to begin the sixth season of his college career — might be the newcomer who sees the field the soonest. He spent five seasons hunting quarterbacks at Weber State, and the 23-year-old enters his final season of eligibility with 17 career sacks.
Defensive tackle Scott Matlock led Boise State last season with seven sacks, which is the most by a Bronco since former Boise State pass rusher Curtis Weaver posted 13.5 in 2019. Defensive end Shane Irwin, a JUCO transfer, led the team in 2020’s COVID-shortened season with 6.5 sacks.
Edge rusher Isaiah Bagnah was second on the team with six sacks last fall, but he posted three of those in one game. Demitri Washington, a redshirt senior who missed all but one game in 2020 with a knee injury, finished with two sacks last season, and they didn’t come until the final two games of the season.
Boise State’s defense has a chance to be great in 2022, but the Broncos need to do a better job of getting after quarterbacks to make that happen. That’s exactly what Tarlas was brought in to do, and both of the junior college pass rushers the Broncos added have a chance to play key roles as well.
Defensive end Cortez Hogans Jr. (6-3, 269) has the size to contribute right away, but he’ll be part of a rotation, which still includes Irwin. Edge rusher Deven Wright (6-5, 220) has the size and athleticism to be a great pass rusher, but he’s raw, but he’ll likely open the season behind Bagnah, Washington and Tarlas on the depth chart.
Will the turnovers continue?
The Broncos went into last season focused on improving their paltry turnovers numbers from recent years, and they emphatically checked that box. Boise State forced 23 turnovers (13 interceptions, 10 fumble recoveries), its most since finishing with 24 in 2018.
Building on those numbers is sure to be a focus again, and the Broncos have the skill and experience at every level of the defense to do it.
On the defensive line, Matlock enters his fifth year in the program with 19 career starts, and he posted career highs in tackles (41), tackles for loss (8.5) and sacks (7) last season. At linebacker, Ezekiel Noa is a sixth-year senior with 26 career starts. He also posted career highs in tackles (66), tackles for loss (6.5) and sacks (3) last season.
In the secondary, safeties JL Skinner and Tyreque Jones are back after combining for 145 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and four interceptions last season. Cornerback Tyric LeBeauf is also expected back after leading the Broncos with three interceptions last fall.
Who takes over for Kekaula Kaniho and Riley Whimpey?
Boise State doesn’t have many starters to replace on defense, but there are two big holes to fill.
Nickel Kekaula Kaniho declared for the NFL Draft in January, ending a five-year career at Boise State, which included appearing in a program-record 60 games and racking up 217 tackles, five sacks and six interceptions.
Linebacker Riley Whimpey decided to retire after a five-year career, which included starting 42 games and posting 287 tackles, 21.5 tackles for loss and six sacks. He was the Broncos’ leading tackler in 2019 and 2020.
The most likely candidate to replace Kaniho is redshirt sophomore Rodney Robinson. The former three-star recruit appeared in all 12 games last season and finished with 19 tackles. He replaced Kaniho after Kaniho was called for a targeting penalty in the second half of the season opener at UCF, and made his first career start the following week, when Kaniho was suspended for the first half of the home opener against UTEP, per NCAA rules.
Like Kaniho, Robinson is undersized (5-8, 177). His coaches say he’s also like Kaniho in that he’s athletic enough to run with slot receivers and fearless when it comes to defending against the run — important traits in a nickel.
Replacing Whimpey is more complicated, and it may take a group effort. The top two candidates to get reps at weakside linebacker this spring are redshirt senior Brandon Hawkins, who has been Whimpey’s primary backup the past two seasons, and redshirt freshman Andrew Simpson, who played at St. John Bosco High in California — the same school that produced Boise State running back George Holani.
The Broncos also have a pair of young middle linebackers who could find themselves in the mix at weakside this spring: Jai Jones and Rejhan Tatum. Incoming freshman Dishawn Misa is someone to keep an eye on, but he won’t join the team until this summer.
Players to watch
Edge Demitri Washington, R-Sr., 6-3, 270 — This is a make-it-or-break-it year for Washington. Many believed he would step into Weaver’s role as the Broncos’ next great edge rusher, but that hasn’t happened. He was slowed by a knee injury, which kept him out of most of the 2020 season and was still affecting him for much of last season. With Bagnah showing flashes last season, and the addition of the transfers, Washington needs to have a big spring if he’s going to stay on top of the depth chart.
CB Caleb Biggers, 5-yr, 5-11, 196 — Biggers joined the program last summer after transferring from Bowling Green. He appeared in all 12 of Boise State’s games and started eight. If Reed isn’t ready to go this spring — he missed the final seven games with an injury — Biggers will likely assume the No. 1 cornerback spot again. If Reed is on the field, Biggers could find himself embroiled in a battle with LeBeauf and redshirt sophomore Kaonohi Kaniho for the No. 2 spot.
CB Jared Reed, 6-yr, 6-0, 193 — Reed joined the Broncos last summer after transferring from Utah State, where he appeared in six games and started two in 2020. That came after he sat out the 2019 season following a transfer from Portland State. Now a sixth-year senior, Reed didn’t appear in any games last season at Boise State because of an undisclosed injury.
This story was originally published March 3, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
