Boise State announces pro day participants; Broncos’ Avalos loses chief of staff
Boise State will hold its annual pro day next Wednesday, allowing eight former players to work out for NFL scouts.
The group is led by wide receiver Khalil Shakir, who many experts believe could come off the board in the second or third rounds of the NFL Draft, which will be held April 28-30 in Las Vegas.
He’ll be joined by offensive linemen Jake Stetz and Uzo Osuji, long snapper Daniel Cantrell, wide receiver Octavius Evans, defensive back Kekaula Kaniho, running back Cyrus Habibi-Likio and punter Joel Velazquez.
Former Boise State receiver CT Thomas also declared for the NFL Draft, but he confirmed to the Statesman on Wednesday that he will not attend the pro day workouts. Thomas left the team midway through last season for undisclosed reasons and has been training for the draft in Texas.
Shakir, who has hired agents from Steinberg Sports, ranks No. 5 at Boise State with 208 receptions, No. 4 with 2,878 receiving yards and is tied for No. 9 with 20 receiving touchdowns. He led the team with 77 catches for 1,117 yards and seven touchdowns last season.
Shakir reportedly was impressive during the week of practices leading up to the Senior Bowl in January, but he didn’t play in the game for undisclosed reasons. The 6-foot, 190-pound slot receiver likely improved his draft stock at the NFL Combine earlier this month when he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.35 seconds on his first attempt and posted an official time of 4.43.
Stetz, a former walk-on at Boise State, has hired Jordan Byrd of Exclusive Sports Group as his agent. The 6-foot-2, 311-pound interior lineman started 21 games during a five-year career with the Broncos. He started games at three different positions on the offensive line last year, including four games at center, before missing the regular-season finale with a knee injury that required surgery.
Stetz has been in Boise rehabbing after the repair to the torn meniscus and fractured tibial plateau in his right knee.
Cantrell’s agent is Ross Jones of Leverage Football, who also represents former Boise State offensive lineman John Molchon — a former undrafted free agent who has spent the past two seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Cantrell, a former standout at Bishop Kelly High, was Boise State’s primary long snapper on punts and field goals starting in 2018.
Habibi-Likio joined the team last year after transferring from Oregon, where he had 21 rushing touchdowns in four seasons. He was second on the team at Boise State with 374 yards rushing. He also caught 23 passes for 213 yards.
Osuji joined the program in 2020 after transferring from Rice. He started the final eight games of last season at right tackle.
Broncos lose chief of staff
Boise State football coach Andy Avalos is in search of a new chief after the resignation of Da’Vell Winters, a source confirmed to the Idaho Statesman on Wednesday.
Winters joined the program as chief of staff last January after following Avalos from Oregon, where Winters spent three years as assistant director of player personnel and player development. He did a little bit of everything at Boise State, from helping to plan travel to acting as an academic liaison for the players.
Winters declined to comment on his departure Wednesday. A spokesperson for Boise State indicated that the position will not be filled, with responsibilities of other staff members adjusted to compensate for the loss.
Winters is the second member of Avalos’ administrative staff to leave this year. Former director of recruiting Eli Mandel announced his resignation in January. He left to join Zcruit, a company that helps college football programs track potential recruits.
Mandel was replaced by Jason Cvercko, who spent the past two seasons as chief of staff at Washington State.
Cvercko was part of a busy January hiring spree for Boise State. The Broncos brought in running backs coach and special teams coordinator Keith Bhonapha to replace Winston Venable, who stepped down in December. Kelly Poppinga — a former assistant coach at Virginia and BYU — was brought in to replace Stacey Collins as edge coach and co-special teams coordinator. Former Southern Utah head coach Demario Warren was hired to replace cornerbacks coach Jeron Johnson, who had stepped down.
Former Boise State offensive lineman Nate Potter became the program’s fifth new hire in late January. He replaced longtime assistant Kent Riddle as tight ends coach and also will serve as run game coordinator.
This story was originally published March 23, 2022 at 2:15 PM.
