College football awards: Which Boise State players have a chance to win some hardware?
Opening weekend of the college football season is a little more than a month away.
That means teams all over the country are preparing for fall camp. Boise State opens camp on Aug. 3, and the Broncos open the season Sept. 3 at Oregon State.
With football season right around the corner, that also means award watch list season is upon us.
The NCAA hands out annual awards for the top players at just about every position: from the Davey O’Brien Award, which recognizes the top quarterback in the country, to the Patrick Mannelly Award, which goes to the top long snapper.
Several Boise State players have already seen their names show up on watch lists. This story will be updated every time a Bronco makes a list.
WR Stef Cobbs
Paul Hornung Award (most versatile player)
Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award (offensive player of the year)
Cobbs earned a spot on the weekly Paul Hornung Honor Roll last season after scoring on an 81-yard punt return and a 61-yard catch in Boise State’s home win over UTEP. The 6-foot, 187-pound redshirt senior was slowed by a nagging ankle injury last fall, but he appeared in nine games and posted career highs in receptions (34), receiving yards (421) and touchdown catches (5).
K Jonah Dalmas
Lou Groza (best kicker)
Dalmas — a former walk-on, who starred in football and soccer at Rocky Mountain High — set Boise State’s single-season record with 26 made field goals last season. Now a junior, he earned honorable mention All-Mountain West honors in 2020 and was a first-team all-conference pick last season. He was named a third-team preseason All-American by Athlon Sports earlier this month.
DT Scott Matlock
Outland Trophy (best lineman)
Chuck Bednarik Award (best defensive player)
Matlock — a 6-foot-4, 305-pound fifth-year senior from Homedale — led Boise State with seven sacks last season and posted career highs in tackles (41) and tackles for loss (8.5). He put on 15 pounds in the offseason and was named to the preseason All-Mountain West team at media days in Las Vegas.
OT John Ojukwu
Outland Trophy (best lineman)
Wuerffel Trophy (community service, academic and athletic achievement)
Ojukwu — a 6-6, 300-pound Boise native — is heading into his fifth season as a starter on Boise State’s offensive line. He started at right tackle in 2018 and 2019 and replaced former Bronco Ezra Cleveland (Vikings) at left in 2020. Ojukwu was the only member of Boise State’s offensive line to start every game at the same position last season. He joined Matlock on the preseason All-Mountain West team.
S JL Skinner
Jim Thorpe Award (best defensive back)
Bronco Nagurski Award (best defensive player)
Skinner decided to pass on the NFL Draft earlier this year, but he’ll almost certainly hear his named called next year. The 6-4, 220-pound San Diego native led Boise State with 92 tackles and posted career highs in tackles for loss (7), interceptions (2) and passes defended (7) last season. He also forced two fumbles and recovered three, earning second-team All-Mountain West honors. Skinner joined Matlock and Ojukwu on this year’s preseason All-Mountain West team.
RB George Holani
Maxwell Award (best player in the country)
Doak Walker Award (best running back)
Holani posted 1,014 rushing yards and 10 total touchdowns as a true freshman in 2019, but he has been slowed by injuries the past two seasons. The 5-11, 208-pound native of Bellflower, California, missed almost all of the 2020 season with a knee injury and three games last fall with a hamstring injury. Despite the injuries, Holani led Boise State with 569 rushing yards last season.
BSU Notes
▪ Ten Boise State players were announced as part of the Shrine 1,000, which is the East-West Shrine Bowl’s list of the top 1,000 players in the country eligible for the game.
Holani was joined on offense by quarterback Hank Bachmeier, Ojukwu and fellow offensive lineman Cade Beresford, and Cobbs. Skinner and Matlock were joined on defense by safety Tyreque Jones, cornerback Tyric LeBeauf and edge rusher George Tarlas.
This story was originally published July 25, 2022 at 11:44 AM.
