Boise State’s 4-year starting QB leaves team after coordinator change, rocky start to season
Quarterback Hank Bachmeier is no longer a member of the Boise State football team.
Bachmeier was not at practice on Tuesday, and he told ESPN’s Pete Thamel that he has initiated the transfer process.
The senior left the team to contemplate his next move just days after a brutal loss to 15-point underdog UTEP and head coach Andy Avalos’ firing of offensive coordinator Tim Plough, according to a spokesperson for Boise State.
Redshirt freshman Taylen Green will start at quarterback Friday against San Diego State (6 p.m., FS1), Avalos said Tuesday.
Boise State defensive coordinator Spencer Danielson told reporters, “I wish Hank the best,” but also noted that he was “excited to see the rest of the guys step up in the room.”
Bachmeier has already graduated from Boise State and was pursuing a master’s degree. As such, he can enter the portal now if he wants. The senior has two years of eligibility remaining because he played in only four games this year, which means he’s still eligible to redshirt, and he still has the option of taking a COVID-19 year.
The NCAA offered players an extra year of eligibility because of the impact the virus had on the shortened 2020 season.
Green, 6-foot-6, 220-pound native of Lewisville, Texas, replaced a struggling Bachmeier in the first half of the season opener at Oregon State. He finished the game with 102 rushing yards, 74 of which came on a touchdown run, and completed 19-of-28 passes for 155 yards and an interception.
Bachmeier’s final game as a Bronco was Boise State’s 27-10 loss in El Paso, Texas, on Friday. It was Boise State’s first loss to the Miners in a series that dates back to 2000, and it was one of the Broncos’ worst offensive performances in years. They were held to 177 total yards.
Expectations were high for Bachmeier this year, but his fourth season as the Broncos’ starter was anything but smooth. He was benched after two interceptions and a fumble in the game at Oregon State, and he failed to generate much of anything at UTEP.
The senior seemed to find his rhythm against New Mexico and UT Martin, two teams the Broncos defeated easily. He threw three touchdown passes against the Lobos and two against the Skyhawks, hit on some big plays and was efficient, with just 16 incompletions combined in those wins.
Against UTEP, Bachmeier had 21 incompletions. He was 6-of-14 passing for just 16 yards in the first half, and finished the game 13-of-34 for 93 yards and a touchdown.
Bachmeier came to Boise State as one of the highest-rated recruits in program history. He was a four-star recruit coming out of Murrieta Valley High School in California, and he won the starting job as a true freshman in 2019.
He missed six games as a freshman because of injuries, but the Broncos went 7-1 in the games he started. Bachmeier missed two games in 2020 after he tested positive for COVID-19, and he played through a knee injury while leading the Broncos to a 7-5 record last season.
Boise State went 20-9 with Bachmeier as the starter. He ranks in the top 10 in program history in career passing yards (6,605, No. 7) and touchdown passes (41, No. 7).
Green came out of high school as a three-star recruit, and he enrolled early at Boise State, joining the Broncos in January 2021. He also had scholarship offers from San Diego State, Wyoming, Marshall, UTEP, Central Michigan, Illinois State, Missouri State, New Mexico State and Texas Southern.
In the commitment video he posted on Twitter in July 2020, Green said his decision came down to three Mountain West programs: San Diego State, which he praised for its tradition; Wyoming, which he called a program on the rise; and Boise State, which he noted was one of the most successful programs in the past 10 years.
This story was originally published September 27, 2022 at 1:09 PM.
