He’s a top receiver and key blocker. What’s Boise State need from Matt Lauter at UNLV?
Boise State’s victory over Washington State in September was a career night for redshirt junior tight end Matt Lauter.
In one of Boise State’s biggest games of the season, Lauter caught a team-high four passes for 96 yards and scored two touchdowns as the Broncos defeated the Cougars 45-24.
Good night of work, right?
“He didn’t have his best blocking day against Wazzu. ... I was giving him a really hard time,” Boise State offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter said about a week after the game. “Because I told him, I get he’s a pass catcher, but remember, he’s also a blocker.”
Lauter has grown in the passing game as the season has progressed. He had just four receptions for 23 yards in the first two games before exploding for seven receptions and 91 yards against Portland State.
Through six games, Lauter has 20 receptions for 259 yards. He ranks behind only wide receiver Cam Camper in both categories.
While Koetter likes to see his tight end putting up big yards, he knows what makes this offense tick — junior running back Ashton Jeanty and the rushing attack. And for that to succeed, he needs blockers.
“There’s not a lot of run-first teams left. There’s Army, there’s Navy and Boise State,” Koetter said in September, only half-jokingly.
Nearly a month later, the Broncos find themselves among the top rushing teams in the nation. Army leads the country in rushing yards per game (359.1), followed by Boise State (289.8), UCF (280.3) and Navy (274.8).
Lauter takes pride in his receptions, he told the Idaho Statesman on Tuesday, but said he puts a lot of work into being good at both blocking and receiving.
“You don’t really find those complete tight ends, and that’s what I’m trying to be on the field,” Lauter said.
He understands the need to block will be critical Friday night, when Boise State (5-1, 2-0 Mountain West) plays at UNLV (6-1, 2-0) in a matchup that could decide which team hosts the conference title game.
The Rebels have the 19th-best run defense in the nation, allowing just 104.4 yards per game. That hasn’t stopped oddsmakers from putting Jeanty’s over/under for rushing yards at 196.5, and Lauter’s blocking will be key.
Jeanty averages more than 200 yards per game.
“They do a really good job on defense,” Lauter said. “They bring a lot of pressures and a lot of line movement, so I think running the ball is going to be super important. One of them slips out of their gap, big play.”
Boise State run game coordinator Nate Potter said he loves what the junior from San Diego brings to the Broncos’ offense.
“He has the ability to have an impact in the run game and the pass game, and he takes pride in doing the dirty work,” Potter said of Lauter. “He knows how impactful that is for the team. So I think that’s something that a lot of guys feed off of.”
UNLV vs. Boise State
When: 8:30 p.m. Mountain time Friday
Where: Allegiant Stadium
TV: CBS Sports Network (Rich Waltz, Robert Turbin, Tiffany Blackmon)
Radio: KBOI 670 AM and KBOI 93.1 FM/Sirius XM Ch. 162 or 201 (Bob Behler, Pete Cavender)
Records: Boise State 5-1, 2-0; UNLV 6-1, 2-0
Series: Boise State leads the series 9-3
Vegas line: Boise State by 3.5 points
Weather: Indoor arena
