Two iron men have held down Boise State’s O-line. Reinforcements could be on the way
When Ben Dooley wakes up the morning after a game, there’s only one way to describe how he feels: “Sore.”
Most college football players likely wake up on Sunday mornings feeling that way, but Dooley has more of a reason than most. Boise State’s sixth-year left guard has been an iron man for the Broncos this season, not missing a single game in a season full of offensive line injuries.
And it’s not just Dooley who’s holding down the fort. Redshirt sophomore left tackle Kage Casey has also played every game this year.
The Broncos have dealt with injuries to starting center Mason Randolph and right guard Roger Carreon, both of whom went down with long-term problems early in the season. Carreon’s backup, redshirt junior Tyler Keinath, was injured against San Jose State last weekend.
“It’s been huge,” Boise State offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter said earlier this week when speaking about Dooley and Casey. “Having the stability with those two, and the fact that they’re such good players and such good leaders on top of that.”
As you can imagine, playing nearly every offensive snap in a run-heavy offense is a taxing task for a lineman. While Sundays are for relaxing, Dooley and Casey are in the training room first thing Monday morning to rehab and begin preparations for the following weekend.
“We have almost every gadget that you can think of in that training room,” Dooley said. “I get hooked up on as many of those as I can, do some exercises, strengthening and stability stuff, to make sure all those things are firing the way they should be.”
The left side of the offensive line remaining healthy has been crucial for the Broncos to keep playing how they want — with the ball in star running back Ashton Jeanty’s hands.
Jeanty enjoyed a 36-yard rushing touchdown against San Jose State last weekend from running down a gap on the left created by Dooley and Casey. Whenever he breaks through to score a touchdown like that, the pair usually don’t get to see it. They’re typically in a heap on the ground from blocking, or still in the process of flattening their man to clear the way.
“I’ll hear, like, a ‘whoosh.’ He’s fast, you know?” Dooley laughed. “So I’ll put my guy on the ground. I’ll look up, and he’s close to the end zone.”
Dooley doesn’t think he’s doing anything special to stay on the field, instead just putting it down to luck. “If you get someone 300 pounds kind of going into your knee the wrong way, there isn’t much training or prep,” he said.
Offensive line coach Tim Keane sees it a little differently. He noted that if you check out Casey’s Instagram, he often has clips on his story doing stretching and mobility routines in the evening.
“When they get up in the morning, they probably look like they just got out of a car accident. So it says a lot about them. They’ve put a ton of investment into their body,” Keane said. “That’s paying dividends. That shows how committed those guys have been to trying to stay on the field for as long as they can.”
Reinforcements are on the way
Despite the offensive line injuries, the Broncos have fought to a 9-1 record, a perfect 6-0 record in the Mountain West, and hold a first-round bye spot in the College Football Playoff projections.
Now, a couple of key offensive linemen are getting closer to returning.
On Thursday, Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson said that Carreon and Randolph are “working their tails off to get back.”
Carreon was forced to leave early in the 37-34 loss to Oregon in the second game of the season, while Randolph was injured in the season opener at Georgia Southern. Carreon returned to practice last week; Randolph’s injury was classified as season-ending for much of the season. But maybe not.
“Mason’s got a shot at getting back. We’ll see what happens. There’s a lot that goes into that one, with him being hurt in the first game,” Danielson said. “They’re getting close, and as we get to the end of the season, we’re going to make some decisions. Obviously, first and foremost, are they medically ready to play? And then from there, we’ll make decisions on if they will (play) or not.”
If the Broncos get their entire offensive line back, it could be perfect timing heading into the postseason. The only game this year with all five starters playing resulted in 56 points and 651 total yards of offense, with Jeanty scoring six touchdowns.
Boise State at Wyoming
When: 5 p.m. Mountain time Saturday
Where: War Memorial Stadium (29,181, turf); Laramie, Wyoming
TV: CBS Sports Network
Radio: KBOI 670 AM and KBOI 93.1 FM/Sirius XM Ch. 162 or 201 (Bob Behler, Pete Cavender)
Records: Boise State 9-1, 6-0; Wyoming 2-8, 2-4
Series: Boise State leads the series 17-1
Vegas line: Boise State by 23 points
Weather: High of 55, low of 34, humidity 40%, partly cloudy with gusty winds, 5% chance of rain or snow
