Here’s how a former Bronco hoops player ended up back at Boise State for football
Boise State basketball fans are likely familiar with the name Kobe Young. The 6-foot-7 redshirt senior hooped at Boise State for three years, seeing action in 52 games for the Broncos from 2022 to 2024.
When Young transferred to Cal State Fullerton last year, fans and athletic staff alike would be forgiven for thinking that was the last they’d see of him in a Bronco uniform.
So you can only imagine football head coach Spencer Danielson’s surprise when he received a text from Young a couple of weeks ago asking if he could join the Boise State football team.
“My exact thought was, ‘God, what are you doing?’ ” Danielson told reporters Friday at the topping-off ceremony for the North End Zone Project at Albertsons Stadium.
“I thought a lot about it and texted him back. And I remember even talking to my wife like, ‘Babe, I don’t know, I think God might be up to something.’ ”
Young was a three-star football recruit coming out of high school as a wide receiver and defensive lineman, but opted for basketball, where he was the No. 12 recruit out of Washington.
He was an impact bench player for the Broncos in 2022-23, shooting 42.4% from the field and averaging 1.7 rebounds and 1.4 points across 27 games.
Young and Danielson briefly chatted last year about the former joining the football team, but Danielson said it “wasn’t the time for us.”
But this time around? The Broncos could absolutely use a 6-foot-7 wide receiver.
Boise State returns just two of its top five receivers from 2024 — sixth-year player Latrell Caples (38 receptions) and redshirt senior Chase Penry (14) — having lost Cam Camper (58) to graduation and Prince Strachan (25) to the transfer portal.
“We obviously watched some of (Young’s) stuff from high school and were able to do some work on that, but obviously it was a few years ago,” Danielson said. “And I had really good talks with Leon Rice and his basketball coaching staff, just about Kobe; who he is as a person, how he works.”
Last week, Young announced on social media that he was returning to Boise State for the football program.
But, of course, there is the slight issue that Young hasn’t played competitive football since high school, almost five years ago. Danielson acknowledged that Young only has one year of eligibility, and if he’s going to earn his spot on the team, they’ll have to get him up to speed quickly this summer.
One of the significant challenges Danielson expects to face is transitioning Young’s conditioning from that of 40-minute basketball games to the repeated short bursts required in football. He also thinks Young will need to readjust to the physicality that football demands.
“We don’t have time to waste,” Danielson said. “Can we get him from where he is now to game one with all the information we’ve got? We really believe we can.”
