Trick plays aside, Boise State’s special teams still have work to do
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Boise State special teams staff accepted blame for fake punt touchdown gaffe
- 2024 performance marked by low rankings in punt return and return defense stats
- Kickers untested in opener as offense failed to finish drives in scoring range
The blame game is still being played among the Boise State football coaching staff after South Florida was able to sneak a backup quarterback on the field to drop a 45-yard touchdown pass on a fake punt.
However, the only fingers people are pointing are being pointed at themselves.
Boise State special teams coordinator Stacy Collins met with the media for the first time since the game on Wednesday and put the blame squarely on himself.
“I didn’t do a good enough job of getting that done, getting that relay, getting a call check, or getting a timeout call for Coach D,” Collins said about the play, which saw USF third-string freshman QB Jackson Hewlett line up as a punter before dropping a dime of a pass.
The reception on the play was made by the Bulls’ Keshaun Singleton, a starting wide receiver who was lined up out wide. It made the score 17-7, and Boise State went on to lose 34-7.
“That’s 100% on me,” Collins said.
Head coach Spencer Danielson blamed himself after the game, saying he didn’t notice South Florida’s backup QB was on the field until it was too late. He reiterated that Wednesday, saying that as the head coach, the blame falls on him.
Regardless, one thing is certain: Boise State’s special teams unit is a work in progress.
In 2024, Boise State ranked 33rd in the nation for average yards on kickoff returns (22.3), but also ranked 119th in punt returns (4.4), 123rd in punt return defense (14.7) and 98th in kickoff return defense (22.2).
Even the typically reliable field goal kicker struggled in 2024, with the now-graduated Jonah Dalmas hitting a career-low 72.2% (13-of-18) of his attempts.
Improving the special teams’ effectiveness was a significant point of the offseason for Boise State, so much so that the Broncos were happy to have sixth-year Fresno State transfer Malik Sherrod as the team’s new kick returner.
However, South Florida’s trick play aside, things didn’t look much better for the special teams on Thursday night.
Sherrod returned two kickoffs in his debut, for 17 and 16 yards, respectively, and he was unable to get past the Boise State 20-yard line on either. Redshirt senior Luke Voorhees also had one kickoff return for six yards.
“We’ve got to get guys that can block and win their one-on-ones,” Danielson said. “If I’m on kickoff return and Malik has four guys chasing him down, that’s not good for the Broncos.”
Down on the other end of the field, the coaching staff didn’t seem too keen to put one of the new kickers out in a pressure situation.
Following Dalmas’ graduation, Boise State brought in freshman kicker Canaan Moore and redshirt junior kicker Colton Boomer, a transfer from the University of Central Florida. Neither player had the chance to attempt a field goal, with Boise State turning the ball over in USF territory either via a fumble or on downs on five occasions.
Danielson said in the immediate aftermath of the game that the decision to keep the offense on the field for fourth down was because they were short-yardage situations with his team more than one possession down. One of them came when a field goal would have cut the deficit to 17-10 in the third quarter.
Collins said Wednesday that kicking was inconsistent in fall camp and that Boomer was out for over a week an injury.
If there’s one positive for the special teams, it’s that Boomer looked good on kickoffs. He sent both of his through the back of the end zone for a touchback, which was something that Danielson was looking for more consistently last year.
Boise State will have a chance to tune up its special teams units on Friday in the home opener against Eastern Washington, an FCS team, before taking a break for the first bye week of the season.
“We’ve got to create more buy-in on special teams,” Danielson said. “... We made it very clear, if you don’t give effort on special teams, you’re not going to be playing on offense or defense.”
Boise State vs. Eastern Washington
- When: 7 p.m. Friday
- Where: Albertsons Stadium (33,000, turf)
- TV: FS1 (Noah Reed, Robert Smith)
- Radio: KBOI 670 AM/KTIK 93.1 FM (Bob Behler, Pete Cavender)
- Records: Boise State 0-1; Eastern Washington 0-1
- Series: Boise State leads 13-6.
- Weather: 94 degrees, partly cloudy, 0% chance of rain
