3 head coaches, 5 coordinators, COVID, injury: Boise State WR has seen it all
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- Latrell Caples likely plays his final home game on Boise State’s blue field.
- Caples overcame redshirt year, Achilles tear and coaching changes to lead receivers.
- Boise State will honor 20 seniors as team playoff hopes fade after recent loss.
Latrell Caples has been at Boise State University for quite some time.
When he first arrived on campus in the summer of 2020 as a fresh-faced freshman, Khalil Shakir was lining up as a wide receiver for the Broncos and Hank Bachmeier was just entering his second year at quarterback.
Bryan Harsin was the head coach, and student-athletes wouldn’t be allowed to be paid through Name, Image, and Likeness for at least another year.
And for one of the first hangouts along with the other incoming freshmen, Caples spent an afternoon with his teammates eating pizza on the ground floor of the Lincoln Garage, just south of Albertsons Stadium. Everyone was forced to stay outside, practice social distancing and wear masks — well, except to eat the pizza — as the COVID-19 pandemic was in full force.
“It’s been wild,” said Caples, now in his sixth and final year at Boise State.
Caples took questions Tuesday afternoon in the Bleymaier Football Center’s recruiting lounge, which has floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook Albertsons Stadium.
“Yeah, it’s hit me, it could be my last game on The Blue,” Caples said as he stared out at the field where he’s created countless memories over the last half-decade, including scoring a touchdown as the Broncos won the 2024 Mountain West championship game at home.
“I’ve been really emotional coming into this week. This place means a lot to me.”
Caples will be one of 20 student-athletes honored Saturday afternoon by Boise State (6-4, 4-2 Mountain West) ahead of its Senior Night game against Colorado State (2-8, 1-5), one of the league’s worst teams.
Following last weekend’s 17-7 loss to San Diego State, the Broncos’ chances of hosting the Mountain West championship game are close to nil even if they make it. That means Saturday’s game, which kicks off at 5 p.m., should be the final one on The Blue for a lot of the roster.
And no player on that roster has seen more of The Blue than Caples. He’s one of just two sixth-year players on the squad. The other is running back Malik Sherrod, who spent five years at Fresno State before transferring to Boise State for his final season.
“Latrell Caples is a young man that I have the utmost respect for,” head coach Spencer Danielson said Monday, his voice thick with emotion. “... I believe that the best is still to come for him in this life because of who he is, and this will be home for him forever.”
It’s not been the easiest six years for Caples in Idaho’s capital.
He redshirted his freshman year, when he was part of a wide receiver corps that included the likes of Stefan Cobbs and future Buffalo Bills draft pick Shakir. Caples became a regular starter in 2022, his redshirt sophomore year, and led the team in receptions (51) and yards receiving (549). But then he tore his Achilles tendon during the 2023 fall camp and missed the entire season.
He returned to action in 2024, featuring in 13 games as the Broncos qualified for the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history, and finishing with 38 catches for 473 yards and five touchdowns on a team that featured running back Ashton Jeanty.
He is one of the team’s leading receivers again in 2025, with 393 yards and three touchdowns on a team-high 33 receptions.
“(Caples) epitomizes the toughness and that mentality that you want within a program, how intelligent he is as a player,” offensive coordinator Nate Potter said Monday. “We asked him to do a lot of different things, on special teams as well, and he just goes out and does it.”
Caples also has gone through three head coaches — Harsin, Andy Avalos and Danielson — and five offensive coordinators. He said Danielson has had one of the biggest impacts on his career, and was the first coach to reach out to him after his Achilles injury, despite Danielson being the defensive coordinator at the time
Caples said Danielson has been good about pushing him since becoming head coach.
“Perseverance is one thing, patience is another one,” Caples said, when asked what he’s learned from his time at Boise State. “College football now is not a lot about developing anymore. I feel like in my years here, I’ve developed a lot.”
It’s still unclear where Caples’ future lies beyond Boise State. He doesn’t have NFL buzz, and thanks to injuries and playing in a run-centric offense, he doesn’t have his name in the BSU record books.
But that hasn’t stopped him from leaving his stamp on the program and those around him.
“He’s maybe not getting the targets and stuff that he deserves,” redshirt senior center Mason Randolph said on Tuesday. “But that’s a guy that’s going to go out there and bleed for this brotherhood, play one to play 90.”
Colorado State at Boise State
- When: 5 p.m. Mountain time Saturday
- Where: Albertsons Stadium (32,796, turf)
- TV: Fox Sports 1 (Chris Myers, Spencer Tillman)
- Radio: KBOI 670 AM / 93.1 FM (Bob Behler, Pete Cavender)
- Records: Boise State 6-4, 4-2; Colorado State 2-8, 1-5
- Series: Boise State leads the series 12-1
- Betting line: Boise State by 16.5
- Weather: 55 degrees, partly cloudy, 6% chance of rain
