2007 Statistics

QUARTERBACK
Teams often lose as many players as Boise has on offense and can’t quite reach the same levels that next year. But trends here have been to reload, not just replace and then pray. Replacing most of the OL, though a challenge, won’t get the attention that the quarterback race here will. Coach Petersen will have to find his third starting QB in three off-seasons, with the legacy of guys like Dinwiddle, Zabransky and Tharpe promising another great hurler. The word from spring was how Bush Hamdan and Kellen Moore have separated themselves from Mike Coughlin and Nick Lomax. Moreover, Moore has been the most impressive, showing all of the traits that are needed to fit into the offensive style already established here. Where Hamdan has it over him is in experience, but the super-evaluative offensive minds here will possibly have Moore past Hamdan by summer. Moore, the Washington Gatorade Player of the Year (2006), set state prep records across the board and fits style-wise here with the way he plays already. Coughlin has progressed since looking pretty green as the supposed big-armed frosh sensation last year. But neither he nor Lomax, son of ex-St. Louis Cardinal QB legend Neil Lomax, has stood out with consistency to their flashes of superior skills (though, both are the largest in stature). It isn’t like any one of these candidates would let you down under center (maybe Lomax), but how much time it would take of real game reps to bring them up to the needed speed to run this offense at full throttle would be the difference between a decent season (Lomax and/or Coughlin) and a great one (Hamdan and/or Moore). We can see Hamdan winning the initial starts, but being placed on a short leash, at that.

RUNNING BACK
The backfield will be busy again with Heisman hopeful Ian Johnson back for his senior season. Johnson was utilized much more during the Bronco’s perfect season, getting 25% less carries and >700 less yards in ’07 than in ’06. He averages 5.96 ypc for his illustrious career, so why not give it to the moneyman so he can pay off his maximum amount in his farewell campaign. One reason Johnson was pared down was so freshman Jeremy Avery could get more touches. A bit quicker than Johnson, both Avery and D.J. Harper were broken in at Johnson’s expense, so the rotation seems to work, just not as well as when it’s Johnson, Johnson, Johnson…like in ’06. The fullback/H-Back is a bulldozer named Richie Brockel, a smart player who will be an asset in many roles. The experience in the backfield will help the new QB adjust.

RECEIVER / TIGHT END
The wide receivers also know of the system here and will be in the right place in a play’s development so the new QB can confidently place the ball where only Broncos can get it. Titus Young killed as a freshman…making great catches and downfield blocks, but also fumbling more than an acceptable amount. Austin Pettis also made a huge impact in his true freshman year…but the knock on the 6’3 Anaheim product is he runs backwards upon catching the ball, ostensibly to then dart forward and make extra yards by giving himself space to read the incoming tacklers. Pettis needs to get the sure yards first and not miss key first-down pick ups like he did last year. Jeremy Childs is expected back (suspended for plagiarism prior to Hawai’i Bowl last year) by summer, but he is officially off of the roster (all links!) at this juncture, serving a one-semester penalty. The WR corps can live without him if incoming frosh Chris Potter is all that he seems. Hawkins is a big senior who lives underneath as an outlet option, so his numbers will go up when the new QBs panic early. Vinny Perretta is a true spread-type of player, running it and catching it equally well (look for a few throws again, too). A shoulder injury kept Perretta out of the bulk of ’07, but he is ready after a great spring. Chris O’Neill was oft used as a backup, flying up the depth chart at tight end to secure this year’s spot. Tom Gallarda and Kyle Efaw both have the chops to be great Bronco TEs, too, but all are snarlers much more than they are blockers, hence the importance of Brockel.

OFFENSIVE LINE
Then there’s the line…a sure sticking point for every offensive dimension to either work or not. The lone returning starter, Andrew Woodruff, was out for spring ball. Ok, he is a sure starter, which is nice to know so that the other new bigmen can see extra face time on the first string. Funny thing is, Woodruff is the last “bigman” on the horizon when purveying the soon-to-be two-deep (only guy over 290lbs). The newbies are leaner and faster, a good thing for the faster pace this offense will adapt. Thomas Byrd has impressed this spring, enough to have the inside track at center over RS freshman Cory Yriate, a converted guard. The experience of Jon Gott as a three-year reserve will pay off as he can step in at the other guard spot. Paul Lucariello is ready for his shot after proving himself, too, over the past few years while behind the five guys who just left. Lucariello’s knee injury kept him from being last year’s center, but with Byrd and new tackle Garrett Pendergast, the younger guys may supplant Paul’s starting wishes. The left tackle looks like local Nate Potter, a nationally recognized recruit who, at 6’6, didn’t allow a sack as a prep senior. Matt Slater is another name filling the early two-deeps, so capable bodies are there already to make a decent line. "We have to [kind of] puzzle that whole thing together," coach Petersen said. "It's going to be a work in progress all the way up to our first game."

The new facet of a no-huddle pace to the offense will demand a whole new focus as third-year coordinator Bryan Harsin tries to implement this strategic wrinkle. It has gone pretty well, but a new QB and a new dimension like this can take time. With Harsin also the QBs coach, it’s almost better to have a new QB when doing this, kinda like why it is easier to teach a foreign language to a young child rather than an adult who is more likely to be confused from what they are used to. BSU should be able to take this in stride and go back to being in the 200-200 club (200 yards per game of both rushing and passing), which they were members of since 2004 prior to last year.

The results on this side of the ball with only four returning starters were encouraging, giving promise to improvements since nine guys with significant starting time are back for ’08. The reason for concern was seeing the last two foes score 39 and then 41 points in those losses, the first two-game losing streak since 2005 and only the third one in the past 10 years. So it has been back to basics this off-season, teaching the simple stuff over again and stressing the finishing of plays. "It's got to be that attitude that I'm going to die before I let that guy beat me," DC Justin Wilcox said. " We just need more consistency that way and we need to challenge some guys that way. In order for us to be good, that's what we need to do." Still, this was the best defense in the WAC in ’07 for most statistical categories; it just wasn’t to the caliber needed to get back to the BCS, a realistic goal if focus and determination can be instilled once again. The biggest “slip” was in the run stopping; though, allowing 130 yards per game on the ground is respectable and a good harbinger of things to come.

DEFENSIVE LINE
As a freshman, Ryan Winterswyk led the Bronco linemen in tackles and the team in TFLs. Freshman All-American Winterswyk went from being a safety in prep to DE here…oh my! He will start on the strongside (best place since he is the top run stuffer), as will incumbent Mike Williams. Williams has steadily increased his numbers as he climbed the depth chart, so expecting a double-digit sack total isn’t out of the question from the Sacramento native. Sean Bingham and Jarrell Root look like decent depth. Inside, Joe Bozikovich is the steady contributor while Phillip Edwards excelled enough last year to outpace Bozikovich in TFLs. Edwards is 10lbs bigger and a step or two faster than most of the other candidates for the tackle slots, giving Boise the sizable, athletic tackle who will stand up in games versus bigger BCS-aligned foes (that is hard to find on a mid-major). Steven Reveles and incoming frosh Greg Grimes (rare three-star prospect here) are nice for depth, so the line looks like it can be all it was last year.

LINEBACKER
The LBs are the same starting three, which will provide the new blood up front a proverbial safety net of sorts for small mistakes not to become too costly. Together, the four seniors (all played on the 13-0 squad) will have to show more if BSU is to get back to the top of the conference, especially since they have to prove the 20 rushing TDs allowed last year weren’t indicative of their profile as a group. "We need to take a step forward at that position," Petersen said. Smarty Kyle Gingg has steadily improved his numbers to make the middle his lurking command post. He and weakside guy Dallas Dobbs are as good against the run as they are versus the pass. Like Winterswyk, the strongside LB is a run-stuffer, too. Local SLB product Tim Brady is an ex-QB who has nice instincts and will take another step up the ladder of playing quality. Shield is an ex-track guy, so we need to see more big plays when he’s covering TEs and extra WRs. Powers knows the scene, and he will bring Derrell Acrey’s run-stopping along (Acrey was WAC Defensive Newcomer of the Year – Preseason of ’07). JUCO transfer Daron Mackey will push all to their max. You just have to like it when finishing so highly ranked for most team stats still makes the Bronco coaches find holes in the LBs performances from ’07. Truly, if the LBs improve even a bit, they will take the entire team up with them.

DEFENSIVE BACK
All-WAC corner Kyle Wilson is great when left alone on the outside. Starting there since 2006, he makes the sure tackle if he doesn’t break up the pass. Brandyn Thompson was one of five true froshes to play last year, so he seems logical as the replacement for Orlando Scandrick (early to NFL). Marcel Yates confirmed this during spring ball, but also said guys like CC-transfer Garcia Day could challenge and will be given the chance through summer. Safety Jeron Johnson was good enough to finish fifth on the team in tackles despite missing a third of the games with a hip injury. Classmate Jason Robinson stepped in nicely for Johnson and others last year, but like many safeties who come out of this potato palace, he is undersized for stopping larger teams if/when he enters the box. The rest of the names are unknown, and unlike many areas on the BSU squad, this position isn’t always so easily replaced. Newbie George Iloka is one name we know will emerge from the Bronco roster.

Knowing how much the off-season regiment revolved around relearning the essentials makes us think that improvements will come…if not seen, Boise still may have the best WAC defense this year, but the bar is set for playing major opponents, not the conference foes who rarely/never make it to the top 25. The line has some size, but the back seven plays a swarming, quick-paced style that gets 11 guys to seem like more. It works when on, but bigger, faster teams obviously have the advantage, still.