BoiseAlumn

O - Skill Positions

• WR Chris Potter
  No impact as a True Freshman.  Some buzz around campus.  Could see time in 09.
• TE Chandler Koch
  No impact as a True Freshman.  No news.
• QB Drew Hawkins
  Walk on.  Scout Team Offensive POTY.  May see rare field time in 09 in the right package.
• WR Drumgoole
  Did not come to Boise in the end.

OLine

• OT Tom Swanson
  No impact as a True Freshman.  Little buzz for 09.
• OT Fariji Wright
  No impact as a True Freshman.  Little buzz for 09.
• OG Joe Kellogg
  No impact as a True Freshman.  Little buzz for 09.
• OG Bernel Myers
  No impact as a True Freshman.  Little buzz for 09.
• OG Bronson Durant
  No impact as a True Freshman.  Little buzz for 09.
  Note: 2008 OLine recruits still need time to develop.  While I haven't heard much buzz around the campus any of these guys, I suspect that one (maybe two) of them will break into the lineup during 09.

DLine

• DT Greg Grimes
  No impact as a True Freshman.  Getting plenty of buzz for the 09 season.
• DT Darren Koontz
  No impact as a True Freshman.  Little buzz for 09.
• DE Spencer Gerke
  No impact as a True Freshman.  Little buzz for 09.

DB's

• MLB Byron Hout
  Hout saw plenty of playing time in '08.  But not at the MLB spot I expected, at DE.  Was a major contributor, but due to several DLine injuries.  We'll see if he gets the same kind of playing time in '09.  And if it's still at the DE position.
• WLB Daron Mackey
  No impact as a True Freshman.  Little buzz for 09.
• CB Jamar Taylor
  No impact as a True Freshman.  Little buzz for 09.
• CB Raphiel Lambert
  No impact as a True Freshman.  Little buzz for 09.
• S Tyler Jackson
  No impact as a True Freshman.  Little buzz for 09.
• S George Iloka
  WOW!  Who expected the kind of year Iloka would have last year.  Left HS early to try and make an early impact, and dang if he didn't!  Will likely be a 4 year starter now.  Still has lot's of room to improve!!!
• S Tommy Smith
  No impact as a True Freshman.  Little buzz for 09.

Yesterday (Feb 4) was the National LOI day.  Once again I attended the Boise St LOI Day show, this time at the Stueckle Sky Club.  The BAA and KIDO did a marvelous job putting this together, and since it was a very enthusiastic sell-out crowd, I would consider it a big success.

Now about the recruits...

This recruiting class is by far the best that has ever come into Boise.  And they are the best, top to bottom.  For the first time this year, we've seen recruits get re-evaluated higher after giving a verbal to Boise.  Far to often in the past, giving a verbal to Boise would mean a lower re-evaluation by the recruiting sites.  This is a good sign that Boise's program is finally starting garner respect.

What was amazing this year, over years past, is that over half of the recruits gave a verbal commitment to Boise prior to the season starting.  That has never happened here at Boise.  Another amazing thing this year is that Boise didn't lose any of the recruits late to other teams, which happened to a few of our recruits last year.  Overall, we only lost one recruit to another team (PAC) and that happened very early on.  So the coaches not only did a marvelous job of getting the recruits they were going after, but retaining them once the verbal was made.

And the last important note to make about the recruiting class this year is that we won the battle for recruits more often then not over other teams.  Some of the most significant were recruits that chose Boise over other teams (that had offered) like Utah, Tulsa, Stanford, Harvard, Wash St, Washington, Oregon St, Oregon and UCLA.  This year, not only did we compete well for recruits against other good non-BCS schools, but we competed well against some good BCS schools.

So here's a look at the recruits themselves...

Offense, skills...

• Joe Southwick, QB. 
  Joe reminds me of Dinwiddie.  Great QB with good decision making skills.  Pretty mobile (but not necessarily a dual-threat type).  Great arm and accurate to boot.  Will redshirt first year for sure.
• Trevor Peterson, TE. 
  Trevor played a lot of fullback in HS, so much of his highlight reel shows him at that position.  Good runner with the ball and hard to bring down.  Good blocker.  Very intelligent player.  Should be great at TE, but needs to develop.  Will probably redshirt.
• Malcolm Johnson, RB. 
  MJ is just plain exciting to watch.  His highlight reel is amazing.  Had a 450+ yard single game outing as a senior.  Rushed for about 2700 yards on about 280 carries.  Crunch those numbers!  I'm excited about this RB!!!
• Gabe Linehan, TE. 
  Gabe is listed as a SLB on the recruiting sites, but coaches said he'll play TE at Boise.  Not sure how he'll develop there, but could be a pleasant surprise.  Right now he's a bit of an unknown.
• Kirby Moore, WR. 
  What can I say about Kirby that hasn't already been said.  HS numbers are gaudy!  A great route runner, but a little slow off the line.  Knows how to get open though and has great hands.  Will likely see some playing time early.
• Mike Tamburo, QB. 
  #1 QB in Atlanta.  Recruited heavily by other non-BCS schools, but chose Boise.  Decent as a passer, but has a great set of wheels.  A definite dual-threat QB who will likely see playing time in certain packages.
• Aaron Burks, WR. 
  Aaron is already in Boise, going the Iloka route of graduating HS early in an effort to get early playing time at Boise.  We'll see how that works out.  Big and fast, but takes a little time to get to top speed.  Has big play potential.
• Geraldo Hiwat, WR.
  Another big WR (did Boise intentionally go after big receivers this year?)!  Has only played 11-man football for a year.  Has tremendous upside potential, depending on what the coaches at Boise can do with him.

Offensive, line...

• Jake Broyles, OT.
  Incredibly smart kid in the classroom (4.45 gpa) as well as on the field.  Loves to hit though (doesn't take brains for that).  Should develop nicely in college.
• Bryant Thomas, OG.
  Good lineman with good blocking skills.  Plays a little high and needs to develop more at the next level.  Will probably greyshirt.
• Charles Leno, OT.
  The highlight reels on Charles were nothing short of amazing.  Run-blocked extremely well.  Blows DL's off the line and loves to get down-field for 2nd and 3rd hits.  Plays with great lower body for leverage and balance.  Will be a good one!

Defensive, line...

• Nicholas Alexander, DE.
  Great kid.  Has a real respect for the coaches and is a real student of the game.  Grandfather played for the Vikings and has been a positive influence.  Played OL a lot in HS and only converted to DE his senior year.  Still needs to develop, but has the heart and drive and motor to be a great one!
• Justin Jungblut, DE.
  Big, big DE.  Some think he should convert to OL, but Boise doesn't plan on doing that.  Great motor, tremendous drive.  Will likely move to DT as he gets bigger.
• Kharyee Marshall, DE.
  Small as DE's go, but still growing.  Fast off the ball, great pass-rusher!  Still tons of room to develop.  Could be great.
• Rickey Tjong-a-Tjoe, DT.
  Has played only 1 year of 11-man football.  Has tremendous upside potential, but still green in the trenches.  Technique needs work, but with good coaching will be great.

Defensive, secondary...

• Winston Venable, S
  JC All-American.  Is a real ball-hawk.  Fast side-to-side and likes to aggresively attack the ball.  Very physical player.
• John Michael Davis, SLB
  After watching highlight reels on JMD, all I can say is WOW.  How did we land this guy?  Tremendous player.  Has played first string all 4 years of HS.  A real nose for the ball.  Loves to get in the backfield and break up plays early.  Will be a great one at the next level.
• Allen Mooney, MLB
  Not much to go on his Senior year as he spent much of it off the field injured.  Still highly regarded as a MLB, even with the lack of playing time this year.  Only 5'11", but plays a lot bigger.  Moves well to the ball and sheds blockers easily.  Between Mooney and JMD, I am very excited about the LB corp for the next few years!
• Quaylon Ewing, CB
  Decent cover guy.  Great in special teams play.  Still needs time to develop at the next level, but could be a good one!
• Ebo Makinde, CB
  Small and fast.  Will cover well.  Could be a problem with bigger receivers.  Still needs to develop.
• Jonathon Brown, S
  Very under-rated player in HS.  Big hitter - very physical player.  Just what you want in a safety.  Stands at 6'1", but has a 6'7" wingspan (is that good or bad?)!  I'm excited about this one!

Overall...

I can't wait to see how the skill position players pan out, but I'm most excited about the Linebackers and DE's we've got coming in.  These guys are special and our defense will be good for years to come.  Things don't always pan out as we want them too, but then again, sometimes they pan out better then we had hoped.  Overall quality of this recruiting class is high, and is a good sign of things to come for Boise!!!

Go Broncos!

Now that NLI Day has come and gone, how does Boise's recruiting class of 2008 look?

Well, to begin with, by the numbers it was not as good as 2007, which was the best year Boise has had in terms of recruiting nationally rated players.  But then again, Boise has never been big on recruiting on the tangibles (which is what goes into the rating calculations).  Boise has been successful in the past in recruiting players that have heart, and great work ethic, and is a good fit for the Boise system.  And that takes time to see if those types of players truly develop into the play-makers that Boise has enjoyed developing in the past.

Breaking down the recruits for 2008...

This year, Boise needed to focus on the OLine and Defense.  And that they did - with only 2 players coming in for Skill Positions.

• WR Chris Potter looks to be another Peretta type.  As an ex-QB, this kid will be very versatile.
• TE Chandler Koch looks to pick up where Shuman left off.  Smart, good blocker, and soft hands.
• Note: RB Lambert will likely be used on Defense
• Note: WR Drumgoole will be a special teams specialist.  May develop into a Gilligan type of player!

OLine

• OT Tom Swanson looks to be the next Ryan Clady.  Big kid, still developing, with a lot of upside potential.
• OT Fariji Wright will be more like a Tad Miller.  Great heart and works hard.  May move to OG.
• OG Joe Kellogg.  In run blocking, likes to put people on their back.  Great guard, but may move to OT.
• OG Bernel Myers.  Strong and fast.  Likes to get downfield during run blocking.
• OG Bronson Durant.  Feels he was overlooked during the recruiting process.  Chip on his shoulder already?  Cool!

DLine

• DT Greg Grimes.  This guy could be the next Dennis Ellis (Oh how I miss that guy).  Mean, big and fast.  Just what Boise needs!
• DT Darren Koontz.  Decent size with good upside potential.  Just needs to continue to develop.
• DE Spencer Gerke.  Local boy with a love of the game.  Pretty fast on the end, which is always good.

DB's

• MLB Byron Hout could be the next Kory Hall - only better!  Has the same passion and fire and love of the game that Kory did, only better numbers coming out of HS.  If he continues to develop, could be a great one!
• WLB Daron Mackey.  The next Colt Brooks?  With only 2 years left of eligibility, can't afford to miss a beat!
• CB Jamar Taylor.  Right size for the position, good speed, good reaction time.  May step into line-up early.
• CB Raphiel Lambert.  Same as Jamar.  Played both ways in HS so we'll see how he transitions to defense only.
• S Tyler Jackson.  Decent size, very fast.  Has knack for making big plays - like Tadman.
• S George Iloka.  Big!  And Fast!!!  Next Gerald Alexander?  We can hope.
• S Tommy Smith.  Last second grab.  Also Big!  We'll see how he works in.

Coaches speak highly of many of these players - which we would expect.  Only time will tell us how they develop.  I see 1 or 2 getting to see significant playing time right away, and only on defense.  Possibly Grimes.

The significant developments this year to note were the losses in recruiting that Boise had.  In the past, Boise typically did not go after players they couldn't land.  If they did go after them and didn't get them, it's because they lost them to bigger and better schools.  This year, Boise lost several players - after they made verbal commitments to Boise (signficant) - to mediocre or lowly BCS and non-BCS schools.  This was an unprecendent year for losing commits.  Hope it doesn't continue into the future!

Personal evaluation of this class?  I like what we are seeing in certain positions.  DLine, LB's, Safeties all look very promising!  Overall, I'm happy with this class.  Not ecstatic, but happy.