Presented by HANDYMAN CONNECTION.
Tuesday, May 24, 2016.
All through the winter and much of the spring, it’s been all about who was going to succeed Lamar Miller as the feature back in Miami. Certainly it couldn’t be Jay Ajayi, could it? The former Boise State star kept, in effect, raising his hand. At the same time, the Dolphins looked near and far for another answer, signing C.J. Anderson to an offer sheet only to have Denver match it. They also flirted with James Starks of the Packers and Chris Johnson of the Cardinals, but they remained with their current teams. Miami even thought about the injured Arian Foster, the odd man out in Houston when the Texans signed Miller. Ajayi is still raising his hand, and now perhaps he’ll be called upon by coach Adam Gase.
Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com writes, “Gase has made it clear that the job is Ajayi’s to lose.” In fact, Gase’s review of Ajayi’s work was rather glowing in a radio interview the coach did recently. “(Ajayi’s) been one of those guys he’s been here every day,” said Gase. “He’s done everything right. You can tell he’s looking to improve. He doesn’t say much, just keeps working. The rest of that group has done a good job to try and keep up with him, but obviously he’s kind of separated himself from that group.”
That’s a good sign for Ajayi, who rushed for just 187 yards and one touchdown and added seven catches for 90 yards as a rookie last year. Then again, he was on injured reserve until Week 9 after suffering a broken rib in Miami’s final preseason game. Ajayi, still playing behind Miller, looked good when he got the chance. He was especially himself on his one TD run at San Diego, a spinning, tackle-breaking 12-yard dash.
This shirttails on the bit I had on Kellen Moore yesterday. It’s another ESPN.com list, this one “Players with most to prove for all 32 NFL teams.” In Dallas, it’s Tony Romo. Writes Todd Archer: “It’s not that Romo has to prove he is among the game’s best quarterbacks. He has done that. He has to prove he can stay healthy. He missed 12 games last season, one game in 2014 and one game in 2013. He turned 36 in April and is coming off collarbone surgery, but he is already doing everything in the offseason program. Because of the time missed last year, Romo is ahead of the game in terms of his strength and conditioning work, even with the surgery. The Cowboys were 1-11 without Romo in 2015, a sign of just how valuable he is.” Those with blue-colored glasses would say things would have been better had Dallas turned to Moore earlier.
On KTIK’s Bob & Chris Show yesterday, he and I debated which Cougars will give Boise State more trouble this season, BYU or Washington State. We had to take sides, so I went with BYU (even though it’s a tossup). The case for Wazzu is obvious—Luke Falk to Gabe Marks again and again, challenging a generally new Bronco defensive line to get enough pressure to disrupt them. But the “Y” has Eagle’s Tanner Mangum primed for his sophomore year (I think he’ll be the quarterback in late October rather than Taysom Hill). Mangum can hand off to Jamaal Williams, who returns to the BYU backfield after sitting out last year. Those Cougars are also better defensively than their Palouse counterparts, and they return safety Kai Nacua, he of the three interceptions against Boise State last September. I think I just convinced myself I’m right.
Through it all, everybody forgets about Louisiana-Lafayette, Boise State’s season-opening opponent on Labor Day weekend—on the road, with temperatures likely to be in the upper 80’s, with 80 percent humidity. Will the weather be the Broncos’ primary opponent? There’s a cloud hanging over the Ragin’ Cajuns that wasn’t there when they visited the blue turf in 2014. ULL at that time was the defending Sun Belt champion, but it had to vacate that title, along with 22 victories between 2011 and 2014 (including two bowl victories) in order to comply with an NCAA ruling regarding recruiting violations by a former assistant coach. That game may require an extra gear in the hype machine.
Former Boise State Bronco Thomas Bropleh is still pursuing his pro basketball ambitions. KBOI’s Paul J. Schneider tweeted yesterday that Bropleh was named an all-star at the Four Nations Tournament last week in China, averaging 11.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in eight games. Bropleh played for the NetScouts Basketball USA All-Stars, who won the title in the tournament played in three Chinese cities against China, Lithuania and Canada. NetScouts Basketball bills itself as the largest basketball scouting service in the world, providing “cost-effective scouting and consulting” for U.S. and international pro teams. Bropleh appeared in nine D-League games for the Texas Legends this past season, averaging 4.8 points per game.
One former Boise Hawk we haven’t checked in on yet this season is Pittsburgh’s Josh Harrison, who appears to be replicating his 2014 All-Star season. Harrison led the Pirates past the Colorado Rockies 6-3 yesterday in a game marred by Bucs’ starter Ryan Vogelsong being hit in the face with a pitch. Harrison went 2-for-4 and knocked in two runs, upping his average to .308. He has 23 RBIs and seven stolen bases this season. (Don’t look now, Cubs—the Pirates are five games back in the National League Central.)
This Day In Sports…brought to you by BACON. Brought to you be BERRYHILL.
May 24, 1981: In one of the most controversial Indianapolis 500 races ever, Bobby Unser crosses the finish line first at the Brickyard. But upon reviewing films, USAC officials penalized Unser one lap for illegally passing cars under a caution flag and declared Mario Andretti the winner. It was 4½ months later that the decision would once again be reversed and Unser would become the official 1981 Indy 500 winner.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment Sunday nights at 10:30PM on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra and anchors five sports segments each weekday on 93.1 The Ticket. He also served as color commentator on KTVB’s telecasts of Boise State football for 14 seasons.)
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