Presented by HANDYMAN CONNECTION.
Thursday, April 10, 2014.
Don’t let the stats from the last scrimmage fool you—you may see some quarterbacks breaking loose on the ground at this Saturday’s Blue & Orange Game. Boise State’s QBs were running last Saturday, Grant Hedrick and Tommy Stuart in particular. Officials were instructed to blow the whistle on first touch when the QBs carried the ball. That created some pseudo-sacks—and some premature endings to some nice scrambles. The Bronco coaching staff took the shackles off Hedrick, and he looked good. The senior starter had one touchdown run whistled short of the goal line on what would have been an easy score. Stuart looked like he wanted to run much of the time last Saturday. Sometimes it was “happy feet” mode, but you can tell he has the skills.
Coach Bryan Harsin isn’t going to shy away from running Hedrick just for the sake of protecting him. “We’ll run him, because he’s got the ability to do that,” Harsin said matter-of-factly as spring football got underway last month. Many wonder why Hedrick didn’t tote the ball much last season after the Nevada game, considering his skills. He logged eight carries for 115 yards and two touchdowns in the win over the Wolf Pack after he took over for the injured Joe Southwick, with the scoring scampers covering 20 and 14 yards. Ironically, Hedrick had exactly 115 rushing yards combined the rest of the season, with a single-game best of just 24. The Broncos clearly wanted to keep Hedrick healthy, but not utilizing that dimension of the offense hurt them.
Aaron Baltazar, who by most accounts left Boise State by mutual consent last December, has elected to transfer to Washington State according to fan site Coug247. Baltazar played as a true freshman last season, so he has a redshirt year available. He’ll use that this year, as he has to sit out as a transfer. Baltazar was outstanding for the Broncos before a knee injury ended his season against Southern Miss at the end of September. His high point came at Fresno State, when he helped Boise State nearly topple the Bulldogs, rushing for 92 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries. Looks like Baltazar will be a junior wearing crimson and gray when the Cougars visit the blue turf in 2016.
Randy Trautman’s memorial service at Boise State has been appropriately placed this afternoon. Family, friends and colleagues will gather at the Allen Noble Hall of Fame Gallery, with lots of former Bronco players coming to town for Blue & Orange Game festivities. I mentioned this when we learned of Trautman’s death last month, and I hear Boise State will appropriately honor him. But I’ll repeat this appeal: apply a decal with the numeral “70” on Bronco helmets this season. Trautman, the only person out of Boise State ever to be named to the College Football Hall of Fame, was the face of the Bronco defense from 1978-81.
Graham DeLaet becomes the first Boise State grad ever to play in the Masters when he tees off at 10:31 a.m. our time. One of DeLaet’s practice rounds at Augusta was rained out Monday, and his mini-tour in the Masters’ annual Par 3 Contest isn’t going to provide much preparation for what he’s going to experience today. He has been tutored on the famed course by fellow Canadian Mike Weir, the 2003 Masters champion. DeLaet admitted at his Boise State celebration event two weeks ago that butterflies will be flitting aplenty when he lines up that first tee shot this morning.
It would have been hard to deny William Rapuzzi a spot on the ECHL All-Rookie Team this season. The Idaho Steelheads forward was named to that six-man squad yesterday, as voted on by league coaches, broadcasters and media. Rapuzzi leads the Steelheads with 57 points, a number that is also tops in the ECHL. With two games remaining at Utah this weekend, Rapuzzi has a three-point lead over three other contenders. He’s also the ECHL rookie leader in assists, power-play assists and power-play points.
Former Boise Hawk Josh Donaldson was involved in a bench-clearing skirmish yesterday. The Oakland third baseman got in a shouting match with Minnesota closer Glen Perkins after striking out the 10th inning. The confontration didn’t go anywhere. Donaldson had hit an RBI double early in the A’s 7-4 11-inning victory and went 2-for-5 in the game. He’s has a career .400 average against the Twins, his best against any American League opponent. Oakland manager Bob Melvin hopes yesterday is a good sign. Even with that, Donaldson is hitting only .194 so far this season.
There are some who predicted Donaldson’s struggles. From "Enemy Lines" in Sports Illustrated's Baseball Preview issue, a rival scout sized up the A's and said, "I don't think Josh Donaldson will repeat his 2013. He'll still be a threat, but people have figured him out a little. He has a high leg kick, and the best way to get those guys out is to disrupt their rhythms." Donaldson came up big last year, hitting .286 with 24 home runs and 87 RBI for the AL West champions.
At the awards table today are Boise State’s Samantha Martin and the College of Idaho’s Hillary Holt. Martin has been named the Mountain West Women’s Golfer of the Week after tying for first at the Cowgirl Classic in Maricopa, AZ. The Bronco sophomore broke a school record with a four-under 68 in the second round of that tournament. Holt has been named national NAIA Runner of the Week for the sixth time in her career after clocking the fastest women’s collegiate 1500-meters of the season, a 4:16.75 at the Stanford Invitational. The Meridian native also broke the C of I school record in the 800 in the meet.
Thoughts and prayers go out to Gene Bleymaier and his family. The former Boise State athletic director lost his older brother to ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) last week. There was a short obituary for Ted Bleymaier in the Statesman Tuesday, but that doesn’t tell the story. After playing football at Stanford, Ted went on to serve in the Air Force, then became deeply involved in Christian causes and inspirational speaking. He read Gehrig’s 1939 Yankee Stadium farewell speech at a Triple-A Nashville Sounds game last summer. Ted Bleymaier was 64 years old.
This Day In Sports…brought to you by ZAMZOW’S…nobody knows like Zamzow’s!
April 10, 1962: It’s the grand opening of Dodger Stadium in the hills above downtown Los Angeles, but the home team loses 6-3 to the Cincinnati Reds. The Dodgers had played their first four seasons in California at the L.A. Coliseum. Now, Dodger Stadium has stood the test of time. Chavez Ravine worked some magic most of that summer for the Dodgers, who would go into September with a healthy lead over rival San Francisco. But the Giants would catch them on the final day of the season—then beat them in a three-game playoff for the National League pennant.
(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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