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Wednesday Weekly…July 23, 2025.
Four words that were uttered more than one at Mountain West Media Days in Las Vegas last week: “Sire Gaines is healthy.” Gaines, a redshirt freshman in eligibility, will be a focal point of a deep running backs group when fall camp opens next Monday. We remember his college debut, the day Ashton Jeanty made history, when Gaines had a 100-yard day of his own with one rushing touchdown and a receiving TD at Georgia Southern. And we remember the awkward leg injury against Portland State that didn’t look that bad at the time. Since then, Gaines doubled-down on his rehab and took a Jeanty-like approach to leadership. He saw what Malik Sherrod did during the spring game, and he’s fully aware of Breezy Dubar’s capabilities. Gaines is only happy to throw his hat in the ring in the battle for starting running back.
RESPECT FOR MADSEN
The Athletic has taken all 136 starting quarterbacks in the FBS this year—real or presumed—and ranked them in seven tiers. Of course, inquiring minds want to know where Boise State’s Maddux Madsen landed after being named Preseason Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year. The Athletic has Madsen in the third tier, No. 23 overall. He’s not only the top-ranked Mountain West QB, he’s tops in the Group of 5. Here’s what The Athletic says: “He doesn’t possess overwhelming physical traits, but he gets the ball out quickly and generally makes good decisions. Boise State will need that composure as it navigates life after star running back Ashton Jeanty.” Said a Group of 5 general manager: “(No Jeanty) will hurt the offense overall, I’m sure. But I think Madsen is talented and experienced.”
NOT TOO LATE FOR A BEN FORD BREAKOUT
Are we forgetting anybody when we try to think of who will step up at wide receiver for Boise State this year? There are new playmakers in that room—they just haven’t been identified yet. Well, maybe we’ve looked right past a veteran in the room: Ben Ford, the one-time Eagle High quarterback. Ford is already a redshirt senior, and word is he’s come on strong in summer workouts. It’s not like Ford’s been invisible. Heck, he had a 12-yard reception against Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl. It was only the fourth catch of Ford’s career (all of them last season), but do not sleep on Ben Ford. And odds are at least one true freshman will have to play at wideout, and the player to watch there is Qumonte Williams from Fort Worth. For those of you who miss Prince Strachan, Williams is 6-5, 197 pounds. And he has the skills to match.
RANDOLPH HAS MADE AN IMPRESSION
Out of the record 10 Boise State players named preseason All-Mountain West at Media Days in Las Vegas last week, I think the most unsung among them is center Mason Randolph, not because he shouldn’t be there, but due to where he’s come from. Randolph was injured in last year’s opener at Georgia Southern while he was helping Jeanty break the Broncos’ single-game rushing game record. He didn’t return to the lineup for three months—the day after Thanksgiving against Oregon State. Then Randolph was Boise State’s top-graded run blocking offensive lineman in the Mountain West championship win over UNLV and did not allow a sack in any of his four games. Randolph’s reputation preceded him, as he was a Freshman All-American for the Broncos in 2022.
‘PLUS-190’ IS GOOD, RIGHT?
No pressure, Broncos, but Circa Sports is out with its odds for which Group of 5 team will make the College Football Playoff this year. And even if you don’t know what these numbers mean, the sheer gap will tell you a lot. Boise State is the favorite at plus-190 to make the CFP, followed by Tulane at plus-850, Memphis at plus-900 and James Madison at plus-1200. The Broncos were merely a contender a year ago, coming off an 8-6 season and a surprise run to the Mountain West championship. Footnote: these odds were released hours before former BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff committed to Tulane.
THE GAP BETWEEN THE PAC-12 & MW
Why did the five breakaway Pac-12 schools leave the others in the Mountain West behind? Exhibit No. 1 is San Jose State, and Jon Wilner—in the Spartans’ own market—doesn’t pull punches while answering that in the San Jose Mercury News. The most visible reason is remodeled CEFCU Stadium. “The eastern side has no stands,” Wilner points out. It’s a 100-yard patch of grass that creates terribly poor optics on TV.” It did indeed look awful when Boise State played there last fall. Wilner sees very little commitment to athletics at San Jose State: “They don’t move the ratings needle one iota (in the Bay Area).” The Spartans are in the nation’s 10th-largest media market, and they are not on the radar.
THE BIG SKY CRYSTAL BALL
Prognosticators are expecting some fall-off for Idaho after coach Jason Eck’s move to New Mexico and a transfer portal hit, but the Vandals are still very much upper-echelon under new coach Thomas Ford. They’re picked fourth in the Big Sky preseason media poll and fifth in the coaches poll. The key will be new quarterback Joshua Wood, who transferred to Idaho from Fresno State. And, will this be the year Idaho State notches a winning season? The Bengals, who made major progress with a 5-7 record last year under coach Cody Hawkins, are picked seventh in both polls.
TYSON’S STAY AT ‘SUMMER CAMP’
Former Boise State star Tyson Degenhart is no doubt philosophical and positive about his experience at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. But the guy just couldn’t catch a break down there. Degenhart played in the final minute—again—Saturday in a semifinal loss to Sacramento. He drove and scored with six seconds left, marking his only shot and points of the tournament (although the Kings kind of played matador defense on the play). So, in five games, Deggie logged six minutes, two points and one rebound. Degenhart’s Exhibit 10 contract supposedly includes an invitation to Toronto’s training camp. Going to be an interesting couple of months.
THE CAPTAIN HANGS UP THE ‘C’
The Idaho Steelheads season seems far away when it’s 90 degrees out. But when it arrives, it’ll happen without A.J. White in a Steelheads sweater for the first time since 2017. White has retired after seven seasons as a Steelie—six as captain. His 487 games played are the most in franchise history. White’s totals in that time: 359 points, including 126 goals and 233 assists. He tallied double-digit goals in all seven seasons in Boise and was named Steelheads MVP in four of them. But the essence of White was his leadership. He was a centerpiece of the best regular season by any team in ECHL history—that was in 2022-23, when the Steelheads went 58-11-3. “I will forever be grateful for the memories I made as a Steelhead,” said White.
RICH HILL IS STILL AROUND?
There aren’t many stories about former Boise Hawks in the majors anymore, as the team hasn’t been affiliated with a big league club in six years. But we’ve gotta talk about this guy. Hawks alum Rich Hill, 45 years old, became the oldest current MLB player Tuesday night after being called up by Kansas City and starting against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Hill took the loss, but he pitched well, giving up three runs—just one earned—over five innings. He played for Boise way back in 2002 and 2003. The Hawks of today, meanwhile, could not take advantage of their six-game home series against the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, dropping four of six to the Pioneer League’s last place team. Boise opened a six-game set at Ogden Tuesday night, and a seven-run fourth inning by the Raptors was too much in an 11-5 loss.
A NEW MEANING FOR ‘SPRING FOOTBALL’ IN BOISE?
There’s nothing official yet, but a United Football League insider named James Larsen is reporting that four UFL franchises are being moved: Birmingham, Michigan, Memphis and Houston. And here you go. Larsen says: “The four new UFL markets will be Boise (Idaho), Columbus (Ohio), Florida (likely Orlando), and Kentucky (Louisville/Lexington).” The struggling USFL and XFL merged last season and are trying to regenerate in spring pro football. So this is interesting. There’s only one place a UFL franchise could play here, and that’s Albertsons Stadium. Another possible revenue stream for Boise State. B.J. Rains of Bronco Nation News dug into it deeper and posted that this is unlikely to happen before at least the 2027 season.
This Day In Sports…brought to you by BBSI BOISE…payroll, process and prosperity for your business.
July 23, 2020, five years ago today: Major League Baseball opens the strangest season in the sport’s history. The big leagues had hit the pause button in the middle of spring training in March when the coronavirus reached pandemic status. Spring training became “summer camp” on July 1, and a reduced schedule of 60 games per team began on this day, with no fans in attendance. The designated hitter was added to the National League, and the playoffs were expanded to 16 teams for one season only with the divisional and championship series played at neutral sites. Same for the World Series.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra and anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK. He also served as color commentator on KTVB’s telecasts of Boise State football for 14 seasons.)
