Presented by GREENWOOD’S SKI HAUS.
Tuesday, August 26, 2014.
Ole Miss had the nation’s fifth-rated recruiting class in 2013, and those who didn’t make an impact for the Rebels last season are preparing to now. The five-stars—and there were four of them in in that class—did contribute last year, including the much-discussed defensive tackle, Robert Nkemdiche, and the wide receiver now renowned for discussing the Boise State secondary, Laquon Treadwell. It was Treadwell who called the Bronco defensive backs “small” over the weekend and predicted the Rebels will have “a good day” Thursday. That has predictably created a mini-firestorm through Bronco Nation. Former Boise State coach Dan Hawkins was on Idaho SportsTalk yesterday and downplayed bulletin board material. After all, Hawk points out, “Almost everyone he plays is going to be smaller than him.” Treadwell is 6-2, 229 pounds.
Think about it, though. Treadwell is five inches taller than both Donte Deayon and Cleshawn Page, Boise State’s starting cornerbacks. The 2014 SEC Freshman of the Year and first-team Freshman All-American has a whopping 77 pounds on Deayon and 51 on Page. Treadwell had 72 catches and five touchdowns last season against much larger competition. Deayon and Page aren’t going to out-muscle Treadwell—they’ll have to use perfect technique against him.
Mississippi wants to prove it belongs. Not just in the national conversation, but in terms of SEC relevance. The Rebels have not won the conference championship since 1963 and are the only team in the Western Division to never have played in the SEC Championship Game since it began in 1992. Boise State may not be what it was three years ago, but a victory over the Broncos would still be a quality one and could launch a nice run for the Rebs this fall.
Some would say Boise State's Golden Era has come to an end after the 8-5 season in 2013. I would say one should reserve judgment until December. Regardless, there are things that can't be taken away from the Broncos. They have the winningest program in the country in the new century, with a 155-26 record. They are tops at home since 2000, with an 86-4 ledger. And they're the leaders in conference games, too, with a record of 99-9. It's time to get the Bryan Harsin era going. "Let's see what we're all about," Harsin said last Friday. Footnote: Boise State, LSU and Oklahoma are the only three teams nationally to win eight or more games and participate in the postseason for at least nine consecutive seasons.
Stanford offensive coordinator Mike Bloomgren, who doubles as the Cardinal’s offensive line coach, made waves last year by using schemes that often involved six offensive linemen in the game at the same time—and sometimes as many as nine. Of course, Stanford has the luxury of utilizing a bevy of NFL-bound offensive linemen. But Mike Sanford, Boise State’s new offensive coordinator, was coaching the Cardinals’ quarterbacks and wide receivers last season and watched Bloomgren’s ideas evolve up close and personal. Did he bring it to Boise with him? “We did some of that at Texas,” Bronco coach Bryan Harsin said. “He (Sanford) did it at Stanford. We know how to do it.” What does that mean? “There’ll be some wrinkle like that,” grinned Harsin. “Whether it’ll happen in this game, I can’t tell you.”
It's no shock that seniors Corey Bell and Matt Miller were named Boise State's 2014 captains via a team vote. Miller has been the leader-by-example for four years now and has commanded respect. Bell has been an articulate Broncos spokesman and is as stand-up a guy as you'll find. The good news for Boise State: there were lots of other candidates, from quarterback Grant Hedrick to running back Jay Ajayi to defensive tackle Tyler Horn. Also, two more scholarships have been awarded to walk-ons, popular running back Charles Bertoli and long-snapper Kevin Keane. Bertoli is from St. Helena in California’s Napa Valley. If his family wasn’t affected by Sunday’s earthquake, he undoubtedly knows a lot of people who were. The securing of a scholarship had to be a boost to his spirits.
Idaho has chosen its game captains for the opener at Florida Saturday. Senior center Mike Marboe, who has started 36 consecutive games for the Vandals, and senior running back Jerrel Brown will serve as offensive captains. Senior defensive end Maxx Forde and junior linebacker Irving Steele have been named defensive captains. As for the game Saturday, Idaho isn’t going into the buzzsaw environment that you might think. A story in the Orlando Sentinel says “empty seats, an increasingly lifeless atmosphere and little excitement on the field have robbed the Swamp of a piece of its soul.” The Sentinel reports that thousands of tickets remain for the game against the Vandals, marking the fourth straight season UF has not sold out its first game.
The third week of the NFL preseason is when the starters get most of their summer game action; then they virtually disappear in the fourth and final game. So it was expected that former Boise State star Kellen Moore would receive limited snaps in Detroit’s 13-12 win over Jacksonville. Moore was 2-of-2 for 18 yards. The question remains: will the Lions carry three quarterbacks again this season or won’t they? Detroit has cut quarterback James Franklin (turns out he was never really in the equation).
NFL rosters have to be pared down to 75 players today and 53 by Saturday, and the Turk is already making his rounds. Unfortunately, Ricky Tjong-A-Tjoe’s fate was decided Sunday when he tore his ACL in San Diego’s game against San Francisco. We’ll see what kind of settlement the Boise State product reaches with the Chargers. Notable cuts yesterday: former Idaho linebacker JoJo Dixon was released by the Cardinals, and Borah High grad and former Montana linebacker Caleb McSurdy was cut by the Browns.
Boise Hawks pitchers had it goin’ last night, shutting out Everett 3-0 in the team’s return to Memorial Stadium after the Western Idaho Fair road trip. Trevor Clifton threw the first seven innings and scattered six hits, earning the victory to up his record to 4-2. Ryan McNeil and Corbin Hoffner finished it off, with Hoffner getting the save as his ERA dropped to 1.35. The Hawks manufactured their three runs—the first one scored on a ground-out in the first inning, the second came in on a Jesse Hodges double in the third, and the final run scored later that inning on an error. Boise thus maintains its hold on second place in overall standings in the Northwest League South Division, which is where it has to stay to make the NWL Playoffs next month.
The term “flex game” is scary. Boise State’s home basketball date against Colorado State has been finalized—it’ll be Tuesday, January 27. And yes, it is an ESPNU/ESPN3 flex game. “Network and time will determined 21 days in advance,” the release says. Perish the thought if it’s an 8 p.m. or 8:30 p.m. tipoff. The Broncos don’t need that on a winter weeknight. Other moves: Boise State's road game at Utah State, which will air on CBS Sports Network, has been moved up a day to Tuesday, February 3. And the Broncos’ home tilt versus San Diego State, also a CBSSN game, has been pushed back a day to Sunday, February 8. Now, just give us those tipoff times.
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August 26, 1989, 25 years ago today: Chris Drury pitches and hits Trumbull, Connecticut, to the Little League World Series championship in Williamsport, PA. The 12-year-old tossed a five-hitter and went 2-for-3 with two RBI’s. Ten years later, Drury would be named the NHL Rookie of the Year while skating for the Colorado Avalanche. And the South Central Boise All-Stars would make the Little League World Series.
(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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