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Wednesday Weekly: April 15, 2026.
Boise State kicker Colton Boomer remarked to the media last week that he feels good on any field goal attempt inside 70 yards right now. That certainly perked my ears. The longest one in FBS history is 67. The Broncos’ record is 56 yards, which leads to this great placekicking side story. Roberto Moran originally set the mark in 1985 against UC Davis (quarterbacked by Chris Petersen, incidentally). Jonah Dalmas tied it in 2023 on the blue turf versus UCF, which still had Boomer as its kicker. Boomer opened the game with a 50-yarder, and just over two minutes following Dalmas’ boot, he hit a 55-yarder. It was only the third time in college football history that opposing kickers had made field goals of 55 yards or longer in the same game.
Two things make you think Boomer could go out in a blaze of glory as a senior this season. One is that confidence inside 70 yards. The other is the way Boomer finished the 2025 season. He was only 9-of-13 on field goals going into the Mountain West championship game, but from there he was more Dalmas-like. Boomer connected from 50 yards out on his only attempt against UNLV, and led off the LA Bowl with a 52-yard boot versus Washington.
DANIELSON’S ROSTER RUNDOWN
There were no details on explosive plays or touchdowns or the like during coach Spencer Danielson’s press conference following Boise State’s scrimmage on Saturday. But Danielson did reel off the names of 34 different players during his opening remarks, and he added in a handful more later on. I mean, this is spring football, but what he said about a couple of guys stood out. There’s wide receiver Rasean Jones out of Rocky Mountain, who Danielson said has had as much impact in spring ball as any true freshman he can remember. Jones has been a constant this spring.
GUYS WITH SOMETHING TO PROVE
Boise State didn’t lose much to the transfer portal this winter. Now we find out what came in out of the portal and how it fits, and there were some clues from coach Danielson after the scrimmage. This we know—it doesn’t matter where the transfer comes from. It’s what happens once he gets on the field that matters. Example: when Danielson talked about Mikaio Edward, a defensive lineman from Central Washington, right off the top of his press conference. Edward logged seven sacks last year at CMU. That’s fine; it’s Division II. But Danielson said Edward had a great scrimmage and is “going to have a huge part in what we do defensively here.”
And there’s Tyler Ethridge, the all-conference offensive lineman who transferred from Division II CSU Pueblo. Danielson said Etheridge has been getting the first-team reps at left tackle and has been making them count. Replacing Kage Casey at that spot is no easy task. Ethridge might be on his way.
NO NOTARAINNI – NO PROBLEM?
One of the legion of players Danielson mentioned last Saturday was not Syncere Brackett-Lambey. But it seems most everybody else is during spring football. And when you pair Brackett-Lambey with the eternally overachieving Boen Phelps, the Broncos linebackers room looks to be in better shape this year than anybody thought. Brackett-Lambey is only a sophomore, and he made only two tackles last year, but the 6-2, 233-pounder has been one of those spring football head-turners. As for Phelps, Danielson wagered that what he saw last season was real when he allowed Phelps to switch his jersey from No. 41 to No. 1. Phelps, originally a walk-on, came out of nowhere last year to become Boise State’s third-leading tackler.
THIS COULD BE THE LAST TIME
Boise State’s Spring Game is April 25, and you may want to go so you can say you were at the last one. Is this it for the Spring Game? For that matter, will this be the last spring football session for the Broncos? The NCAA Football Oversight Committee is leaning hard in that direction, discussing a switch from spring practice to NFL-style offseason workouts, commonly called OTAs (organized team activities). It could happen as early as next year. The OTAs would be staggered during the spring and summer for flexibility’s sake. Countless schools have already done away with spring games anyway, and Boise State’s is more like a spring football celebration, which is something the Broncos still need moving forward. One suggestion is an event with NFL combine-type drills as competition. That would be fun.
THE KAGE CASEY COUNTDOWN
As if The Athletic wasn’t already the go-to for the NFL Draft, out comes “The Beast,” the encyclopedia on the 2026 draft in two weeks. First stop for us is Boise State’s Kage Casey. He is not listed among the 146 offensive tackles evaluated. However (and that’s a big however), Casey is No. 10 among offensive guards. According to The Athletic, that makes him a fourth or fifth-rounder. Writes draft guru Dane Brugler: “Casey is a determined, assignment-sound blocker and plays to his strengths to work around some of his physical shortcomings. He projects best on the interior and should compete for meaningful snaps during his rookie season.” The Athletic suggests that with a move to guard, Casey “will need to learn how to fire his feet quicker to combat immediate contact in his face.”
NEW MEXICO’S NAME SURFACES
The wise old analyzer of all things college sports in the West, John Canzano, has pivoted on who he thinks the Pac-12 might target next for expansion. Instead of UNLV, Canzano sees New Mexico in the cards. It’s not hard to see why that could make sense. While the Rebels hold out hope for the pipe dream of Big 12 membership someday, the Lobos seem to have plugged the hole in the dike in their program: football. UNM’s appeal in men’s basketball goes without saying, but when it picked up coach Jason Eck from Idaho, there was instant football impact. A New Mexico invitation would be a gamble, as things could regress when Eck is hired away by a major program. But here’s Canzano floating the idea of the Lobos out there—when a year ago they weren’t on anybody’s Pac-12 bingo card.
MEADOW TAKES HIS GAME TO EUGENE
A very interesting landing spot for Andrew Meadow. The former Boise State forward announced on Instagram Sunday night that he has committed to Oregon barely a week after going into the transfer portal. If there’s one thing the Ducks have, it’s money. Meadow should help them, though, as they’re coming off a 12-20 season and a 16th-place finish in the Big Ten. Dana Altman will be going into his 17th season at Oregon (same as Leon Rice with the Broncos). It’s widely expected that this will be it for Altman—Meadow will try to go out a winner in Eugene and help Altman do the same. On the flip side, Julian Bowie and Spencer Ahrens have announced they’re staying at Boise State.
FIELDER CLOSE, BUCHANAN HOPES
As of this writing, there’s no official announcement on the destination of former Boise State forward Drew Fielder. But signs are pointing to Nebraska for the Boise native. Fielder is rumored to be in line to receive $2 million coming out of the transfer portal, and the Cornhuskers have the wherewithal—and incentive—to provide it. Nebraska is eager to sustain success after not only recording its first-ever NCAA Tournament victory, but reaching the Sweet 16 for the first time. The Huskers went 28-7, and Fielder would help reinforce their fortress. Javan Buchanan, meanwhile, has posted that he is headed for West Virginia, but he’s technically out of eligibility unless the NCAA grants him an exemption for his time at NAIA Indiana Wesleyan. Nothing’s official until that happens.
AC BOISE: TWO STRAIGHT DRAWS
Athletic Club Boise appeared to be on the way to its second win of the season last Saturday night, but it left California with its second draw after a 2-2 result against AV Alta. AC Boise was cradling a 2-1 lead when Alta scored in the 79th minute. Boise had an excellent shot at a go-ahead goal in the 85th minute, but back-to-back shots by Tumi Moshobane and Philip Mayaka were saved by Alta. Nick Moon and Denys Kostyshyn both scored their second goals of the season for ACB, who returns home with a 1-1-2 record as it prepares for Westchester SC this Saturday. The home opener drew 7,211 to Athletic Club Boise Stadium 11 days ago—it’ll be interesting to see what that number is this time around.
THE STEELIES’ SCOREBOARD WATCH
A check-in on the Idaho Steelheads’ Kelly Cup Playoffs situation. After dropping their first two games last week and winning the final two of the regular season in Tulsa, the Steelheads go scoreboard-watching now to see if they’ll have home ice advantage against Allen in the first playoff round. That’ll happen if the Americans lose at least one of their final two games in regulation—or lose both of their remaining games in overtime or a shootout. Allen plays on the road at Wichita on Friday and at home versus Kansas City—the ECHL’s best team—on Saturday. At least the Steelies know they’re in the postseason after painfully missing the Kelly Cup Playoffs a year ago.
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April 15, 2021, five years ago today: Destiny Slocum becomes the first Boise native ever to be drafted into the WNBA when she’s taken in the second round (14th overall) by the Las Vegas Aces. Slocum was arguably the best women’s basketball player ever to come out of the state of Idaho, earning Gatorade Player of the Year honors in 2015 and 2016 when she led Mountain View High to back-to-back 5A championships. Her college hoops journey began at Maryland, where she was Big Ten Freshman of the Year, continued at Oregon State and finished at Arkansas. She’s now playing pro basketball in France.
(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.)
