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Wednesday Weekly: June 10, 2026.
Ashton Jeanty brought the house down last Saturday, as expected, driving the “Smashton Jeanty” truck at the Monster Trucks event at Albertsons Stadium before an announced crowd of 30,002 fans, a good chuck of which was there to see him. Before hitting the dirt turf, Jeanty told reporters he’s looking forward to playing in new coach Klint Kubiak’s offense in Las Vegas. Sure, the Raiders have No. 1 overall draft pick Fernando Mendoza at quarterback—and veteran Kirk Cousins to help him along. But a lot of the hope for success in Las Vegas this season rides on the legs (and hands) of Jeanty.
Kubiak said recently, “We want to put a lot of pressure on Ashton. You look at Christian McCaffrey, his play snap percentage is high. Those great backs, they don’t want to come off the field.” That means more involvement in the passing game. The ironic thing is, in his final season at Boise State, the Broncos didn’t use Jeanty much as a receiver out of the backfield (not that they needed to). Jeanty caught only 23 passes in 14 games in 2024, and only one of his 30 touchdowns came through the air. That’s the one number he improved upon in his rookie season with the Raiders—he had five TD receptions last year.
JALEN HURTS?
More on Kellen Moore’s quest for the 2027 College Football Hall of Fame. Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News has Moore as one of five locks to be inducted, along with Alabama’s Barrett Jones, Arizona State’s Terrell Suggs, LSU’s Patrick Peterson and Auburn’s Cam Newton. Wilner’s rationale: “Few players have been as good for as many seasons. Moore ended his career with the highest winning percentage in history and owns 50 major college victories, second only to Jalen Hurts (51). If winning more than all but one quarterback in history isn’t good enough, what is?” But wait a minute. Second to Jalen Hurts? I immediately had to look that one up. Hurts had 26 wins as a starter at Alabama and 12 at Oklahoma—38 total. Not to worry, Kellen is still the king.
‘USA SPORTS’ IS A THING
Ryan Leaf, at one time a disgraced NFL quarterback, has come back in broadcasting and in life. He’s now a respected college football commentator, and he’s been named USA Network’s lead Pac-12 college football analyst for the upcoming season. USA continues to establish itself as a new player in TV sports, and the fact that Boise State is appearing five times on the network this fall says a lot. USA is carrying 22 Pac-12 games, including appearances by all eight schools. And it’s the anchor of the conference’s TV package, in that (according to Mariel Brady, USA Sports vice president of programming) the network holds “the first pick of Week 13’s Pac-12 flex scheduling.” USA reportedly paid the conference a premium for that top flex pick. They’re serious.
A DARKER HOUR THAN OTHERS
We wring our hands over the explosion of NIL and the transfer portal in college athletics and what it does to competitive balance. But what happened Monday takes the cake. It may have done the most damage. Brendan Sorsby is, for now, being allowed to play at Texas Tech this season despite a history of betting on his own team. And the Red Raiders were all about keeping him eligible. Can you imagine something like that happening at Boise State? Or Idaho? Or Idaho State? If Maddux Madsen was found to have placed a bet on the Broncos during the 2024 season, he’d be out the door. He wouldn’t have the school appealing on his behalf. Even if the case was handled in Ada County before a judge who’s a Boise State graduate. Texas Tech fans have to feel a little grimy right now. As a college sports fan, I do.
RICE CAN DEVELOP ‘DAWGS’
With Max Rice is officially official as a new assistant men’s basketball coach at Boise State, I’d argue that Max was the type of “dawg” as a player that his dad is looking for now—and Max can help that rub off on the Broncos’ myriad newcomers. I talked last week about his legendary 35-point game at No. 19 New Mexico in 2024. Equally impressive was the finish of the victory over No. 18 San Diego State at the end of February in 2023. Rice scored 12 straight points during a 14-0 run to end the game. That’s what dawgs do. Rice put up 26 points total that night, one week after he had scored 30 in a win over New Mexico, and it essentially got Boise State into the NCAA Tournament. I’m sure the thick-skinned Max can’t wait for the road trip to Utah State next winter.
NAME TAGS, PLEASE
Boise State men’s basketball posted a video highlighting the team arriving for the first day of summer practice this week. I saw Peanut Carmichael, and um, that new guy and that new guy, and Spencer Ahrens, and that new guy, and Julian Bowie and AG Neto, and that new guy and that new guy. You know what I mean. The video needed captions. This will be the ultimate summer of culture-building for the Broncos, who may or may not have lacked some of that last season. There are seven key newcomers on the roster, five out of the transfer portal and two high school additions. It’s presumptuous to say that guard Damari Wheeler-Thomas of North Dakota State is the most important transfer. We don’t know. Boise State got some diamonds in the rough—which player will prove it through?
WHILE THE SWALLOWS ARE AWAY, THE BRONCOS MAY PLAY
If Rocco Miller of Brackteer.org is correct, the Boise State-New Mexico men’s basketball series will resume sooner than anyone thought. And it won’t be at The Pit, nor ExtraMile Arena. According to Miller’s sources, there’ll be a four-team event in San Juan Capistrano, CA, just before Christmas that will include the Broncos, Lobos, Oregon State and Santa Clara (the other Broncos). Boise State and OSU wouldn’t face each other since they’ll be playing in the Pac-12 not long after that. So it would be the Broncos against Santa Clara and New Mexico. And again, with the college hoops climate the way it is, mid-majors need to band together. If there’s no Maui Invitational or Cayman Islands Classic in the cards this year, there’s nothing wrong with playing the best of the WCC and Mountain West.
ACB LOOKS FOR A ‘W’
Athletic Club Boise is back on the home pitch tonight for a rematch with the Richmond Kickers. ACB earned a draw with the Kickers on the road a week and a half ago, but after a 2-1 loss at Spokane last Saturday, what Boise could really use is a victory, especially in front of its usual full house at home. ACB hasn’t won in its last four games, but coach Nate Miller is far from pushing the panic button. I think we’re going to be just fine” Miller said. “It’s about weathering these times, and becoming stronger as a unit.” The soccer season is a marathon, not a sprint. AC Boise is 4-4-3 in the regular season and 1-1-1 in the USL Cup, and both campaigns go all the way into October.
KNIGHT DEPARTS THE NORTHWEST
One of Idaho’s most decorated Olympians, Hilary Knight, turns 37 in another month. But she ain’t done yet. Reports say the Sun Valley hockey star, the face of women’s pro hockey, is leaving the Seattle Torrent as part of a three-way trade, sending her to the PWHL’s new expansion franchise in Detroit. Knight was captain of the U.S. team that won the gold medal in February at the Winter Olympics in Milan, the second of her career. Her goal against Canada in the gold medal game broke two Olympic career records—Knight has 15 goals and 33 points all-time.
ATTENTION TURNS TO THE ‘TRAFFIC CONE TROPHY’
The Boise Hawks came home from their first road trip of the season with a split of their six games at Missoula and Billings. And Tuesday night, it was on to the first gae of the 2026 Highway Series against the Idaho Falls Chukars, with the Hawks winning 10-5 to improve to 12-7 on the season. These aren’t the Chukars to which we’ve become accustomed, as they entered the week with a 1-17 record and an 11-game losing streak. The Highway Series, by the way, features 24 regular-season matchups between the Pioneer League’s two in-state clubs, with the quirky and highly-coveted Traffic Cone Trophy on the line at the end of the season.
ONE MORE ‘LAST TIME AROUND’
We have, of course, passed Boise State’s final Mountain West competition as a conference member. But the Broncos’ final individual competitors under the Mountain West banner are still to come beginning today in Eugene. They’re sending four athletes—the most in 11 years—to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at legendary Hayward Field. Abby Kendrick and Emily Jobes qualified in the 3000-meter steeplechase, Kaiya Robertson in the 1500-meters, and Raekwon Weatherspoon in the long jump. Robertson, who set a school record in the 1500 this season, is on to nationals for the second consecutive year. The steeplechase is a traditionally strong event for Boise State, as Allie Ostrander won three straight national titles in the late 2010s.
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June 10, 2018: Rafael Nadal continues his remarkable dominance of the French Open by winning his 11th championship on the red clay of Roland Garros. Nadal beat Austria’s Dominic Thiem in three sets, extending his record for most titles in a single Grand Slam tournament. It was the 32-year-old Spaniard’s 17th win overall in a major, second only at the time to rival Roger Federer. At that point, Nadal’s match record in 13 French Opens was 86-2. He retired a year and a half ago with an incredible 14 French Open crowns.
(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.)
