Presented by OPTIMIST YOUTH FOOTBALL.
Wednesday Weekly: August 19, 2026.
If I had told you a year ago that Boen Phelps was a lock to start at linebacker for Boise State in 2026, you may have said, “Who?” (And I wouldn’t have told you that in the first place.) But Phelps has had as good a fall camp as any Bronco defender. Boen Phelps, the 2023 walk-on safety from a small school outside of Spokane. He had moved to linebacker by the time he had a pick-six against Appalachian State last September, but could Phelps really be part of the rotation? Oh yes he could. Late in the season he was nominated for the Burlsworth Trophy that goes to the best former walk-on in college football. Phelps’ season was so good that he was issued jersey No. 1 for this, his senior season. He’s now 6-1, 225—up 10 pounds from last year. A real-for-real ‘backer.
A LOOK BEHIND THE CURTAIN
As usual, we depend on Spencer Danielson hints coming out of Boise State’s first scrimmage of fall camp last Saturday (it was closed). The biggest one he dropped was the day that wide receiver Akeem “Nitro” Wright had. The transfer from DeAnza College in the Bay Area has seen his star rise right out of the gate, to the point that some say he’ll be the alpha among Broncos wideouts. Boise State is looking for a “big three” there, something it hasn’t had in a while, and you have to be optimistic that some combination of Wright, true freshman Rasean Jones out of Rocky Mountain, veteran Cam Bates…or Cash Williams or Terrious Favors or Darren Morris or Quinton Brown (or Ben Ford when he’s cleared) will fill the bill. AJ Jones even got a mention from Danielson after the scrimmage.
TWO CAPABLE LEFT GUARDS
I’ve mentioned before that I like the projected starting lineups in Phil Steele’s College Football Preview, because he spent at least an hour talking with almost every FBS head coach this spring—after spring football. That includes Danielson, so the battle for the left guard spot bears watching. Phil has intel. Steele has former Owyhee High star Carson Rasmussen as the starter, and Rasmussen hasn’t disappointed in fall camp. The 6-5, 300-pound senior played in all 14 games last season but is still waiting for his first career start. Rasmussen’s competition is versatile Jason Steele (no relation to Phil), who started nine games at left guard last year. We’re sure to see a lot of Steele this season, as he’s also in the mix at center.
FELY & EARBY: A DELICATE ISSUE
Boise State has been in fall camp for two weeks, which seems like a long time if the Broncos have any designs on bringing Braxton Fely and Jeremiah Earby back. As members of the 2022 recruiting class, they were going to maybe get a fifth year of eligibility based on a preliminary injunction handed down in Denver almost three weeks ago. The NCAA has doubled down on its appeal of the ruling, dragging it out to the point that the move doesn’t really make sense for Boise State. You have guys who have been grinding in camp—at defensive tackle and cornerback in particular—and Fely and Earby would be taking away two starting spots late in the game. It’s not their fault they’re caught in the middle of this. The NCAA’s five-for-five rule should have been applied to the 2022 guys in the first place.
PRESEASON POLL: DISCUSS
Well, the gap between the haves and have-nots is not nearly as big in the new AP Preseason Poll as in the Coaches Poll. First, there’s this: Boise State will be facing the No. 2 team in the country two weeks from Saturday when it visits Oregon. The Broncos are the highest-ranked Group of 6 team—No. 28 when you count down the “Others Receiving Votes.” They were No. 36 in the Coaches Poll. The vote count gives us Boise State’s theoretical competition for the Group of 6 spot in the College Football Playoff, and it includes Navy, UNLV and New Mexico, as well as two other teams Boise State faces next month, Memphis and Western Michigan.
DANIELSON IN GOOD COMPANY
Chris Vannini of The Athletic has unveiled his 2026 list of coaching tiers in the FBS. There are eight tiers, and Danielson is in Tier 3 (“consistency with upside”), where he was last year—and there’s nothing wrong with that. Only 12 coaches are in Tiers 1 and 2 combined. Danielson’s story is as good as anybody’s as he goes into his third full season as head coach. He’s the guy who arrived as a Broncos’ grad assistant in 2017 at the age of 28 and climbed the ladder the old-fashioned way, through promotion based on hard work and performance. Jeramiah Dickey rolled the dice on Danielson in November, 2023, and named him interim coach 10 days after his 35th birthday. That morphed into the head coaching spot, and three conference championships later, Danielson’s tale is being told.
IF HASSANEIN HAD HAIR, IT’D BE ON FIRE
When former Boise State star Ahmed Hassanein suffered a pectoral injury in Game 2 of the preseason last year, the wind went out of not only his sails, but everyone who loves him. Last week, Hassanein finally made it back on the field, as he logged two sacks in the Detroit Lions’ 16-14 loss to Cincinnati in their preseason opener. And man did he celebrate. Hassanein has been a breakout player in training camp after being moved from edge to defensive end. His trademark motor has been on display, and he has an excellent shot at making the Lions’ 53-man roster. Detroit’s second preseason game is on Sunday at home against Washington.
HOLANI’S OPPORTUNITY
Currently listed as the No. 1 running back on Seattle’s depth chart, George Holani rightfully got the start in the Seahawks’ preseason opener against Dallas Saturday night. The former Boise State star carried 12 times for 42 yards—he wasn’t targeted in the passing game. Notably, first round draft pick Jadarian Price out of Notre Dame was held out due to an injury. In other Boise State-related NFL news, quarterback Brett Rypien signing with the Houston Texans, his ninth team in eight seasons. I just want to see Rypien throw one more regular-season NFL pass—he hasn’t done that since 2023 with the Rams.
POLL NEWS FOR THE YOTES, TOO
That’s a nice head start for College of Idaho. Now the Coyotes just have to live up to it. The Frontier Conference Preseason Coaches Poll is out, and the Yotes are picked to repeat as winners of the West Division. Last year it earned them the division’s automatic bid to the NAIA Playoffs, where they made the semifinals. C of I finished the season No. 4 in the NAIA Top 25 after going 11-2. It all starts at quarterback for the Yotes, as former Emmett High standout Caden Young returns for his senior season. Young threw for over 2300 yards and 21 touchdowns against 11 interceptions last year. The season starts a week from Saturday at Eastern Oregon.
STEELMAN GETS A BOISE OPEN LAUNCH
Consistency was the key for Ross Steelman, and he is your 2026 Albertsons Boise Open champion after finishing the event 27-under par on Sunday. Steelman shot 65-64-64-64 over the four days at Hillcrest. He rises to No. 1 on the Korn Ferry Tour points list and is guaranteed a PGA Tour card next season. It was a tough tournament for Boise State Hall of Famer Troy Merritt. He made the cut, but never shot the super low score needed to compete in the Boise Open. Merritt tied for 48th and made $,4276. And Nampa’s Tyler Aldridge didn’t fare well in his return to the tournament, going 74-77 to miss the cut.
RESTED AC BOISE HEADS FOR TENNESSEE
A bye weekend caused by the folding of a USL League One franchise has given Athletic Club Boise its longest break of the season. The refreshed squad plays its first league game in two weeks this Saturday when it travels to One Knoxville SC, the USL One defending champion. After 64 minutes of close-but-no-cigars last Wednesday, AC Boise hit paydirt in its first international friendly, as Jose Barea scored for a 1-0 lead over Sporting FC of Costa Rica. Tumi Moshobane added a tally on a penalty kick in the 73rd minute to effectively put the game away, and AC Boise prevailed 2-0. Also on the pitch, the Boise State women won the first athletic event in the school’s Pac-12 era, blanking Cal State Northridge (a.k.a. CSUN) 3-0. Campbell Wilson scored two of the Broncos’ three goals.
HAWKS ARE CERTIFIABLY HOT
For the 39th time, it’s Western Idaho Fair road trip time for the Boise Hawks, and they opened it last night with a 3-1 win over the Glacier Range Riders in Kalispell, MT. You don’t hear these names, but when a pitching staff—especially that of the Hawks—allows one run in a Pioneer League game, it deserves some credit. Starter Andrew Baker got the win, and he combined with Ryan DuSang and Zan Rose on a five-hitter. The Hawks, who swept their six-game series with the RedPocket Mobiles last week in Memorial Stadium, have won eight in a row and are in third place now with a 20-10 record in the Pioneer League’s second half.
This Day In Sports…brought to you by PINNACLE WINDOWS & DOORS and BOISE PREMIER BLINDS.
August 19, 2016, 10 years ago today: Jamaica’s Usain Bolt runs his final Olympic race, earning a gold medal with his teammates in the 4×100-meter relay at the Summer Games in Rio. The night before, Bolt had easily won the 200-meters to complete an unprecedented Olympic triple-double: victories in both the 100 and 200 in three straight Olympiads. He’s known as the fastest human being ever timed, the first man to hold the world record in both dashes. Bolt was an 11-time world champion before retiring in 2017.
(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.)
