Fourth Quarter

First play, Burroughs along the left sideline for a 24-yard touchdown run, the first score for the offense today. Burroughs turned the corner and held the sideline to get in the zone. Southwick hit a wide open Malcolm Johnson on the conversion attempt to make it 19-17.
Burroughs added 12 more yards on the next drive. Root made another sack (2.5 today) to give the White a 21-17 lead.
Lambert tried to get outside on 4th-and-two, but Makinde came up to make an ankle tackle and give the White four more points on the turnover on downs. That makes it 25-17 with 3:42 remaining.
Hiwat gained eight yards on an end-around.
Southwick threw another bomb to Burks! 48 yards on a post-pattern.
The redshirt freshman quarterback hit Chandler Koch on the 2-point conversion to tie the game 25-25. Southwick had to step up in the pocket and move right to find his tight end.
Coughlin took the next drive. A holding penalty and a dropped pass by Potter killed the drive. The 3-and-out gave the defense a 26-25 lead with 1:04 to play.
Southwick lead the way downfield, hooking up with Geraldo Hiwat for 22 and 12 yards to pull the offense close to field goal range.
Root made another sack (3.5) to give the defense a 28-25 lead with 33 seconds left.
Southwick hit Minter for 10 more.
It all comes down to Trevor Harmon’s leg. A 41-yard field goal to tie it. Goooooood! That makes it 28-28!
Pete gives them a 2-point conversion try to decide the game.
From the left hash.
Tension.
Builds.
Making it up as you go.
Antwon Murray breaks it up! Southwick incomplete to Burks.
Final White 30, Blue 28.
12,000 in attendance.

Third Quarter

Southwick hit Geraldo Hiwat for 20 yards; Hiwat bobbled it, but made the grab.
Malcolm Johnson had a gain of five yards, but the big news on that play was Marshall’s tackle. Following int he play, the redshirt defensive end laid on the ground, then crawled off the field and headed to a garbage can. Not sure, but it sure looked like he was losing his lunch.
It’s really hot out there on the field. All the fans are in the West side of the stadium, sitting in shade splendor.
Pavel ended the drive with a 32-yard field goal to make it 18-9.
There are no No. 1’s left, so Young wore his old No. 4 today, and hence, Jerrell Gavins wears No. 10 again, along with Preston Minter on offense.
Hout lampooned Raphiel Lambert in the backfield to help incapacitate a drive and give the White one more point for a 3-and-out to make it 19-9.
Carlo Audagnotti sighting? Five yards.
Lambert picked up three tough yards to give the Blue a first down, then Southwick hurled a bomb to Aaron Burks (44 yards) on a post route. Burks is the best of the young receivers. He went low on a slide-dive to make the play. He should be the No. 3 receiver going into the fall. His size and route-running, man, the kid’s just got it. the only problem is that he plays the same spot as Young, so we’ll have to see.

Second Quarter

We pick up Southwick’s drive at the 20-yard line. Some penalties have kept it alive, like that pass interference call to give the Blue a first down at the 11-yard line.
Brandyn Thompson stepped in front of a Southwick pass, nearly caught it. Jimmy Pavel got the Blue on the board with a 23-yard field goal, a low-line-drive kick that barely buzzed between the uprights.
Kellen Moore got the No. 1 offense moving with consecutive first-down throws to Young (14 yards) and Kyle Efaw (26 yards), then hit Jeremy Avery for 27 yards on a screen pass.
Hout and Aaron Tevis tackled Avery for a loss on first and goal.
Winterswyk ate up Avery on second down for a 2-yard loss.
The stalled drive led to a 23-yard field goal by Trevor Harmon to give the Blue (offense) a 6-5 lead.
Couglin’s third drive stalled after one first down. He threw three incomplete passes in a row, then Elkin booted another rugby punt 53 yards.
Coughlin had no time to throw against the rush. He had to step up and scramble on all but one throw on the drive. That second-team offensive line is really struggling against this complex blitz scheme.
Moore captained the next drive, hit Preston Minter for 19 yards and a first down. The offense has done a good job picking up first downs on the first plays of drives, but then struggles to get more.
Moore hit Potter for a 16-yard gain on a dig route.
Then Moore went to the well again, looking for Efaw on the post corner and Ebenezer Makinde drifted back in the zone, picked it off and returned it 27 yards to give the defense four more points. That was Moore’s second pick of the game.
Southwick fumbled on second down of the ensuing drive and Ricky Tjong-A-Tjoe recovered it to put the White up 13-6..
Jamar Taylor busted up a Moore pass. He, Makinde, and Thompson have all made solid plays so far.
The No. 1 defense stopped Moore and his men ona 3-and -out to give the White one more point, 14-6.
Coughlin hit Tyler jackson for 25 yards, a leaping grab, finished with a dash of hammer. Jackson has dropped a lot of balls in practice this spring, but he caught this one when it counted.
Jarrell Root sacked Coughlin for 2 points, then Root and Kharyee Marshall shared a sack to make it 18-6 White at the half.the second-team defensive line applied heavy pressure throughout the first half.
Overall, the defense did what we expected, held this potent power offense to limited success. The offense only mustered two short field goals.

Spring Game

This is all about quick notes:
Kellen Moore has scrambled on all four of his pass attempts early on. He hit Kyle Efaw for a first down, to keep the defense from scoring on a 3-and-out.
Brad Elkin kicked a 54-yard punt, then kicked a 23-yard punt. Consistency?
Mitch Burroughs returned a kickoff for a score, but there was no tackling so …
Doug Martin will not play.
Michael Coughlin’s first drive was a bust, two incomplete passes and a 5-yard plow by Jarvis Hodge.
Titus Young made a dramatic 1-hand grab along the sideline.
Moore threw a floater across the middle, Byron Hout tipped it and Winston Venable intercepted it.
Joe Southwick’s first series began with an 18-yard screen to Chris Potter. Southwick scurried for 10 yards on 4th and two to keep it moving.
Drew Wright made a good cut to get seven yards on 3rd and four.
The 3-and-out forced by the second-team defense got the White (defense) onthe board 1-0. Venable’s pick (4 points) gave them a 5-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
It seems a little lackluster on this beautiful spring day (the best of the year so far). I’m sure the intensity will pick up as we go forward.

Versus

The most constant mantra spoken by BSU players this spring was, ‘just do your job.’
To succeed at this task, each man across the board must beat the man across from him, dominate those one-on-one matchups. You see it best in the trenches, in drills where players match up against teammates, intent to prove advancing skill in front of position coaches.
In practice today, Faraji Wright pancaked Billy Winn in line drills. Winn applauded from his back. Billy doesn’t lose many of those matchups, just got caught with a foot planted and got knocked off balance. Winn is probably the most dominant lineman in the field, whether it’s on the pass or run. He wins so many of the 1-on-1’s that it’s noteworthy when an O-lineman beats him. Winn broke up a screen pass today and nearly intercepted it diving to his left.
The receivers and DB’s also run 1-on-1’s every day. Josh Borgman reacted instantly to a 10-yard out by Jake Johnston and picked off the pass. Borgman, despite his diminutive frame (5-foot-7, 175 pound) has become a decent corner. I doubt he will ever reach the depth-chart pinnacle, but he’s one of those effort guys who has grown into a niche so vital to this team. He tests the smaller receivers (Preston Minter, Chris Potter and Tyler Jackson). Sometimes you think he won’t stand a chance against the lanky youngsters (Geraldo Hiwat and Aaron Burks) but he holds his own because of a stable set of fundamentals, good feet and quick reactions.
It’s easier to spot occupational success in individual drills, but in team action the eye is drawn away from interior play toward the ball action. But still, guys like Shea McClellin stand out. He beat junior right tackle Zach Waller on three consecutive plays, making Kellen Moore scramble from his comfort zone. Waller also flinched on consecutive plays, nervous about McClellin’s speed/power combo on the pocket’s edge. In past practices, BSU head coach Chris Petersen made the whole offense do up-downs after mental errors like that, but in preparation for Saturday’s scrimmage, he just walked off the penalty yardage.
Michael Coughlin and Joe Southwick both showed off scrambling skills today. Coughlin picked up a first down on a 4th and 5 scramble; he also hit Potter on a leaping grab in the end zone.
Southwick scored a 15-yard touchdown when Kharyee Marshall sped up field to open a small gap in the pocket. He also gained 30 yards, left then up the middle, when the coverage was too tight. He reminds me of Jared Zabransky sometimes, in good and bad ways. He tucks the ball too soon sometimes, doesn’t trust the pocket. I can’t really blame him. He’s usually behind the second or third-team offensive line, and rarely has more than two or three seconds to scan the field before the rush is in his peripherals. He has no fear tucking the ball and running. He still needs to work on pocket patience and read progression. Moore goes through four reads in the same time it takes Southwick to go through two, three. Southwick doesn’t stare down receivers, but he also doesn’t give them time to get free. That patience and confidence just takes time. When he makes a decision to rifle the ball, it’s so quick. He makes good decisions through the air, but in lieu of an open receiver, he’s off running.
Jamar Taylor again nixed a trio of passes. He rarely relieves receivers, in their hip pocket and unless the QB throws a perfect ball, Taylor knocks it aside. Antwon Murray also had a couple of PBU’s, as did Ebenezer Makinde (ripped a leaping catch from Hiwat’s hands), all battling for depth chart permanence.
Some classic trench crunches sounded off the pads of Matt Slater, who on consecutive plays pulled to his left (from right tackle) to collide with Tommy Smith and then Hunter White to open a hole.
Derrell Acrey also became the unstoppable force, ear-holing Tyler Shoemaker (an obviously movable object) on a crossing pattern. Quite simply, Acrey is the best linebacker in camp this spring. His field-play finally matches his vocal intensity. Tommy Smith broke up a pass and Aaron Tevis stripped Coughlin and a run-by (would have a been a mammoth sack on the linebacker blitz).
During practice, 12 injured players (six orange, six white) climbed the upper deck steps, for more than half an hour. They looked exhausted in the intermittent April sun and shade. The temperature fluctuated 15 degrees, depending on cloud flow. Petersen took off his jacket three times.
Joe Kellogg (6-2, 304, sophomore) got plenty of action at center with the first team.
Spencer Gerke is at right guard on the second team and brought good intensity (maybe because I chatted him up at interviews? Look for his story this weekend).
Thomas Byrd was back at practice (no uniform, pads), practicing snaps.
Jeremy Avery broke free up the middle for a long run, but Brandyn Thompson caught up to him on the 6-yard line.
I am completely invested in staring down man versus man competitions. The coaching staff reviews practice film at the position level. Whether it’s individual or team drills, every play, player is scrutinized to determine those rankings on the all-important depth chart. The spring game units will determine where each player has risen, fallen this spring.

Chutes and Ladders

One week is left in spring camp. A mere three practices stand between the 2010 Broncos and their spring game. The details of the game have not yet been revealed. Last season the team held a draft, split into two squads and played a game. In that game BSU head coach Chris Petersen pulled players from the ranks, noting imaginary injuries, forcing younger players to step into the starting ranks.
Petersen said that format may not be possible this year because of a growing list of real injuries to his players.
There are only six linebackers in full form. Yet among them stands Derrell Acrey, who brings an unparalleled intensity to each practice, Aaron Tevis, who stabilizes the unit with quick feet and a stable comfort in the game, J.C. Percy, who finished second on the team last season with 64 tackles and Tommy Smith, the fourth bastion of the corps.
Allen Mooney and Daron Mackey sit out, but come fall should only add to the unit.
Where does Byron Hout fit with the crew? Right down the middle. He can be the transitory linebacker, playing middle solid with his neckroll bowing. His play last season at defensive end also enables him to put a hand on the ground in the 3-3-5. Hout and Shea McClellin played linebacker in high school and in the 2010 Fiesta Bowl. BSU made its nickelback position into a hybrid-flex post, and it now can do the same with its defensive end/linebackers. McClellin made a seamless transition to end, but Hout may be most useful at linebacker. Hout intercepted a Joe Southwick pass today in practice, stepping in front of a short curl route.
Today both of the Broncos’ ‘raw’ receivers (Aaron Burks and Geraldo HIwat) made stellar receptions today. Hiwat sky-leapt over Ebenzer Makinde (who returned kicks today) to haul in a Southwick sling. Burks caught a 75-yard grab and run over Josh Borgman, high from Michael Coughlin.
Hiwat later took a hard hit and tackle (although they were in full pads today, tackles are frowned upon) from brickhouse defensive tackle Ricky Tjong-A-Tjoe (6-3, 282).
The battle at corner heats up when Antwon Murray breaks up passes; he had two today and looks like a solid No. 2.
Titus Young flashed magical on a medium route taken 50 yards downfield, insert six cutbacks, a spin move and a straight arm. Petersen praised Young for his work ethic Thursday. Much has been said, written about the senior, but he proves everyday to his younger teammates how drills should be run. His effort never wanes. He raced Brandyn Thompson today in a competition drill, three cones and he made the senior corner look a step slow. Young is simply the most dynamic, electric (insert any light-sped adjective) athlete on this team. Don’t forget he led this team with 79 receptions for 1,041 yards. He was second only to Austin Pettis in touchdowns; Pettis 14, Young 10. I know not if there is rivalry between these senior meteors to out-perform the other. There is room enough on the stage for both, but for the receivers in the wings must linger behind the curtain.
The fumble bug bit again Friday. Carlo Audagnotti and Raphiel Lambert both coughed up the pigskin. Jerrell Root, Kharyee Marshall and Justin Jungblut each made tackles for losses.
The offensive line practiced pad level under steel chutes today, the width of the line and four feet tall, five feet long, just enough for three chopping forward steps, hips low, gravity centered for the surge.
The team’s competitions in practice are followed immediately by punishment, gassers, from sideline to sideline and back. In these competitions, be they one-on-one or inside line versus defense, tailbacks versus linebackers, sprints or cuts around cones, serve as ladders to be climbed rung by rung, moments for individuals or groups to raise their standing in the ranks. Today Jake Broyles brought in a punt to keep his white-jerseyed kinsmen from running the final gassers.
Evaluation of players comes from multiple sources: individual drills, study rooms, classroom, meetings and the team drills. It doesn’t matter on the depth chart whether a lineman can catch a punt. But in the eyes of his teammates Broyles reached a rung higher.

Number Exchange

At its final practice before spring break, the Boise State football team ran a little misdirection. The offensive players and defensive players exchanged jerseys. The offense wore orange and the defense wore white. Some players exchanged jerseys straight across, like Titus Young (No. and George Iloka (No. 1). Many of the other players exchanged in threes or fours.
Some of the changes were borderline comical, like Doug Martin swimming in Billy Winn’s No. 90. Martin’s No. 22 fit pretty snug on Winn’s sizable chest.
The exchange forced me to re-evaluate how to identify the players. I honestly couldn’t recognize most of the offensive linemen, but found myself studying body styles to identify other players. Many of the younger players (who I simply haven’t had the chance to meet) were complete mysteries to me. I guess that’s eerily accurate. I just don’t know all these guys. I don’t know how they will perform on the field or even which ones might see it come fall. I haven’t shaken all their hands. Almost every individual interview I’ve done this spring has been with a stranger to me on the team. I’m trying.
But for the players and coaches, no beats were missed in practice. The transition seemed seamless. All the players assumed their usual roles in position groups. The only difference I really saw was in 1-on-1’s, where defensive backs ran routes and receivers tried to stick with them. Most of the DB’s won those battles. I guess the transition to offense was easier (for the drill). I can’t imagine the body shock of suddenly having to run backward. The drill showed these opposing forces how the other operates.
I’ve been wondering about intrinsic values laced into this exercise, to put on your teammates’ shirts. I’m sure its intent is to demolish divisions in the ranks. The offense and the defense are so commonly pitted against one another. This exercise should bring this team, this ‘family’ even closer. I saw seniors wearing jersey numbers of their freshmen mates, some from opposing position groups and others just seemed random.
I give play of the day to Hunter White, moving to his left and diving (completely extended) to break up a pass. The play forced the orange offense to run a gasser. White later recovered a fumble, although if it were a game, the whistle would have already blown. Geraldo Hiwat caught a touchdown pass, just crossing the pylon before getting pushed out of bounds. Both Hiwat and Aaron Burks are flying up the depth chart. I think both will be huge in the season to come. Imagine those two lined up with Austin Pettis and Titus Young. The unit will create nearly unfair matchup problems for defenses. If Young can then move into the slot on occasion, maybe draw coverage from a linebacker or safety, he’ll be more open than ever.
I watched the long-snappers practice Friday, completely drawn by the precision necessitated in that split-second explosion. One hand is placed flat across the top of the ball, fingers forward, and the off hand lays flat against the side, fingers on the laces. The snap takes less than a second to move from the ground to the punter. The detail in the action is representative of every other movement on the field. Precision, whether in route-running or the O-line punch, the quarterbacks’ release or a safety’s break on the ball, is as vital as the play called. And if just one guy has his fundamentals break down, the whole schematic is for not.
There is a full jury of injured players, with alternates. They again beat on tractor tires with sledgehammers, developing a sort of drumline echoing in the indoor field. Wind and snow forced the team inside.
The team now takes a break for spring. It’s real hard to judge progression thus far. Each player worked on his own game, bare fundamentals. We may not know the full impact of these spring practices until the spring game, or perhaps not even until September.

Into the light

After spring break (a trip to Las Vegas for me) and some family matters, I was back on the football field Wednesday with the Boise State Broncos.

As the players buckled up, I buckled down, training these eyes on the redshirt freshmen defensive ends I interviewed today (look for the features Friday in the Times-News). Kharyee Marshall and Nicholas Alexander are two polar ends, of two divergent minds and bodies, barreling along a similar meridian. Marshall is the speed end, using his hands a rip to get around tackles and Alexander is the behemoth, gangling his reach (he stands 6-foot-5) to gain the corner rush. I think both will be quality players down the line. Both have a lot of room to improve.

Marshall is too small still, in great need of another year of muscle to hold down the boundary end. He said people constantly assume he isn’t a strong man because he is a smaller end. He seemed to take offense to it. I don’t blame him and fully expect him to use that criticism, to strive against it and be the better man for it.

Alexander has the pedigree, the size and the might, but it gets him in trouble sometimes. He stands tall; his pad level rises and linemen get into his chest, control his body. Once he learns to get low and drive linemen, then he can use those trade secrets, rip, club, grab cloth, swim, etc. His height may allow him to swim over tackles, where Marshall cannot.

Kellen Moore again looked sharp in practice, but his highlights are few against the starting defense. It is still a good play to throw the ball away, rather than force it into tight coverage and hope. Moore doesn’t rely on luck. If it’s not there, he throws it away. The starting defense ran myriad blitz packages early in practice and had Moore running from rushers through the teeth of the line. Shea McClellin got him solid once, easy sack on an inside stunt. Moore usually got away (mostly because the defense doesn’t hit the blackshirts) or threw it away.

The short passing game denounces the pass rush and Moore is the prince of precision. He goes through his reads like my friend Tim goes through chips at a craps table: left, right, up the middle, dump it off, get rid of it or just go for the long bomb if he sees an opening. Unfortunately for Moore at practice (and Tim in Vegas) the long ball isn’t landing complete this spring. I’m not sure if the timing is off or if the defense is just that good.

Today we saw the best of QB Michael Coughlin, a perfect post corner to Preston Minter for a touchdown, and then the worst, a misread picked off by Dane Turner. Coughlin took a good angle and would have made the tackle. The senior looked sharp for most of the practice. Coughlin knows this offense, knows the reads, but the huge question (one that may never be answered) is whether or not he can be a gamer, a starter at BSU.

One guy I’m sure could do that is Raphiel Lambert, who has proved proficiency at tailback since making the change from corner this spring. He just has ‘it’ and could easily be the number two or three this season. He scored a would-be touchdown in practice today. Drew Wright is another question mark. He has flashes of the dynamo he was in high school, but I’m not sure if he’ll ever get the full chance at BSU, not with so many tailbacks on the roster. He has the speed, the moves.

Malcolm Johnson? The redshirt freshman looks like a dream sometimes (he made a leaping reception on the sideline today), but then has nightmare plays (two fumbles on consecutive handoffs).

There were a bunch of fumbles today. Billy Winn stripped one from Doug Martin and Derrell Acrey burglarized Carlo Audagnotti. The stalwart linebacker lifted the walk-on tailback into the air by the ball and straight up stole it.

QB Joe Southwick made some solid throws on the run today and also hit Aaron Burks up the seam for one of the few long completions. Martin made amends on a screen play to the house. Josh Borgman(!) broke up a touchdown pass. Winston Venable and Byron Hout both tallied tackles for a loss on blitzes.

You see a lot of miniscule things in practice, like Doug Martin picking up a blitz, or Acrey filling a hole to halt a pulling guard, or Brenel Myers sealing the end to give Jeremy Avery the edge. It’s Chris Potter in the proper position to give Geraldo Hiwat the sideline on an end-around.

It’s not the hairline contributions of a single player that define a play, but the amalgamation of all, the full head of hair, that determines a positive or negative outcome. Like a family at a funeral, a football team leans on itself, cracks jokes to lighten the mood, makes promises to be stronger tomorrow, more resilient today; it is defiant against tides of opposition and protective of even the most extreme edge, the most deviant family member. Together they are united in the common dream: to be great as individuals, to be perfect as a team.

A Friday Audience

About 100 high school coaches attended Boise State football practice today. They were looking at how the Broncos practice, hoping to use some of the WAC Champions’ tactics on practice fields come fall.
It honestly felt a little weird, with that many people out there. Usually it’s just a handful of reporters and team personnel at practice. But, today in the sun, it was different, and the team seemed to pick up its intensity in lieu of its unordinary audience.
Some of the coaches sitting behind me in the stands got excited when they saw a particular drill, where the team is broken up into four units: offensive linemen, receivers and defensive backs, linebackers and full backs and running backs and safeties. The linemen do their own thing and the other three groups rotate through three stations. BSU does that stuff all the time, to cross-train all of its skill players.
It was a day of big plays out on the Blue, at Bronco Stadium as the team finally went to full pads. They ran this 3-level blocking drill (line, linebacker and secondary), with a tailback running through to get ‘em riled up. In that drill I got another terrific look at Doug Martin, plunging through the hole and hopping around defenders without breaking stride. He has such a fluid style. I have no doubt he could be a featured back, but with the rotation at tailback, he won’t get more than 15 carries per game. That will keep Martin fresh and speedy all season.
The experiment with Matt Paradis on offense took a breather today as the freshman switched back to defensive orange.
Michael Coughlin threw four touchdown passes today, to Preston Minter, Aaron Burks, Jake Johnston and Tommy Gallarda. The Gallarda grab came on bootleg play-action and gave the offense a win (defense ran). Coughlin looked great, but he also made a bad pick to Travis Stanaway, when Kyle Efaw was open over the top.
It was a big day for the defensive line, anchored by the boisterous Billy Winn, who made two tackles for a loss and won a 1-on-1 battle to make the offense run.
Those little competitions pit the offense and defense against each other to create competition; both units have their own cheers. It’s very natural for football and they are polite, for the most part.
Greg Grimes, who still doesn’t really look like a football player, bottom heavy, got his hands up and knocked down a pass. Jarrell Root, Justin Jungblut, Ricky Tjong-A-Tjoe and Antwon Murray each had would-be sacks (although they’re in full pads there’s still no tackling “Stay up!” the coaches yell; and they never hit the black-shirt QB’s).
Kellen Moore ran with the defense after he threw a pick right to Derrell Acrey. Moore seemed a little off today, probably because he had to talk to us this afternoon.
He did hit Austin Pettis for two red-zone TD’s.
Joe Southwick hooked up with Tyler Jackson to give the former DB his first score in practice.
Winston Venable laid some hat out there, once with an ear-hole de-cleater that put the diminutive Chris Potter on the ground and another on Titus Young, who tried to make something out of a botched screen.
Dustin Kamper (LB, 6-0, 209, redshirt freshman, Meridian, Idaho) heard his name belted around the stadium following a vicious, but clean hit.
It seems mute to note stats and scores in practice. But, when you get down to it, those practice tapes will help the coaches determine the depth chart. Effort and success in practice usually translates on the field.
At the top of the chart are two of the finest safeties in the nation, Jeron Johnson and George Iloka. Both made jarring hits in the hole today. Cedric Febis and Stanaway are fine backups, but the difference between those 1’s and 2’s is as wide as the Snake River Gorge.

Sunburn

I sat today in section 23, four rows up. I got there early and witnessed spring sports in full swing.

The volleyball team practiced in the sand court sunshine and the hurdlers stretched.

Throughout football practice the track teams ran laps and held a series of competitions. Those teams deserve recognition.

Kirk Bell asked if there was another top-25 track team that gets this little attention, because all anyone wants to talk about is football, a sport that (unlike other BSU sports) has yet to grab a D-I national championship.

Those were all individual titles. Could football get that high? Would they get ever get a chance, no matter how many games they win?

We all want to know if the football team can be better than before, than ever. What incredible pressure, but they just handle it. They jaw and joke and run out every drill. They’re out there in caps and shells on the nicest day of the year.

How else can spring be spelled?

I asked lately about the process, from meetings and weights to on-the-field workouts. It seems like common sense: teach, walk-through, drill, practice and run run run.

Players ‘out’ today worked shoulders, twirling long ropes looped around the goalpost. Coach Tim Socha does a great job making them work.

Trevor Harmon made a field goal today. There’s no tackling, but Billy Winn, low and leveraged, took down Doug Martin for a loss; both look great in camp. Martin just has that knack to rack up yards. Matt Paradis is at right guard on the second team The whole offensive line is shook up, but they give a good pocket and get to their blocks downfield.

Redshirt freshman receiver Jake Johnston (5-11, 193, Eagle (ID) High School) caught an out route off Joe Southwick’s arm and toed the sideline to score a touchdown; both play on the third team.

Michael Coughlin’s arm, whew! When he needs to, he can rifle it.

Dane Turner, Josh Borgman and Byron Hout also broke up passes; Hout almost brought his in. Turner is a redshirt freshman from Sutter Union (Calif.) High School (5-10, 171). Borgman (5-7, 175) is a sophomore from Centennial High.

These are two of the smallest players on the team, but like the rest of the team, they play smart, fast and bigger than they are.

There are 26 redshirt freshmen on the roster. That’s almost an entire class that’s a year older, bigger, faster, stronger.

They could play 3-deep at so many positions, 2-deep at almost all.

BSU head coach Chris Petersen wore a green hat with the BSU logo. It was St. Patrick’s Day after all.