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.
