BSU spring: Wednesday practice report

The second day of spring practice took us back to Bronco Stadium, out of doors, into the biting wind whipping though the blue-sky air.

I sat in the sun on the east side, right at the 50-yard line, four rows up. I can’t believe how good the seats are. We watch the regular-season game six stories up above the top row of the stadium. Sure, we can see the overall game better, but I admit a certain jealousy toward the fanatics who buy these seats, see the game from this angle, so close to hear the sounds of the game.

The attention to detail in drills abounds. Something as simple as footwork mid-tackle can be a determining factor in a game. So in practice, Jeff Choate’s linebackers practiced the footwork today, to make sure you leap off one foot as you try to bury a ball carrier.

If you leap off both feet, the angle won’t be right, you won’t get the lift you need to take him off his feet, smash his back against the turf. Lead off one foot, the toe-tips of one foot and you create the minute angle requisite in the maneuver.

It’s a challenge to keep my eyes trained on a single man among a hundred. But still, I watched keenly for Tyler Jackson, who I interviewed today. He switched to the offensive side of the ball, in hopes to use his speed in the slot. He may have that ‘thing’ but I’m not sure if he has the hands for receiver. Once he really commits to the change and gets that behemoth playbook under his arm into his mind, then I think we’ll see the best of him.

I also talked to Raphiel Lambert, who is now a tailback. He’s a short, stocky back, carries the ball a little high (ala Emmitt Smith) and also has that look to him, a light discomfort in the new position (he played cornerback since coming to Boise). Read the Friday Times-News to hear Lambert and Jackson tell their stories.

The offense ran today, because turnovers make Pete blow his horn (literally, he carries an air-horn in his pocket throughout practice).

Jonathan Brown (5-10, 202, redshirt freshman safety) made the play of the day, stepping in front of a Joe Southwick pass (a little tight-end 6-yard curl). Brown ripped the ball away for the sudden change. The defense (Billy Winn) recovered a fumble on the following play. The consecutive turnovers got the chatter going. This is a competition, albeit tempered. The defense tends to dominate spring practices and that’s true again this season. I didn’t see any breakaway offensive plays today (excepting a well-set-up screen to Malcolm Johnson). No touchdowns in my notes, but that’s expected in some of these drills. To score would be at least a 40-yard play. Wait for goalline drills, and red-zone scenarios, then they’ll score more.

Aaron Burks seems to have made a step. The quarterbacks trust him more, and though he’s still not getting to every ball, you can sense an innate desire to get there every time. His effort and comfort level in the offense have increased. Geraldo Hiwat also has picked up his game. Both these guys are big targets, lanky and getting stronger. They won’t be 1’s on this roster, not this year, but they will get there. Neither is a bust. You know, I can’t see any busts out there. Everyone works, again, even the injured, who did curls and jerks with 45-pound plates on weight bars, tossing them to each other. Keep it tough, challenging and different.

I have Tommy Smith, Aaron Tevis and Jamar Taylor all down for pass breakups in team drills. Quaylon Ewing got a pick — the receiver fell down and the pass was all his, but it bounced off his chest and he had to adjust, leap for the ball and scoop it just above the Blue. I wasn’t sure he caught it, but Petersen was 9 yards away and he blew the horn.

I just wanted to note the guys at nickel: Winston Venable, Hunter White, Jonathan Brown, Ebenezer Makinde and Billy Derome.

Day 2 is in the books. There’s a lot of good work getting done. The teaching and rotating drills forces each player to activate knowledge gained in the meeting rooms. They learn, then practice, then apply it on the field.

This team does it right.

Jason Robinson

I know it’s never good to speculate, so I won’t bother why Jason Robinson was suspended indefinitely.

But, how does it matter on the football field? It opens a competition for the No. 2 at nickelback.

Hunter White is now at the position. Why not? How many of these guys want to be hybrids, are already?

You saw defensive ends at linebacker, that’s Byron Hout now, changing positions. There are a lot of names on this roster. Get used to CB Ebenezer Makinde (5-11, 177) one of many redshirt freshmen.

They all look a little bigger; Venable looks like he lost a little weight, maybe picked up half a step? He’s still the starter, perfect for first and second downs.

But last season Robinson owned third downs of any length. What Robinson will miss is this pressure inflicted at practice, constant motion, repetition, even for the guys who were out.

Today they hit tractor tires with sledgehammers! Think of splitting a cord of wood. To our knowledge there are now at least three sledgehammers in the equipment room. Two in practice and one for hit of the game on special teams. The drill stretches the shoulders, lower back and requires explosion, an active move, teaching muscle memory to quicken. These are basic elements of the game.

The coolest thing sledgehammers on tractor tires!

Springtime with the Broncos

I’m sitting in the Caven-Williams indoor practice facility, my back against the wall, delighted in the echoes of spring football. “Black 80, Bronco, Bronco, White 8, Down set, hut.” Gotta love that sound.

Quarterbacks in black, offense in its worn white and the defense in that faded orange, just helmets, jerseys and shorts today. New uniforms are great, but practice jerseys last years.

Surprise, surprise, Titus Young wears No. 1, but no one has taken No. 4 yet. With the sparse departures of a handful of seniors, very few number changes are expected. No one has taken Richie Brockel’s No. 40.

David Cushing (DL, Caldwell High, No. 68) is in camp. Michael Atkinson has a taped right ankle, but he’s working out. Derek Hill anyone? Sure, sure, No. 86 (walk-on true freshman WR, Carson, Calif.).

I’m usually all in stitches about the new guys, but this spring, this season is all about developing the players already on board. How will the redshirts from last season fare?

It looks like Young, Jerrell Gavins (No. 10) and Ebenezer Makinde (No. 37) are the frontrunners to replace Kyle Wilson on punt return. Gavins is my favorite at boundary corner.

Raphiel Lambert is now working out with the running backs. Tyler Jackson is still listed as a safety but is working with the receivers. They’re trying to find ways they can move up the depth chart, even if that means changing positions.

It’s wet and nasty outside, but in here it’s chill and dry.

Spring ball is all about restarting the work ethic instilled in this team all last season (the last 10 years). I wonder if it will come easier or harder for this team. Will the comfort in the system make this the best spring training period in history, or will complacency rear its sneaky little head?

There is no room for error here. Detractors to the team/family/unit/position/legacy don’t seem to exist in this dome. Returning starters litter the field, but the youth movement is maturing and few positions are safe. No one wants to be the last guy in line, the last one to a station, the one who drops a ball (set of 10) or misses an assignment, fumbles a snap. To overtake a position, one must be nearly flawless. There are open spaces in the depth chart, chances to move from the number threes to the twos, to be the guy behind the curtain, waiting for the wish granted. There is no preferential treatment. Everyone runs every drill.

If this team desires to fulfill the expectations of fanatics and theoreticians, it must improve (through leaps and bounds, blocks and bombs). It sounds demanding to beg perfection for a football team, but that’s old hat for this team.

Some guys I’m looking at are Aaron Burks and Geraldo Hiwat. I want to know if these receivers can go from raw to rare.

I’m also taking a good look at Byron Hout, making the move from defensive end to linebacker.

Play of the day? Easy Pease-y. It’s Chris Potter, who made a spinning 1-handed grab in drills, toe-tapping both feet. I know it’s practice, but that was one the best catches I’ve ever seen.

Day one is in the books. The energy inside the indoor was electric, but tempered. But the same rules apply. You jump offsides, the defense does up-downs. You turn the ball over, you run. This is football, and a new season is born.

A fake punt

Brotzman to Efaw, 29 yards, bang bang, and the Boise State Broncos kept that drive alive. Then Moore hit Efaw (11), Young (9), Gallarda (16) and Doug Martin soared in to score.

FINAL: BSU 17, TCU 10.

Turnover

Doug Martin fumbled a ball, viciously stripped by Jerry Hughes, who also recovered the fumble. The Horned Frogs then drove down to the BSU 16 before their drive stalled.You simply can’t have mistakes like that in a game. Both teams have now turned the ball over. BSU simply cannot do it again or it will lose the game. Turnovers are killers and that last one murdered a drive that looked promising.  On a night littered with 3-and-outs, that one really hurts. TCU got three points out of it to tie the score. Derrell Acrey almost returned the favor for BSU, on a pass deflected by Jerrell Gavins, but the ball hit the ground before Acrey could corral it. After three quarters, it’s BSU 10, TCU 10.

Brotzman made amends with that 40-yarder. His skils from the left hash seem to have completely left him. He missed a 36-yarder in this game. I can’t remember the last time he made one of consequence from the left hash. That must make Bryan Harsin start to question which direction to run third down plays to. It’s actually gotten a little quiet in here with the 10-0 lead.

BSU is double teaming Jerry Hughes on almost every play. He knocked Moore down once when he jumped offsides, and later batted down a swing pass.

Brandyn Thompson got the back end of the Karma, returning an interception for a  touchdown, then getting beat on a pump fake to give up the only TCU score of the half.

End First Quarter

What a bunch of madness. Play of the quarter has to go to Brandyn Thompson and his 51-yard interception return for a touchdown. He stepped in front of a slant pass and was home free. Second place goes to Kyle Wilson on that sack/forced fumble on Dalton, nearly knocking the starter out.
BSU had one productive drive, but Brotzman miss a no-brainer from the left hash. How much longer does that guy keep his job? If an entire side of the field is off limits? No way.
The Broncos are running a variation of the 3-2-6 defense, using three corners and lining up Shea McClellin at linebacker.

Fiesta pre-game

I spent the last two hours down on the field, waiting for fans to file in, observing warm-ups and talking shop with whoever was willing. I’d like to stay down there forever, but boys and girls we got a game to watch.
It’s funny watching so many people scurry for their smart phones when Kellen Moore walked out wearing orange pants. They look like a dream(cickle. I think it’s good for nostalgia, but this is a different everything than it was last year, from opponent to roster and atmosphere to attention. I doubt the ratings will be great, but I’m sure the game will.
The BSU band is out on the field now, with more scholarships than the last bump here in Glendale, because they were embarrassed by Oklahoma’s girth. The band still looks miniscule. There are still a boatload of empty seats in the stadium. I’m sure more than a few folks are dawdling in the parking lot. The tailgate parties were out of control out there, a lot of yelling and not a lot of sobriety. I must have shot close to 500 photos this week, and that’s a bunch for a literary guy like me. I sure ain’t willing to be a photog yet; I barely qualify as a writer still at this juncture. But here I am, stuck, again, in the middle with you.
I would love to tell you some inside dirt that I haven’t already unearthed, but honestly I’m about analyzed-out. I’m ready to break down some film and really talk about the game in-action, not the game in-prognostication.
I’m not one to pick scores, so I won’t. Even though I was forced to on air this week. I don’t even think scores matter. I’m all about wins and losses and even then I won’t pick beforehand, in case I curse a team.
Some things to look for?
Watch the line of scrimmage in this game. Whichever team can move it in their direction will win, hands down.
But look also for some hidden yardage in the kicking game to sway field position.
Moreover, and over, the running game will make the difference, or is it the quarterbacks? The defensive lines? The second string field goal kicker? I just don’t know. Anything can happen in the course of a football game. The team that adjusts and remains efficient, executes and delivers on promises will win.
How bout this? The team that scores more wins! That one I can assure you, but other than that, I am watching and lingering just like you.
20 minutes left. I am a month’s worth of ready.

Practice

The practice facility at Scottsdale Community College, where the Broncos practice, is just ridiculously nice for a junior college. They have two football fields, side by side, other than the game field. The grass is perfectly manicured, bizarre for this city without grass. There’s a lot of brown down here. I bet the Fiesta Bowl puts a lot of money into that place. TCU is practicing at a high school that simply isn’t as nice.
I talked to Richie Brockel today after practice. He is still on crutches, but plans to start walking without them tomorrow or the day after. He said he still feels pain in the bottom of his foot, just because he has not walked on it in weeks. instead he’s been working his upper body. He bench pressed 285 pounds 10 times yesterday. He’s getting stronger. Once he gets back into the gym, he’ll have a few months to recover and prepare for the NFL tryouts. I think he’ll be just fine. The Minnesota Vikings might be a good fit. Someone can use a hyper-intelligent fullback. Brockel is probably the best NFL prospect on the team.

Sunshine on my shoulder

It is so beautiful down here. It seriously feels like June in Idaho. It’s bright and warm and confusing for our acclimated bodies. I can’t imagine what will happen to me when we have to go back.
In the Valley of the Sun football dominates the horizon. We have been watching all these games (totally disappointed in the BCS games so far) and have tried our best to break down the TCU/BSU matchup. It’s no secret that TCU is tough on defense, but it’s offense is surprisingly efficient. They run the ball and then fool defenses when they commit at the line of scrimmage. The one thing I’m really looking for is the physical victories inside and on the edges. No one seems to think the Broncos can match up, but if I know anything about this BSU team, their effort shocks opponents. The word ‘quit’ is alien to them. They may not have the same natural talent, but they surely have the heart and head to get it done.