Now we’ll find out what the 2008 recruiting class is made
of. Most have gone through their
redshirt year and it’s time to see if they will uphold the strong tradition of
the Broncos.
It was generally thought that this was an outstanding
class—so far though only one player (safety George Iloka) (6-3, 210) has made an
immediate contribution as a starter. So
it’s time for this group to step up and be counted.
Iloka is a sure-tackling, hard-hitting safety with great
size that can do it all. Iloka is
always around the ball and is a playmaker on defense.
Iloka graduated from his high school in
Texas
early so he could enroll at
Boise
State
in January of 2008 and practice in spring ball last year. That
dedication paid huge dividends, not only for George but for the Bronco team.
He played in all 13 games last season and was the
fourth-leading tackler on the team with 63; 45 of those were solo tackles.
Iloka was a fixture in opponents’ backfields, getting 6.5 tackles for
loss. He was also tied for second on
the Broncos and fifth in the Western Athletic Conference with four interceptions
to go with six more passes that he broke up.
Iloka clearly is the latest in a long line of great Bronco safeties that
is headed for the National Football League if he continues his amazing play.
Byron Hout (6-0, 241)was the
Idaho
5A State Player of the Year coming out of
Lake
City
High School
in
Coeur D’Alene
. While he didn’t start, he saw
increasing action as the year went on, and made one of the spectacular plays of
the year with an interception against TCU in the Poinsettia Bowl that he
returned for 62 yards. Hout outshone all of the Bronco running backs in the game
on that one play with his running ability. Hout
saw action in 10 games and in addition to the highlight interception finished
with 27 tackles, including six for losses totaling 39 yards, four sacks for
minus-35 yards, one forced fumble, one recovery and one pass deflection.
Defensive tackle Michael Atkinson, (6-0, 324, Fr.)who has quickly acquired
the nickname “Bacon” as another of the long line of Canadian players signed
by Boise State, made a lot of progress in practice and was expected to play a
lot on the defensive line for the Broncos this fall.
His choice to drink and drive in July jeopardized his future and he was suspended for three games. Any contribution he was to make this fall will be delayed by at least that long.
The 2008 class, in fact, featured a lot of linemen among
the 20 recruits—eight of them were recruited as either offensive or defensive
linemen. Faraji Wright (6-3, 282, Fr.) was billed as
the next Ryan Clady. If that’s
true he will be starting for the Broncos this fall since Clady started as a
redshirt freshman. Big Tom Swanson
(6-6, 283, Fr.) is another side of beef that would be a big boost to the weak offensive line
that had trouble opening holes for the Bronco run game last year.
Here’s two more of which great things were expected of them when they signed with Boise State: guards Joe Kellogg (6-2, 301, Fr.) and Bronson Durrant (6-3, 258, Fr.). Durrant and Brenel Myers (6-2, 255, Fr.) haven't filled out. They are right now more the size of last year’s
Bronco line and we know that doesn’t work.
Joining Atkinson in the group hoping to make an impact on
the defensive line are Greg Grimes (6-0, 270, Fr.) and Darren Koontz (6-3, 262, Fr.).
Daron Mackey (6-0, 230) came to
Boise
State
as a junior college transfer, but he has two years of eligibility left.
With the Bronco defense switching to a
4-2-5
this fall, the competition will be fierce for those two ‘backer spots.
It’s time for Mackey to show what he can do.
Tommy Smith has switched to strong linebacker and he’ll be pushing for
playing time as well.
Jamar Taylor (5-11, 191, So.) is a talented cornerback that will give
Boise
State
excellent depth and Tyler Jackson is a speedy safety that will be battling for
time in the secondary.
Chris Potter (5-11, 170, Fr.) was a highly-regarded wide receiver out of
Westlake Village
,
California
. Big things are expected of Potter
and with Jeremy Childs leaving school early, he could get his chance sooner than
first thought.
Coach Chris Petersen and his staff recruited two running
backs in the ’08 class (Jack Sula and Raphiel Lambert) but Sula is gone and
Lambert (5-11, 197) converted to cornerback. With
great depth at that position,
Boise
State
won’t suffer but incoming recruit Malcolm Johnson (5-11, 190) will gladly get the reps.
Van Drumgoole from
Caldwell
’s
Vallivue
High School
is the other player who has left the program.
Since
Boise
State
has progressively received more national respect, one would expect each
recruiting class to be better than the last.
The feeling was that the 2008 class was one of the best and, while Iloka
and Hout have already shown what they can do, the other members of the class
need to step up this fall and be counted.