Boise State has starting spots to fill: 5 position battles to watch in spring practice

The Boise State football team kicks off spring practice Thursday, and the Broncos have plenty of questions to answer.

They’re breaking in several new coaches. Offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan, running backs coach James Montgomery and defensive line coach Erik Chinander will work with players in a practice setting for the first time since they were hired.

NCAA rules allow the Broncos to hold 15 practices, culminating in the annual spring game on April 8.

Boise State also has plenty of holes to fill thanks to graduation, especially on defense, where the team has to replace eight starters.

Here’s a look at the top five position battles to keep an eye on this March.

Cornerback

Boise State’s secondary is going to look quite different this year. Safety JL Skinner will be playing for an NFL team, and he might be joined by nickel Tyreque Jones and two of the Broncos’ top three cornerbacks from last season.

Cornerbacks Caleb Biggers and Tyric LeBeauf have also declared for the NFL Draft, leaving Boise State to navigate the season without much experience at a position that comes with plenty of time in the spotlight.

Biggers started 20 games the past two seasons. He started 19 contests at Bowling Green before transferring in 2021. He posted 38 tackles and the first interception of his career last season.

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LeBeauf was in and out of the starting lineup the past three years, but he led the Broncos with three interceptions and etched his name in the record books in 2021. He was the second player in program history to return an interception 100 yards for a touchdown after snagging a pass in the Broncos’ end zone and scoring in the season opener at UCF two years ago. Jamar Taylor (2008-12) was the first to do it.

Boise State does have an experienced cornerback in the mix. Markel Reed, a fifth-year senior, missed last season after suffering a knee injury in the opener at Oregon State. There has been no word on his availability this spring.

That leaves a group of young corners to compete for playing time, led by redshirt juniors Kaonohi Kaniho and Jaylen Clark.

Kaniho, the younger brother of former Boise State nickel Kekaula Kaniho, has been in an out of the lineup because of injuries and inconsistent play, but he has appeared in 23 games the past two seasons.

Clark saw his playing time increase in the second half of last season. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound native of Tacoma, Washington, started the Frisco Bowl against North Texas and snagged the first interception of his career.

Nickel

The nickel position comes with a lot of responsibility at Boise State. The player who starts there has to be as comfortable in man coverage as he is defending the run or rushing the quarterback.

Jones flourished there last year in his first season at the position. He posted 34 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, an interception and three pass breakups.

Fans may have caught a glimpse of the Broncos’ next starting nickel during the Frisco Bowl. Jones missed the game with an injury, leaving safety Seyi Oladipo to fill in, and he didn’t disappoint. He was second on the team with 11 tackles and broke up a pass on a crucial third down late in the game.

Redshirt junior Rodney Robinson may also get a look at nickel, but he might be too valuable to move after posting 48 tackles and three interceptions at safety last season. Physically imposing safety Zion Washington (6-2, 205) may also see time at nickel in practice.

Edge

The Broncos are desperate to find a dominant pass rusher. They haven’t had a player finish a season with more than seven sacks since Curtis Weaver posted 13.5 in 2019.

Demitri Washington looked like he was finding his stride after posting 4.5 sacks, but a shoulder injury cost him the final four games of last season. He’s probably not going to be on the field this month while he recovers from surgery he had in December.

Redshirt junior Gabe Hunter stepped in for Washington last year and snagged two game-sealing interceptions. He should get plenty of action this spring, but the stars of the show will be transfers Kivon “Cheese” Wright (6-2, 232) and Tyler Wegis (6-2, 242).

Wright joined the Broncos after he spent last year at Boston College. He has four years of eligibility remaining. Wegis spent the past three years at Utah and has three seasons left, including the extra year offered by the NCAA because of COVID-19.

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Center

Boise State returns four offensive linemen with starting experience: guards Ben Dooley, Garrett Curran and Mason Randolph, and tackle Cade Beresford. The Broncos have a big hole to fill at center, though.

Both of the players who started last season are gone. Kekaniokoa Holomalia-Gonzalez appeared in 11 games last season but missed the 2021 season with a medical issue. He also struggled with injuries last year and announced in January that he was retiring.

Texas Tech transfer Will Farrar spent most of his time with the Broncos as a guard, but he started four games at center in what was the final season of his college career.

Redshirt junior Nathan Cardona should get plenty of reps at center. The 6-3, 280-pound native of Yorba Linda, California, played the position in high school and earned high praise for the work he did on the scout team last year, offensive line coach Tim Keane said.

Randolph also could see snaps at center this spring, Keane said.

Left tackle

Another big hole the Broncos have to fill on the offensive line is at left tackle.

John Ojukwu started 32 straight games there the past three seasons, but he’s working out for scouts this week at the NFL Combine and hoping to be the latest left tackle from Boise State to hear his name called in the draft.

There are plenty of options to protect quarterback Taylen Green’s blind side — so many that Keane said his head is spinning.

The Broncos could move Dooley from right guard. He started at right tackle in the first four games of the 2021 season.

Beresford spent a year at left tackle when he was at Washington State, and he may be the favorite to replace Ojukwu.

Curran also has seen time at tackle.

And Keane said he’s high on a pair of young tackles: redshirt sophomore Cord Kringlen and redshirt freshman Kage Casey.

Kringlen played left tackle last spring while Ojukwu was rehabbing from offseason surgery. Casey impressed the coaching staff with his strength and physicality last year, Keane said.