Columbia High grad was a ‘die-hard’ Boise State fan. Now he hopes to beat the Broncos

Oregon State starting right guard Brandon Kipper was forthright about his love for Boise State football growing up.

He even admitted it “stung a little bit” when the Broncos didn’t offer him a scholarship coming out of Nampa’s Columbia High School in 2017.

But this isn’t about a perceived slight from six years ago, even if people won’t stop asking about it ahead of the Beavers’ season-opening game against the Broncos on Saturday (8:30 p.m., ESPN) at Reser Stadium in Corvallis.

“I was on their radar to some degree. I had some talks with some of the coaches there, but I never got an official offer from them,” Kipper told the Idaho Statesman in a phone interview. “It’s definitely something that stung a little bit growing up being a die-hard Boise State fan. I thought I had done enough up to that point to earn that offer at the time.

“But to be honest with you, it’s all worked out tenfold. I wouldn’t change a thing in my story. I wouldn’t change a thing that’s happened on this journey.”

Now a sixth-year senior with the Beavers, Kipper’s journey has brought him to the precipice of realizing a childhood dream. And it’s a major part of the reason he chose to come back for the extra year of eligibility offered by the NCAA because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“When I came out of high school, I had some really big dreams. I still do,” Kipper said. “I definitely think that as you get older, you become more realistic. But you also become more driven. And that mix of realism and the drive has pushed me in a lot of ways.

“I know what I’m capable of now. Whereas when I was 18, 19, I don’t think you truly know what you’re capable of. You have an idea in your head, but it’s just a lot of ideas. And then you gotta work at it for a long period of time until you truly know who you are and what you’re capable of.

“So now, being in the position I’m in, obviously the NFL is still a dream. It’s not there yet. It’s still something I’m chasing every day. But it’s cool to think that that opportunity is possible for me. It’s no longer something that a young, naive kid is just thinking about. It’s something that I can truly achieve if I play up to my level.”

Kipper started all four years at Columbia, was the school’s student body president and earned second-team 5A All-Idaho honors as a senior. He initially chose Hawaii over offers from Army, UTEP, Montana, Montana State, Weber State and Portland State. As a two-time 5A heavyweight state wrestling champion, he also held a wrestling scholarship offer from George Mason.

He attended Hawaii as a freshman in 2017, appearing in 11 games, before deciding to transfer to Oregon State, where he believed he had a better chance of realizing his NFL dream.

The 6-foot-6, 327-pounder has played in 46 college games, including 35 for Oregon State.

Last season, Kipper started all 13 of Oregon State’s games at right tackle, earning All-Pac-12 honorable mention recognition. He was part of an offensive line that helped running back B.J. Baylor to a Pac-12 best 1,337 rushing yards, and the Beavers’ offensive line also allowed the fewest sacks in the Pac-12, at 14.

Kipper received an 80.1 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, the 10th-best mark in the Pac-12, and ranked ninth among Pac-12 offensive linemen with an 84.9 run-blocking grade from PFF.

For all the success he’s had at right tackle, though, Kipper will be playing right guard this season after receiving feedback that he’d likely be a better fit at guard in the NFL.

“It’s still football. Obviously I did play right tackle for three years here, but coach Jim (Michalczik), my O-line coach here, makes a real big emphasis on being able to play all five positions and being able to have guys that are interchangeable,” Kipper said. “So over my time being here I’ve taken snaps at right guard, I’ve taken snaps at left tackle and left guard.

“There are some things to learn. It’s been fun to learn a new position in some ways, but at the same time it really is a lot of the same things, the same schemes.”

With his final season here, Kipper — who has already graduated with a degree in psychology — is aware that he is now a role model for the next generation of football players, just like Boise State great Kellen Moore was for him growing up.

Saturday, those two worlds will collide in a very real way for the Treasure Valley native.

“It doesn’t matter where you’re from. It doesn’t matter who’s coming to your games,” Kipper said. “You can prove yourself. That was something that I took really personal and really inspired me. It’s cool to think that I might be able to do that for somebody else, for some other kid that’s in the same spot as I was eight, nine years ago.

“But at the same time, I’m not done. I hope to continue to be an example of what’s possible both on and off the field.”