Michigan players and Washington coaches: National title game has Boise State, Idaho ties

It has to be hard for Boise State fans to watch Michigan’s rise to the national championship game without wondering what could have been.

The Wolverines have one of the best defensive lines in the country thanks in part to the emergence of a young interior lineman named Mason Graham, who almost ended up at Boise State.

Graham, a former four-star recruit from Servite, California, verbally committed to Boise State in July 2021, but programs around the country continued to recruit him. Michigan, Arizona State, USC and Oregon offered Graham scholarships. He reversed course and went back on his commitment on Sept. 16, 2021, which was the same day he committed to the Wolverines.

Michigan struck gold with the 6-foot-3, 318-pound sophomore. He played in 12 games this season and posted 32 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and three sacks. He was named a second-team All-American by Sporting News, and he earned first-team All-Big Ten honors from the conference’s coaches and third-team recognition from the media.

Last season, he was named Big Ten Co-Defensive Freshman of the Year after appearing in 14 games, making two starts and posting 27 tackles and 2.5 sacks. He was named a Freshman All-American by Pro Football Focus.

Graham isn’t the only Boise State or Idaho connection fans will notice when Michigan faces Washington — both are undefeated, with the Huskies’ first win of the season coming over the Broncos — in the national title game Monday at 5:30 p.m. Mountain time on ESPN.

Colston Loveland

A former Idaho high school football star has emerged as a reliable target in Michigan’s passing game.

Former Gooding standout Colston Loveland has made 15 starts the past two seasons. The sophomore tight end was named first-team All-Big Ten by the conference’s coaches and second-team by the media this season after catching 42 passes for 585 yards and four touchdowns.

Loveland started five games last season as a freshman and finished the year with 16 catches for 235 yards and two touchdowns. He was named Offensive and Co-Special Teams Rookie of the Year by his teammates.

Offseason tracker: Which Boise State players declared for NFL Draft? Who is returning?

Loveland was a four-star prospect coming out of high school. He was rated as the top high school recruit in Idaho and the No. 10 tight end in the nation by 247Sports. He passed on scholarship offers from Boise State, Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon State, Auburn, LSU and UCLA, among several other programs.

He was named Gatorade Idaho Football Player of the Year after posting 62 catches for 968 yards and 14 touchdowns and adding 33 carries for 352 yards and four more touchdowns as a senior at Gooding in 2021.

Gatlin Bair

Another top recruit from Idaho could be heading to Michigan eventually.

Burley wide receiver Gatlin Bair verbally committed to Boise State last August. He would have been the highest-rated high school recruit to ever sign with the Broncos, but he backed out of his commitment in December. One of the reasons Bair said he reopened his recruitment was the firing of former Boise State coach Andy Avalos in November.

“Many elements have changed both at BSU and for myself since my commitment,” Bair wrote on X, the social media platform formally known as Twitter, as part of his announcement that he was back on the market.

Boise State beats out Michigan for top-rated high school football recruit in Idaho

Bair is a four-star recruit, the top high school prospect in Idaho and the No. 10 wide receiver in the country, according to 247Sports. He holds scholarship offers from many of the most prominent programs in the country, but he whittled his list down to Boise State, Michigan, Oregon, Nebraska and TCU before verbally committing to the Broncos.

Since reopening his recruitment, Bair has been focused on Michigan and Oregon. He has visited both programs, but seeing the Wolverines hoist college football’s most coveted trophy on Monday could sway his decision.

Bair also will play in the All-American Bowl on Saturday (11 a.m. MT, NBC) at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. He posted 52 catches for 832 yards and 10 touchdowns and rushed for 148 yards and four more scores in eight games at Burley last season.

The catch with Bair is that he plans to serve a two-year mission with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints before stepping on a college football field.

Coaches at Washington

Several members of the Boise State coaching tree have helped the Huskies earn a spot in the national championship game.

Head coach Kalen Deboer’s staff includes seven members with ties to the Broncos: three assistant coaches, a graduate assistant, two offensive quality control coaches and the director of on-campus recruiting.

Former Boise State running back Lee Marks (2002-2005) is in his second season as Washington’s running backs coach. He racked up 1,773 rushing yards and eight touchdowns over his final two seasons as a starter at Boise State. He was a two-time All-Western Athletic Conference pick and was named the team’s offensive MVP in 2005.

Marks spent six years on Boise State’s coaching staff, leading the running backs and special teams under former head coach Bryan Harsin. He spent the 2020 and 2021 seasons at Fresno State before following DeBoer to Washington.

Washington offensive line coach Scott Huff played center at Boise State from 1999 to 2002 and helped lead the Broncos to a 12-1 record and a WAC championship as a senior. He spent eight seasons coaching offensive line, tight ends and special teams and serving as offensive coordinator at Boise State under Chris Petersen before joining the Huskies’ staff as offensive line coach in 2017.

This season, Huff’s unit earned the Moore Award, which is given to the nation’s top offensive line. The award is named after Joe Moore, a former offensive line coach at Notre Dame and Pittsburgh who sent 52 linemen to the NFL.

Washington cornerbacks coach Julius Brown was a three-year starter at Boise State. He spent 2014-15 as the Broncos’ secondary coach and recruiting coordinator.

Washington defensive graduate assistant Tyson Maeva began his playing career at Boise State, and Joyce Harrell, the Huskies’ director of on-campus recruiting, played women’s basketball for the Broncos.

Mitch Dahlen, an offensive quality control coach, was an assistant wide receivers and quarterbacks coach for the Broncos in 2018. And fellow offensive quality control coach Taylor Pope played for the Broncos from 2012 to 2016.