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Nathan Carroll

Malachi Toney Is he going to be ready? Dante Moore he showed improvement. Better command.

Bud Elliott

What's going on y'?

Co-host/Producer

All?

Bud Elliott

Bud Elliott here of the COVID 3 college football podcast and this is Summer School. We are back in session. That's Nathan Carroll of Bronco Nation news. Nathan, welcome back, man.

Nathan Carroll

Thanks, man. Appreciate you having me on and look forward to talking a little bit of Boise State football here.

Bud Elliott

Huge season for Boise last year. Looking to have another one as they embark on a new conference. I guess I'll start there. What's the mood about the move?

Nathan Carroll

Yeah, I think in general there's some excitement from fans about the move to the PAC 12. You know, just gives a little bit of shake up. Feels like a small step forward. Right. You're taking pretty much the top teams from the Mountain west over the past 20 years or so and combining them with Texas State, Washington State, Oregon State. And I think in general, fans are excited about the move. You know, they got the Pac12 logo down on the field, getting it put on the jerseys. You know, it's not the Pac 12 old, we all know that. But at the same time, I think fans are excited. And seeing that logo, I think for a lot of fans is pretty surreal.

Bud Elliott

Certainly big name. I know we're looking forward to watching them on CBS's airwaves there. We'll start offensively, certainly some, some turnover, but also like a lot of really nice pieces coming back. Starting with Maddox Madsen. Where, where can you see him, like, elevating his game this year to take it to yet another level?

Nathan Carroll

The big, big thing for Maddox is just going to be stepping up when they're playing better competition. Right. I believe every game that Maddox Madsen has started, conference opponent, he's won, the issue has been doesn't play very well against South Florida last year, you go back to 2024 in the Fiesta against Penn State, throws three interceptions in that game. The Notre Dame game last year at four interceptions in that game. Played just one half in the bowl game against Deep Washington and throws two pretty, pretty bad interceptions in that one. So, you know, for Maddox, when you get into Pac12 play and you're playing some of these, you know, kind of mid tier, group of five teams, you feel really good about him. The big thing is going to be can he step up and elevate and. And we're going to find out. Week one against Oregon, right. Like you're coming out against, I don't know, one of, if not the best defensive line in college football. Week one against Oregon. So he's going to be tested and, you know, if he can, if he can play up a level and sort of be near the standard he's been in Pac12 play, I think that's sort of the growth that Bronco Nation would want to See out of Maddox this year for sure.

Bud Elliott

And last year, you know, 18 to 9 touch and interception ratio. Like you mentioned the injury issues there. I am curious about the downfield passing game. So with Marshall gone and Capel's gone, you know what, Ben Ford's back. They brought in some interesting pieces from the Portal. How do you see this shaping up there with the deep attack?

Nathan Carroll

Yeah, I think in terms of pushing the ball downfield they have some, some options. They've got some guys with speed. They brought in Darren Morris who played at Southern University, who's a certified deep threat. I think He's a, you know, 4, 440 type of guy. I feel like he can stretch the floor field for them. Quinton Brown played a little bit as a true freshman last year, had six catches and two touchdowns. I mean he's probably the fastest player on the team. He's only 5, 8, so he's not going to be a do it all receiver for them. But he's someone who can stretch the field certainly. And then Cameron Bates who had 17 catches last year is expected to take on a bigger role. Last year was a little bit more of a gadget and underneath go get your yards after catch guy but I think they want to use him in more of a vertical role this year. So got a lot of bodies, got a lot of speed out there to certain try to stretch the defense a little bit further. And you know, it's no secret that that's where things need to grow. You know, Maddox Madsen talked about it during spring, like that is the thing he's working on this offseason is pushing the ball down the field vertically more often and with more accuracy. So it's been an issue in recent years getting the ball down the field. And the team is. Maddox Madsen is very aware of that and it's certainly something that they're trying to work through right now.

Bud Elliott

So maybe some of that comes off play action because they returned two running backs who combined for almost 2,000 yards last year, which is, it's got to be among the highest college football at least as returnees. If you were to strip out some of the guys from the Portal, do you still see that this rushing attack being pretty dangerous?

Nathan Carroll

Yeah, I'd be pretty shocked if it's not one of, if not the best running back rooms in the group of six. And really, I mean I think you're talking better than a good chunk of the power four. Obviously bring back Dylan Riley was a thousand yard rusher last year, kind of came out of Nowhere. Played as a true freshman out of necessity. With injuries in the running back room and heading into fall camp last year, we thought Dylan Riley would probably be RB4, RB3, but he ends up having a breakout season. At one point against Air Force earlier in the year, has a six touchdown game. And then you've got Sire Gaines who was just under a thousand yards, had a little bit of injury stuff that I think limited his total rushing output. But he, in terms of, you know, NFL prospects, is probably the better running back of the two. I mean he's 61 runs really well, 215, like 8% body fat. I mean he's one of those guys that steps off the bus and looks the part. But they also bring in two transfers from the Power 4 level. Harry Stewart comes in from Kansas and had a really strong spring. And then Jules Goff comes in from Pitt and had believe over 600 yards at Pitt last year. I mean they've got four guys who, all of which have looked really good, all of which look really impressive, aggressive. We'll see how that rep share shakes out. I would imagine it's Riley and Cyra Gaines mostly, but I mean Harry Stewart and Jules Goff are two really talented players and I think they're gonna have to find ways to, to get them the ball. So there's no doubt about it. I mean this team, this offense, they want to run the ball. They want to have a, you know, a power run offense. And I think with some of the injuries they've had in the running back rooms the, the past two years, they just wanted to be a lot deeper and I think they certainly did that this offseason.

Bud Elliott

They'll be running behind an offensive line that looks to rebuild the left side. Obviously Casey going fourth round to Denver, one of the highest drafted guys out of the group of five. And then Mason Randolph, the center also, I believe, graduates. What. How is this going to look a right side? I feel like they're pretty set right, left side. Is it a question, a concern? How would you benchmark that?

Nathan Carroll

I. I think right now there's a clear five favorites. To start on the left side, they brought in Tyler Etheridge who was a all American at 2 level at CSU Pueblo. They bring him up probably not an NFL guy just in terms of body. You know, he's like 616 2, probably about 310 pounds, but really, really good technician. Right. That was one of the things that Tim Keane, the offensive line coach talked about when he came in is typically you bring a guy in and you're trying to work on the technique. He has all that down. So right now it's been a lot of just focusing on. All right, how can we get you stronger? How can we kind of win on the athletic margins there? Jason Steele started left guard, solid left guard. He's had some injury issues in the past couple of years, but as long as he's healthy, you feel fine about him. The right side, you said, probably pretty solidified. I think Roger Carrion at right guards a lock. He's probably the best offensive lineman of the bunch. And then Dalen Metoyer started almost every game last year at right tackle. You'd think he's the favorite to start right now, but mixed back year for him. Last year, you know, led the team in pressures allowed and had had some, some, some low points. So there are some guys behind him that I know that they're young guys who maybe if they arrive a year early, they can win that job and sort of elevate the right side a little bit. And then at center, seems like Stuart Taofa is going to start a true sophomore redshirt freshman. I mean, with the 5 for 5 rule, I guess it doesn't really matter, but going into his second season, I mean, massive spring, the coaching staff has raved about him. They feel like he's a future potential NFL guy who is still young. It's going to be his first major experience this year. But you know, heading into fall camp, I think that 5 is fairly solidified. There's some good depth there as well. Some guys who have played but maybe just aren't quite starter level. So, you know, despite losing two starters, plus Zach Holmes who rotated in quite a bit last year, I think for the most part the, this staff feels pretty good about where the offensive line is at.

Bud Elliott

Is there a guy who on this, this offensive roster who, if he elevates his game, maybe somebody you don't expect to, but like it's within the, you know, the realm of possibility that he does that. It really kind of changes your outlook for this offense in a more positive way.

Nathan Carroll

Well, I don't know if I say I wouldn't expect him to, but the name right now is Rashawn Jones. True freshman wide receiver comes in. He was local here in Meridian, played at Rocky Mountain High School and he just exploded this spring. I mean pretty consistently was the best receiver in the room this spring and he's six one, can get downfield, has the physicality and the bodies type already to play at, you know, the PAC12 level. Expectations for him are already sky high. Right. The way that he performed in this spring. But, you know, can he go from being. Yeah, he's a starter as a true freshman too. Can he be your number one true alpha type of guy if he arrives? Because right now, you look at the receiver room, they've got a lot of nice pieces, but they're all kind of twos and threes. Right now you sort of need someone to step up to be that number one. If Rayshawn Jones can do it right away, I think that pretty dramatically changes how you view this, this passing game in your, I guess, in his year

Bud Elliott

one, I think a lot of times you hear like, hey, true freshman, you know, potentially the number one receiver and are scared of it. But I put this in, in the right way. Like if you have like, like, like if he ends up being like an upper level power five guy, then that's not a bad thing. If Boise gets immediate, like contributions from him in that type of role, you know.

Nathan Carroll

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. And I think for him, you know, he comes originally from a small town in Oregon, moved to Boise a couple of years ago. I mean, you just look at his body type and the way he moves. I think it had he grown up in California, there's a good chance he's, you know, a four star guy and he's at a USC right now. So that really is an upside swing. If something happens, you don't get anything out of Rayshawn Jones. There are some other good bodies in that room. You know, Ben Ford is coming back from a knee injury. They're hoping he'll be ready for week one, but if he is, he was Boise State's most productive last season or receiver last season prior to his injury. So, yeah, Rayshawn Jones is sort of the upside swing, right. If he is, like you said, a high power four type guy right away, then you know, it's a great thing. And if he's not, if he's just a rotational piece, then they, they should be fine in the wide receiver room. Love it.

Bud Elliott

All right, let's hit our first break here on the flip side. Little defense, little schedule and expectations for this Broncos team

Host/Advertiser

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Bud Elliott

All right, guys, welcome back into the COVID 3 podcast. This is summer school. That's Nathan Carroll, Bronco Nation News. Nathan, let's go ahead and flip it to the defense here, which is of course the head coach's strength. Typically, man, they return a lot in the front seven of a group that was, you know, typically pretty good last year. Could this be like the best front in the, in, in the group of five?

Nathan Carroll

I certainly think there's a good chance at it. I mean, you've got Jaden Virgin Morgan. He's the star of the room over at, over at stud and he's a future NFL guy, right? Like this year is about can he elevate from that sort of day three to can he be a day two or maybe even back in and first, first round type guy? He's a monster. Probably going to be the Pac12 preseason defensive player of the year. But then you've got Max Stiege on the other side who started for the Broncos nearly every game last year, but a ton of depth too. They rotated a lot last year and the guys who rot and looked really good and they're pretty much all back. You know, Sterling Lane, Roman Caywood, Bol bowl, all guys who looked good in limited reps last year who are back. And I mean, this spring the defensive lineman was just wreaking havoc on the offense pretty consistently. I think it's a really talented group and I think the expectation for them is, you know, be the best in the group of six and sort of lead this defense. You know, two years ago when they made the playoff, they led the nation in sacks. I think finished the year with 55 sacks. That number came down last year to, I believe it was 27 sacks. And so, you know, some of that's game script. When you're playing Air Force, you're not going to rack up a bunch of stacks, right? But certainly a big part of it was a little bit of a transition, losing Ahmed Hassanin. And so I think this year this, this team wants to get back to, hey, can we get back to 40 or 50 sacks this season?

Bud Elliott

Pretty Solid linebacker once again too, I would think.

Nathan Carroll

Yeah, Bowen Phelps is the guy in that room right now. Former walk on from from Freeman Washington who came on the scene kind of out of nowhere last year. There were some other guys that he beat out to get playing time last year. You know, former four star highly recruited guys and had an up and down season. I would say there are certainly bright moments, but certainly some, some games that you wish to to have back, right? And some of which like the Notre Dame game, USF Week 1. Not, not his best moments, but he's sort of the guy in that room right now. A lot of depth that I'm interested to see how they rotate in right between Bowen Phelps and Jake Rip. That's probably your two starters but they bring in a transfer from, from Kansas, Logan Brantley, who's who's coming off a strong spring. They've also got a couple of young guys and sincere bracket land Sincere bracket Lamby and Manitouyotu whose brother is at is at Oregon. Both of those guys have had strong springs. You know, if they can compound it into a good summer and a good fall, like I think that goes from being like a solid linebacker room to potentially being a really nice one.

Bud Elliott

Is the secondary the question here?

Nathan Carroll

You know, coming into the, coming into spring I think we thought that would be the case. I feel really good about where Boise State secondary is. Went to the portal and I think they hit on pretty much all their grabs. So at corner you're probably looking at Jaden Mickey who played in the slot last year. I think the plan is to kick him outside the corner. He's really good. Again, probably looking at an NFL draft pick type guy there. Sherrod Smith who they brought in a year ago, started at the end of the year when Amarion McCoy got hurt and was excellent. Guarded Denzel Boston really well in the bowl game. Allowed just one catch when he was guarding him. So like he's shown it against you know, an NFL top 50 pick type guy and the nickel they bring in Roman Tillman who was at South Dakota last year. South Dakota, one of the best defenses in the the fcs and Tillman I think was second on the team in snaps for them and you know, pff grades. Everything looks good and comes in this spring and has a really strong spring and looks really good out there in the nickel. Probably the biggest question mark will be at safety. You know, you lose Ty Benafield who you know this team thought was going to go pro and then it sounds like sort of at the 11th hour turned, hit the portal and went and got a payday from lsu. You know, in terms of being a body, I mean, he's tough to replace, right? Pretty physically gifted player, but you know, there was some stuff to clean up on film and so I think in terms of just pure production, there's some guys in the room can probably replace him. Top name would be Derek Ganter Jr. Who was on the team last year, played a little bit behind Benefield and Zion Washington. The other safety who, who graduated, Derek Cantor is probably the leader in that room and I think they expect to have a solid year. The big question mark right now in the secondary is just that other safety spot. Travis Anderson, a younger guy who hasn't played a ton is certainly going to be in the mix. Kyle Hall, a juco guy they took out of San Mateo College, I thought had a really, really impressive spring. I mean he's probably 61 2, 15, but moves really well for his size. Like he's a guy that, you know, in shorts, he looks the part like if he can put it all together as a football player with the pads on, I think the secondary has a chance to be as good as last year's group, which was, which was obviously pretty dang good. So yeah, just in terms of, you know, you look at the, the snaps lost, I think it's fair to say, yeah, man, secondary is going to be a question mark. But you know, seeing who they've got in that group, I think for the most part they feel pretty good about this unit heading into the, heading into fall.

Bud Elliott

I mean, if you get 12 games of Matson and the secondary is not a drop off from last year, like this is your playoff team. We can kind of like I would, I would think, but, but you know, looking at the schedule, there are some tricky spots here. Like, like they definitely are playing, you know, the, like this is a pretty good schedule, honestly. Like at Oregon to start, host Memphis, host, host South Dakota at Western Michigan, which I think is probably somewhat improved. Utah State at home. Not sure about that one. Like probably not. I mean you won't be a 40 point favorite, but it certainly will be a, you know, a noticeable favorite at Fresno, which I think is a, a pretty like that might be your conference game of the year right there, honestly. And then bye week, I'm just reading it off for the listeners at home who don't have YouTube pulled up, which you should YouTube.com 3podcast@Washington State and then Texas State at Colorado State, Oregon State, San Diego State, and then of course Is that at Utah State again? Confirmed.

Nathan Carroll

So that's their flex game.

Bud Elliott

Right.

Nathan Carroll

So it's one of four opponents and they for whatever reason they slot in Utah State as the team now. But they felt weird.

Bud Elliott

Yeah.

Nathan Carroll

So yeah, they announced it as a flex week but then they still give you an opponent for that week. So right now at Utah State. But we'll see. They will be on the road for that game. That's the one thing we know about

Bud Elliott

that flex week and that does count towards the conference championship weekend. Or is that. I'm trying to remember the rules here.

Nathan Carroll

It's already locked in because I think part of the thought with the flex week is we can lock in our conference championship and then have two weeks to sell tickets for that game instead of just a quick one week turnaround. So in terms of winning a conference championship, that game theoretically won't matter. But obviously, you know, the CFP changing the format, it's no longer the best group of six champion, just the best group of six team. Like that game still remains a must win. If you're talking about being a playoff

Bud Elliott

team, which you know, when we talk group of six, I, I think Boise deservedly has the best odds to make the playoff among all the G6 team so far at least based on the, the folks who have released odds there, you know, how confident are you in the committee to evaluate like best team as opposed to best record? Because you know, Boise actually challenges himself in the non conference. They're not just trying to pull a JMU and go, you know, schedule a 12, zero type thing. With all due respect to JMU, but like, you know, they, they played like what two teams in the top 30 last year maybe. And like the rest of her like bottom 80 like at Oregon host Memphis is, is not easy. Like if they go, if they go like 9 and 3 against this, do you think that's enough?

Nathan Carroll

I think 9 and 3 is probably the mark where you lose the committee. But I mean we saw it last year with Tulane who I believe was 10 and 2 and then won the AAC championship. Like if you can go 11 and two, I think the committee can, has shown that they can evaluate that above like, you know, let's even go a notch below like James Madison if you get a 130 Conference USA champion or you know, that was the Liberty case a couple of years ago where they were undefeated and I don't think played a single top 50 team in most tricks. Like I think 10 and 2 is kind of the mark. Anything worse than that, I think you Find that you're probably just going to have someone jump above you and, and who knows, there's always the case that, you know, 10 and 2 isn't good enough because there's a 122 lane. But it's certainly a tough schedule. There's really not the gimmes that you see on most other group of six schedules. And that's really part of the strength of this Pac 12 right now is if you look at the preseason SP plus, every Group of 5 conference except the Pac 12 is a team in the bottom 10. The lowest team in the Pac 12 right now is Colorado State, who checks in at 99. So you don't get any of those, hey, 24 point favorites can kind of sleepwalk through it a little bit games. You know, your, your one is South Dakota, which even then is a top 10 FCS program the last few years, like for being a, you know, playoff team, you, that's still a walkover, but it's not a game that, that is like other FCS games. Right. So it's going to be a challenging schedule without a doubt. And you know, I think like you said, if you can go 10 and two, I think you put yourself in position to, to at least make the playoffs. That group of six representative.

Bud Elliott

And I think it makes sense. I mean, like I, I see Vegas is dealing them what, seven and a half heavy juice over eight and a half, you know, slight juice under. So I mean, almost anybody who makes the playoff is going to be going over there. I don't think anybody's in the playoff and going under their win total, you know, so they can be like, you know, win, win and a half better than what Vegas has. And that makes sense there. It just, I agree with you, man. Like, it doesn't seem like there's as many just come up for air breather spots here to where you can roll out your, your D game if you like. They may be able to play a C game against some of these guys, but, but you know, maybe not like they're gonna have to be on the ball the whole year, but thankfully a veteran team that returns an awful lot. I know we'll be following all your coverage all year on Bronco Nation News. Man, it's been fun.

Nathan Carroll

Yeah, it's been fun. Thanks for having me on, bud. And hopefully it's a good season for the Broncos this year.

Bud Elliott

Absolutely. We'll be watching all year on cbs.

Co-host/Producer

Man.

Bud Elliott

Thank you.

Co-host/Producer

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