More than Blue Turf

Boise State makes strides to build on last year's spotlight-catching season

Aug. 3, 2007

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By Jason Owens

Special to CSTV.com


	JASON OWENS Jason Owens is a freelance writer for CSTV.com, covering various collegiate sports. E-mail here!

Until New Year's Day 2007, the only thing people outside of WAC territory knew about Boise State football was that the team plays on blue Astroturf.

Most college football fans that have seen the Broncos' bizarre Technicolor field on TV have thought to themselves, "What the hell is that about?", and left it at that.

But on January 1, all that changed. The Broncos capped an undefeated season with a Fiesta Bowl victory over traditional power Oklahoma in the most exciting football finish anyone under the age of 30 has ever seen.

It's impressive what a win like that can do for your profile - especially when your star running back and future Heisman Trophy candidate proposes to the head cheerleader to top off the victory. It's a high point for Boise State football, Boise State athletics and pretty much anything that's ever happened in Idaho.

And head coach Chris Petersen is tired of talking about it.

"I've been looking forward to this day for quite a while," Petersen said at last week's WAC media days event in San Jose. "I know tomorrow, I'm hoping things with everybody change a little bit and we don't have to continue to talk about the Fiesta Bowl."

Petersen's message is clear. To paraphrase: Last year was great. I love that the Fiesta Bowl, not Florida's improbable thrashing of Ohio State in the national championship, is the lasting image of the 2006 football season. I love my new multi-million dollar contract and the notoriety that the program has earned. But it's time to move on. There's more football to be played.

It's official. A new phase of Boise State football has arrived. And from the looks of things, the future is bright. The Broncos bring back plenty of talent and experience to have another great season in 2007.

Can they finish another year undefeated and land in a BCS bowl again? Well - that's another story. A tough WAC schedule with road games against conference favorite Hawai'i and a seemingly resurgent Fresno State team stands in the way.

What Boise State has on its side is aforementioned Heisman Trophy candidate Ian Johnson running behind a stout offensive line that returns four starters from last season. Anchored by Playboy All-America left tackle Ryan Clady, the Broncos' line is one of the best in the country.

Johnson returns from a season where he compiled 1,713 rushing yards on 6.2 yards per carry and found the end zone an astounding 25 times. He's the heart and soul of the team and sounds ready to start a new chapter of Boise State football.

"It started the day after the game was over," Johnson said of working toward this year. "If we say we beat Oklahoma, we deserve all this - if we don't go out and prepare ourselves from last year, then we're in trouble."

While I don't quite buy that spotlight-hound Johnson immediately moved on to this season the day after the Fiesta Bowl victory, I do believe he's focused and prepared to keep Boise State relevant on a national level.

When I talked with Johnson, I got a sense that yes, he does love all the attention and fanfare that comes with a BCS bowl win and Heisman Trophy hype. I didn't have to dig deep to get him talking about his then-fiancé (now his wife) and the whirlwind of press coverage that came after his sideline marriage proposal.

But he also exudes a maturity and sense of leadership that Boise State will need to succeed this year. Because the one big weapon the Broncos don't bring back from last season is quarterback Jared Zabransky. Gone is Zabransky's unquestioned leadership, 33-5 career record as a starter, 62.2 percent completion percentage and 58-37 touchdown-to-interception ratio.

In step senior Taylor Tharp and junior Bush Hamdan to compete for the starting job and try to keep the Broncos from a letdown. Both players separated themselves from the pack during the spring and one will likely be the week one starter.

Tharp has the most experience after taking over for Zabransky for a couple of games when he struggled with his own Heisman hype surrounding the start to his 2005 season. Hamdan impressed Petersen during the spring though, and looks like the leader for the job.

Also in the mix is redshirt freshman Mike Coughlin, who Petersen said has loads of potential. But he followed that up with a wary statement on his inexperienced signal-caller.

"Potential is what you lose with," Petersen said.

That seems to be Petersen's mantra. It's about performance, not potential. Boise State has obviously stepped up several notches in the national spotlight and has the opportunity to recruit a different level of player than the program is accustomed to. As far as Petersen's concerned, there's no need to change a winning system. Recruit the guys that fit into his program - not the guys that get the most recruiting headlines.

"I don't want to change our recruiting at all," he said. "I want the exact players we've had. Going 13-0 and winning the Fiesta Bowl, our biggest trick is to keep recruiting the Boise State-type guys."

That shouldn't be a problem. Anybody who wanted to play on the blue turf before is sure to still want to be a Bronco.

The real trick will be making sure people outside of the WAC remember that there's more to Boise State than that wacky turf.