Boise State — a program that has built its legacy as a scrappy underdog, as a giant killer, as being its best when counted out — pulled off one of its biggest upsets on Saturday.
The highest-ranked recruit in the history of Idaho committed to Boise State, making his announcement on Instagram just after 5 p.m.
He did not leave for greener pastures. He was not allured to the NIL money of the SEC. He was not swayed by the facilities and traditions of the Big 10. No, Burley’s Gatlin Bair — prospect #35 and WR #9 in the country, according to 247 Sports — made his pledge to the Broncos.
At Burley last season, despite being double- and triple-teamed most of the time, Bair caught 73 passes for over 1,000 yards and 18 touchdowns.
One of the fastest football players in the country — he broke the state record with a 10.15 in the 100m — is staying home. He will serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints this winter, hopefully allowing the Broncos to stack talent around him, and be ready for spring camp in 2026.
Gatlin Bair goes 10.15 in the 100m again to win the state title.
Boise State OC Bush Hamdan and WRs coach Matt Miller looked pretty excited pic.twitter.com/1xgfWtq91j
— Jordan Kaye (@jordankaye_23) May 20, 2023
He trusted the development plan coach Andy Avalos laid out. He felt, even in the shifting world of college athletics, that he could still turn into an NFL wide receiver at Boise State. He decided the ability to stay home, to become a star at Boise State, outweighed the risk of not choosing a traditional power.
“It was just kind of the feeling that I was given all these gifts and abilities to help others — really that’s what it boiled down to,” Bair said. “I felt like God gave me these talents so I could help others. It felt like Boise State would allow me to have the biggest impact on other’s lives. It would give me a platform to really help kids in Idaho and kids around Boise.”
He wants to help kids — whether that’s charity work when he arrives on campus or just the exposure he can bring as a otherworldly athlete from Idaho. In doing so, he wants to prove that the best players from The Gem State do not need to bolt somewhere else to get to the mountaintop.
Since 2012 there have been five Idaho kids not named Gatlin Bair to be ranked as four-star recruits, according to the recruiting website 247 Sports.
And those five players — Kenyon Sadiq (Oregon), Colston Loveland (Michigan), Tommy Togiai (Ohio State), Colson Yankoff (Washington), Tristen Hoge (Notre Dame) and Tanner Mangum (BYU) — all decided to leave the state. Bair has bucked the trend.
“I’m trying to put my stamp on it as well and hopefully show Idaho kids that they can go to Boise State and they can fulfill their dreams,” he said. “That they don’t have to go halfway across the country or all the way across the country to be able to fulfill their of playing in the NFL and things like that. That they can stay home, play for Boise State and do the exact same thing.”
It is easy, reading that quote now, to see why he chose Boise State. For all the things the Broncos could not offer Bair — a Power-5 conference, a massive NIL, unbelievable facilities, etc. — Boise State could offer Bair the platform to make an impact, to not just be another All-American plaque on a full with 100 of them, but to be special.
That is appealing. And it probably would have been appealing to other former high-level recruits from Idaho, but Boise State — under coach Bryan Harsin — did a really poor job recruiting Idaho. And so the best players in the state hardly gave the Broncos a look.
To understand how Boise State landed Bair is to understand its coaching staff was masterful, focusing on what makes Boise State special rather than following everyone else. Avalos and Boise State’s staff did not negatively recruit against any other schools, did not take shots at the other four schools in Bair final list: Michigan, TCU, Oregon and Nebraska. He only wanted Bair to fully understand BSU’s strengths.
“Andy Avalos ran an absolutely perfect, flawless execution of a recruitment,” said Bair’s coach at Burley, Cameron Anderson. “There’s no wiggle room when you’re talking about the power, money, resources and influence that (a place) like Alabama, Georgia or Michigan has and put them against Boise, there is no comparison.”
There is no comparison — and Avalos didn’t try and force one. The BSU head coach, to his credit, put all his eggs in the Bair basket, investing a truckload of time and energy into knowing anything and everything about Gatlin Bair.
“Andy has spent more time on the phone with me than any other head coach,” said Anderson. “He would call me and say, ‘Hey we’re thinking about doing this, what do you think?’ And he was open to me saying, ‘Dude, I don’t know that I would do that. You’ve been living in this area, just do that.’ Or him calling and saying, ‘I’ve got this really creative idea to this.’”
And even with that, Anderson said, the Broncos and Michigan were still neck and neck.
Bair had a brutal choice: Go to Boise State and reap all the intrinsic value that comes from staying home and being the highest-ranked recruit in a program’s history … or go to Michigan, with very little risk and a very sure path to the NFL.
To Boise State fans wondering why it was even a tough decision, Anderson throws out an example.
“If they were a construction worker and the biggest construction company in the world, that just built the new Guggenheim just offered them the ability to go there,” Anderson said, “Or their hometown place, which is building a beautiful, new thing in Idaho, that would be easy for them.”
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The Broncos went all out to show their commitment to Bair. Last weekend, after the dead period ended, the Broncos could have invited a dozen recruits to campus for visits. They invited just Bair.
They spent months planning that visit, methodically mapping out every last detail.
The Broncos first wanted to demonstrate development. They brought Bair out to a morning practice, explaining to Bair how they’ve gotten great athletes like Taylen Green and Ashton Jeanty and made them better. They pointed out Bair’s former Burley teammate, walk-on cornerback Jacob Williams, and how he “looks like a different animal already,” Anderson said.
They wanted to show Bair up close, first, the caliber of athletes that Boise State can put on the field and, secondly, how impactful the Broncos’ strength and training staff can be. That part was big for Bair.
He is going to major in kinesiology. He told schools, if he committed, he possibly wanted to mentor or intern with the strength staff with the goal of opening a training facility later in life with his dad and brothers.
“Hopefully I can play a while in the NFL and use that money to jumpstart a business and work together as a family,” Bair said.
So Bair met extensively with Boise State Director of Sports Performance Ben Hilgart and his staff, asking about their plan for him while he serves his mission and when he arrives at Boise State in the spring of 2026.
He also spent time in the film room with Avalos, offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan and wide receivers coach Matt Miller, the trio showing Bair what he could become in the blue and orange.
“(They) showed, No. 1, how they’ve developed people in the past who have made it to (the NFL),” Anderson said. “Two, their plan very specifically for Gatlin to develop in his two years on his mission. And three, when he gets back how they would use within their scheme and their offense.
“That was an hours, hours-long session,” Anderson added.
What Avalos spent very little time on was Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) money, to the point that Bair didn’t even meet with Boise State’s NIL department during his unofficial visit.
If Bair put NIL money high on his priority list, he would not be committed to Boise State. He is wired differently than most 18-year-olds, almost intent on repelling anyone who spent time harping on NIL over development.
“Generally the guys who pushed it fell out of the recruitment quickly,” Anderson said.
Added Bair: “Every school has NIL opportunities. And, honestly, the biggest NIL opportunity is production, right? I’m you go to a school expecting NIL money and don’t produce, you’re going to be in for a really rude awakening.”
Earlier this week, Bair finally made his decision and eventually told his coach. Anderson, a self-proclaimed “big, gruff, tough football coach,” was moved to tears.
“It isn’t the answer that most adults would give,” Anderson said. “His absolute maturity, patience and understanding of life is just inspirational.
“Why do I think Gatlin chose (Boise State)? Because he felt, on a very spiritual level, it’s what he needed to do. And it’s what he was chosen to do.”
