A week after the Boise State offense started hot in the first scrimmage of fall camp, it was the defense that got off to a strong start Saturday in scrimmage No. 2.
But the offense rallied, scoring on a 75-yard touchdown run from George Holani in a back-and-forth affair that left coach Andy Avalos pleased afterwards.
“It was a really good scrimmage,” Avalos said. “It started off the opposite of scrimmage No. 1 with the defense coming out and playing pretty solid defense for the first four drives and then the offense really made some adjustments to some of the things the defense came into the scrimmage with.
“It ended up flipping pretty quick. It was good to see the offense stayed with it and made some in-game adjustments and hit some explosive plays, rattled off a 75-yard run for a touchdown. It was back and forth from there. It was really good to see the defense respond with how they started the scrimmage, but more importantly how the offense responded within the scrimmage.”
On the Holani touchdown, Avalos credited the wide receivers for a couple nice blocks.
“They did a really good job to spring George and they weren’t going to catch George when he was in the open field,” Avalos said.
Boise State will transition from fall camp to a more traditional week with the start of school on Monday. The depth chart will be finalized soon, although Avalos cautioned it is never fully set and is subject to change. It likely won’t be released until the game notes comes out a week from Monday for the opener against Oregon State.
Overall Avalos seemed happy with where the Broncos are with 14 days remaining until kickoff.
“We’re really excited about where we’re at right now,” Avalos said. “We’re giving guys opportunities and they’ve been working really, really hard to make the most of them.”
Avalos touched on a number of topics during his 20-plus minute chat with four local media members Saturday evening in the lobby of the Bleymaier Football Complex. The full video can be found at the bottom of this story, but here’s a few of the highlights…
-Avalos said 11 players had at least two receptions on offense. He said the running game had a few explosive plays but for the most part the defense did better against the run. The offense had just 3.8 yards per carry overall, while “the offense had a lot more explosive plays in the passing game.”
-Wide receiver Eric McAlister made a few nice catches according to Avalos. He also mentioned wide receiver Cole Wright for a one-handed catch, and said running backs Elelyon Noa and Kaden Dudley had impressive moments on offense.
-On defense, Avalos mentioned George Tarlas, DJ Schramm and Markel Reed when asked who had separated themselves from scrimmage one to scrimmage two.
-Tyreque Jones is back at full strength and playing well at nickel. “It looks a little different when Ty Jones is in there,” Avalos said.
-Avalos said the depth chart will be finalized “here soon” but wouldn’t reveal any potential winners at the various position battles. “It’s a competition every single day,” Avalos said.
-One thing that’s stood out to Avalos? The depth. “I know there’s only 11 that get to step own the field at one time, but the benefit of the way these guys have been training and preparing is we have multiple guys at almost every position that can jump in there and it doesn’t fall off very much and in a lot of cases it doesn’t fall off at all.”
-It appears both Rodney Robinson and Seyi Oladipo will see time at field safety, regardless of who wins the starting spot. “That’s a position right there that obviously we’ll carry on into this week and see who best suits to go on the field first, but they are both going to play. They’ve both done a really good job.”
-Asked about the return game on special teams, Avalos said, “George (Holani) has done a really nice job, Ashton (Jeanty) has been back there on some kickoffs. He’ll hit that thing and get vertical.” Avalos also said Stefan Cobbs has taken some reps at kick returner.
-On the backup quarterback battle between Taylen Green and Sam Vidlak, Avalos said both had their moments on Saturday.
“Both guys did some really good things,” Avalos said. “The strides we’ve seen from both Taylen and Sam have been huge, both in the run game and in the pass game. Those guys have a lot on them. For them it’s going to be the continuation of how they continue on the next week with the opponent scout reps and how they handle their preparation.”
-Avalos said freshman punter James Ferguson-Reynolds “had a phenomenal day” punting today, but said the battle goes on for the starting spot.
Watch the full interview with Avalos here, and make sure to subscribe to the Bronco Nation news YouTube channel so you don’t miss any future videos:
