A clean campaign?

Phil Dailey is a shrewd campaigner. Either that or he is some sort of freakin' clairvoyant as Dailey has boldly proclaimed that the quarterback job is Hamdan's to lose. Whether Dailey is really good at deciphering vague coachspeak or is of the mind that an Ian Johnson endorsement all but seals the deal for Bush we'll never know.

All I want to know is if Mr. Dailey, with his all-knowing power would be willing to grant me some hot stock tips.

Granted, I don't have access to practices like Phil Dailey does, and I can't command the awesome resources of the Idaho Press Tribune...but what exactly is Dailey hearing from the tight-lipped coaches that confirm his claims? Was it this quote from coach Pete...

“We might have more of feel now, but there’s no rush to set anything in stone. We want these to keep these guys competing and the best medicine for improvement is competition.”

Or maybe this concrete declaration by coach Harsin...

“Nobody is overall making a huge jump at this point, they’re doing what we ask them to do.”

Hmmm...maybe Dailey really looked into Harsin's soul when he made that statement and saw the profound commitment to Hamdan glimmering in his eyes. Maybe.

Heck, everyone's got their favorite (even Ian Johnson), but you're the sports director for the Press-Tribune, Phil Dailey...headlines like "Hamdan has QB lead" just aren't going to cut it when you can't back up that statement. Just admit that you are as clueless as the rest of us in this thing until about mid-August.

Dailey's psychic reading

Really?!

To say that Boise State Offensive Coordinator, Bryan Harsin keeps things close to the vest would be a slight understatement. To say that Harsin is a liar would be a slight overstatement. To say that Harsin is being extremely vague and diplomatic with his info would have squarely hit the nail on the head. Harsin yesterday insisted that no quarterback has really established himself as the frontrunner in the highly publicized QB race yet (roll eyes). He did, however, once again fail to include junior Nick Lomax's name among the QBs that he praised for their Spring progress. Not generally one to read too far into things...I am confident that Lomax's repeated exclusion from Harsin's interviews is a good indicator that at this point Lomax is sitting in the #4 QB spot. I also believe that by the end of spring ball on April 11th, we will have a clear favorite.

Luckily for us speculative fans, Harsin gave us a small inkling of how we might figure out the current pecking order:

He plans to give all of them time with the first-team offense this week in practice and reward the guys who play the best with more playing time in Friday’s scrimmage at Mountain View High in Meridian (3:30 p.m.).

Hear that? Take out your stopwatches to Mountain View High on Friday afternoon and determine who is getting the most time in the 2nd scrimmage...already knowing that Lomax is in 4th place (according to my calculations), we should accurately be able to determine the remaining top 3. After the first scrimmage, it looks to be 1. Kellen Moore 2. Bush Hamdan 3. Michael Coughlin and 4. (sorry) Nick Lomax.

One more impressive scrimmage out of Moore and he will be dubbed "the People's Starter"

Not-so-informative Statesman Article (step it up, Cripe)

Didn't we just do this?

For the second off-season in a row, the Boise State coaches have the unenviable task of sifting through BSU's bevy of quarterbacks to see which one is best suited to captain the ship. None of the 4 men vying for the job have a single start under their belt and only 3 of them have even seen any action at all. Senior Bush Hamdan was the odds-on favorite to take the reins last year, but after missing scrimmage time with injury and other unknown factors was passed over for then-senior Taylor Tharp. Tharp was a solid performer for Boise State last year and no one really second guessed the coaches' decision, however, inexplicably—it seemed that Hamdan fell all the way to the bottom of the depth chart. Michael Coughlin and Nick Lomax were given playing time when Hamdan was not. No one really knows what lead to this seismic shift of the depth chart, but it has cast a haze over this year's QB race and no one really knows what will happen.

Most Boise State fans would prefer to have at least a 2-3 year starter at the helm so most would probably prefer an underclassmen under center — unless the senior, Hamdan is just that much better this offseason as we suspect Tharp must have been last year. Sophomore Coughlin and Junior Lomax possess prototypical Division-1 size (something quite uncharacteristic for a Bronco QB) and Coughlin appears to have the ability to run a bit as well (albeit not nearly as well as Zabransky). Hamdan probably looked the best of the three in passing situations last year in his limited playing time, and I like Hamdan's leadership and intensity...but if I was to be honest, I also think that the Broncos should look to the future and go with a
younger guy.

Kellen Moore is the darkhorse (inadvertent Bronco pun...chaching!). Moore looked very sharp in camp last year and is one of the higher rated recruits that has come to the blue. He set all kinds of high school records in Washington and has a quick read and quick release. He probably needs one more year in the system before he really has it down...but don't underestimate this kid—he is a student of the game and could inject himself into the race this year.

Bottom line is that the Bronco coaches will pick the best guy—if it's Hamdan, so be it. Personally, I would like to see Miramesa's finest, Michael Coughlin step into the spot this year and then see if Moore can overtake him once he grasps the full Bronco playbook. Coughlin has a cannon (and a pretty nice little mustache on occasion) and if he can improve his reads and his decision making...will be a very nice field general for the mighty Broncos.