Elite Eight

Who's this happy fellow? Why, he's the newest Bronco commit, that's who.

Keeping with the recent trend of early verbals for the Broncos, O'Dea High School (Seattle, WA) linebacker Allen Mooney has decided to spend his college career at Boise State. The middle linebacker is rated as a 3-star player and the 22nd best at his position in the country. Mooney racked up 106 tackles and 3 forced fumbles last year as a junior despite missing 3 games. Mooney also was named All-League in '06 and '07. Here's what ESPN has to say about Mooney (whom they rank as a 74, if that means anything to you):

If Mooney had another two inches of height, he would be a highly sought-after inside linebacker on the recruiting trail. What he lacks in height he makes up for with great bulk and a compact durable frame more than capable of dealing with the punishment required of a D-I ILB. Has a natural nose for the football but does a good job reading his keys and diagnosing the play quickly. A reactive athlete with good initial quicks and jump to the football for his size. Excels at stuffing his middle run gaps and attacking downhill. Fills hard and fast vertically with good leverage. Difficult to turn out of the hole when he steps down fast with good momentum. Can hold his base at the point of attack; naturally strong with good explosiveness from his hips. Strong tackler who runs through ball carriers and looks for the punishing hit. Does not possess great sideline-to-sideline range but closes fast off-tackle and has good chase speed. Shows some burst tracking plays down inside-out and flashes good pop/explosion on contact. While he scrapes well off-tackle at times he gets knocked off his pursuit due to lack of hand technique. Lacks long arms and compact frame limit his extension when trying to keep blockers off his body. Occasionally gets chopped down when pursuing. Could struggle at the next level disengaging the cutoff block and lacks the lateral fluidity to slip it consistently. We would like to see him work on playing with consistent bend and leverage. Tends to wrap up high and lack of sink in his hips hinders lateral mobility, transitional and change-of-direction quickness. Overall, Mooney can stuff the inside run, blanket his middle zone in pass and provide above average range off-tackle. Tough competitor between the white lines and is definitely a kid being overlooked due to his lack of great height.

The productivity of the powerfully built (5'11", 220 lbs.) Mooney is impressive and he joins #14 ranked weakside linebacker John Michael Davis in the 2009 class. With Boise State loaded with young 'backers and with two huge verbals thus far—the future looks incredibly bright for the Boise State defense. Mooney had another offer from Army and was drawing interest from Washington and Oregon amongst others. Again, Mooney looks to be the prototypical Boise State pickup...slightly too undersized for the big programs to bite on, but talented enough to make their recruiting practices to look short-sighted. Mooney is a straight up baller and I admit, was one of the recruits I was hoping we would land. Check out Mooney's highlight tape below and tell me that seeing this kid, John Michael Davis and Byron Hout prowling midfield on the blue isn't a positively terrifying vision for WAC offenses.



Oh yeah, Boise State has 8 verbals...and it's early July....and they're good. The day of reckoning is at hand.

Bob Behler drives a Pontiac G6

Among the extremely valuable tidbits that the Statesman was able to uncover in their exclusive interview with the new Voice of the Broncos, Bob Behler, was that he drives a Pontiac G6. Hard hitting journalism at it's best, right? But maybe can't we cull deeper insight into Bob Behler the man by his choice of car? After all, a lot can be learned about a man by looking at his ride. For example...I drive a 2003 Dodge Neon—this says about me: "I don't give a crap about my car, as long as it runs". It also may be reasonably deduced about someone that drives a gas-guzzling Hummer that they are a jackass don't particularly care for Al Gore or his ilk. So, what does Bob Behler's Pontiac say about him? Well, G6s are definitely sporty...so we know that he must be serious about sports and that bodes well for Boise State fans. The G6 is also the 11th best selling car in the United States and has won several industry awards...so clearly Bob does his homework. Depending on whether Behler drives the sedan, coupe or hard-top convertible variety of the G6 could speak volumes as well. If he drives the sedan, he may be just as likely to take his car to the grocery store as he would be to take it on the Autobahn. If he drives the coupe...he is probably not hauling any little Behlers around. If he drives the hard-top convertible...all bets are off—Behler may just be a bad boy beneath that bespectacled visage. The G6 has a 240 HP V6 engine...Behler's got boundless energy and enthusiasm. The G6 was also the car that was famously given away to Oprah Winfrey show guests in 2004—so I'm sure that Behler is the sensitive sort.

So really, if you dig a bit deeper...the Statesman's puff piece might have revealed a lot more about the Peak's new franchise talent than they intended. Or was it that the Statesman had a method to their madness when they asked Behler the seemingly lame innocent question? Nah.

Statesman article HERE.

Z is out-sky...

The Pittsburgh Steelers never really gave Jared Zabransky a chance. He never had the opportunity to show his skills or even duel with recent draftee Dennis Dixon. "Z" was cut by the Steelers on Wednesday to add receiver Marvin Allen to their practice squad. The worst part? Marvin Allen is British. I don't know why that is the worst part, but come on...he's a freakin' Brit! I thought that the Steelers admired Zabransky's spunk...does spunk mean nothing anymore?!

Once again, we wish Zabransky well, but he seems to be suffering the same fate as previous Bronco QBs...he just isn't really getting an opportunity. Maybe Z should head to the great white north and teach the Canucks a thing or two. We'll be following Zabransky's moves from here on out.

Story HERE.

An Interview with Buster Bronco

It's a long offseason...so for the next few months we're going to be throwing out some exclusive interviews with ex-players, analysts and fans. Our third such interview is with Buster Bronco (shown above with Nick Schlekeway), a revered and reviled member of the Boise State family. Buster's exact age and gender are subject of speculation...but one thing is for sure...he exists!

DREW: Buster, how are you recovering from your off-season bout with laminitis?
(Winnies loudly and then snorts)

DREW: I see...so you'll be ready to take the field on August 30th?
Neigh.

DREW: Was that a yes? How about this: will your off-season injury keep you off the field come August, yay or neigh?
Neigh.

DREW: Excellent...according to your wikipedia page, you are also known as Flappymouth...where did that name come from?
(Tosses head violently to and fro)

DREW: So I think you are indicating that you don't know...do you know?
Neigh.

DREW: Fair enough. Some have criticized your on-field antics—what do you have to say to your critics?
(bows head and snorts softly, but as he raises his head again I see tears welling up in his comically oversized eyes)

DREW: So, it's not easy for you to talk about?
Neigh.

DREW: How old are you exactly?
(stomps hoof 10 times)

DREW: So, you are ten years old? Is that in human years?
Neigh.

DREW: Your arms have gotten dramatically bigger in the last 10 years...is there anything added to your hay?
Neigh. (Buster flexes his fuzzy horse arms)

DREW: Did you know that the Western Michigan mascot is also named 'Buster'?
Neigh. (Buster looks visibly shaken by this news for some reason)

DREW: Does this upset you?
(tosses head violently in up and down motion)

DREW: Buster, you are rumored to be in a relationship with the Channel 7 logo mascot...is this true?
Neigh. NEIGH. (Buster overturns chair and kicks his hooves at me, barely missing my chin)

DREW: I guess this interview is over.

You knew it was coming...

Perhaps due to the groundswell of high-quality recruits for the Broncos...yet another baller has given his verbal commitment to Boise State today. TE Trevor Peterson from Placerville, CA is headed for the Blue in a non-binding sort of way. Peterson is 6'4" and weighs 220 lbs. and held offers from Utah, SDSU, UC Davis (Coach Pete's Alma Mater) and Harvard. We're guessing besides Peterson's physical gifts, he is a smart player as well considering that the Ivy League was courting him. We're also guessing that he doesn't like wearing an ascot, since he chose the Broncos over Harvard.

It appears that star ratings have not been finished for Peterson, so we can't really gauge him by those means...but he moves well for a big man, clocking a 4.7 40 time. It appears that Peterson may have been heading for a few Pac-10 offers as well, and that is as good an indicator as any of his potential. Peterson is ranked as one the 5th best tight end in all of California by Scout.com analyst Brandon Huffman.

Peterson is the 7th known verbal that Boise State has picked up this summer. Things are coming together exceptionally well (and early) for the '09 class. Who's next?