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Boise State signs 13 on Signing Day

Wednesday, February 1st: National Signing Day. Media, boosters, and of course coaches gathered inside of the Bleymaier Football Complex in Boise, Idaho to watch the names of recently signed recruits go up on the board. One by one, players fax, email, or text their Letter of Intents to the coaching staff. Here is how the action unfolded.

Bright and early at 5:30 MT, the first signee kicked off the day with a bang. Jermani Brown (pronounced like the country Germany), a 4-star CB from Midlothian (Va.), stayed committed to Boise State from August through signing day despite a plethora of P5 schools attempting to steal the gem of the recruiting class. Virginia Tech and Michigan State were said to be pesky up until pen met paper. Brown is billed up as an explosive CB who might play right away next season.

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Exiting Eastern Standard Time, Boise State’s class moved to Central Time when LB Breydon Boyd of Katy (Texas) signed. Boyd was a top producer for one of the nation’s powerhouses in high school football. Hampered by injuries, the Broncos stuck with Boyd, who became the most vocal recruiter of the BSU commits.

Staying in Texas, Boise State then received LOIs from a pair of WRs in Lancaster’s Cartrell Thomas and Center’s Octavius Evans.“Tay” This past weekend, it was rumored that Thomas might take an official visit to Utah, but he eventually turned down the chance to trip. At 5’9” 160 lbs, Thomas is a dynamic playmaker. Despite being a late addition, Evans ranks as one of Boise State’s top commitments in this class. At 6’3” 195 lbs, he provides additional size and speed to a WR corps that is growing taller each year.

The recruiting class then moved to Arizona, where QB Chase Cord signed his LOI. Ranked as the 23rd best Dual-Threat QB in the nation, it was imperative that Boise State secure the services of a stud QB for the future, and that goal was achieved with Cord. Coach Bryan Harsin said during the unveiling that Cord had his entire bedroom decorated with the many letters coaches had sent him over the past year. He proved to be as loyal as they come, spurning the likes of Baylor in January.

Not too long after Cord signed, another big time commit from Arizona rolled in. Mesa Community College OL Isiah Moore had been committed to Boise State for several months, but skepticism of his commitment loomed when the likes of UCLA offered him. Offensive-line Coach Scott Huff said he and the staff had to fight tooth the nail to keep Moore on board, but ultimately succeeded. Moore is a mountain of a man and should compete for a starting position right away.

Another somewhat unexpected signee joined the bunch when Pocatello (Idaho) DE/STUD Aisa Kelemete sent in his LOI. The night before signing day, Kelemete reported an offer from the USC Trojans. Broncos fans groaned, assuming the DE would clearly prefer the California powerhouse. Instead, Kelemete’s signing proved to be a pleasant surprise early Wednesday morning. If the Trojans came calling, he must have a high upside.

After the Kelemete announcement, the wave of official LOIs began to flow in from California. Rancho Santa Margarita LB Roman Kafentzis comes from a long line of hard-nosed defenders with the last name Kafentzis. His father, Kurt Kafentzis, played football in the NFL and went to Richland High School with Boise State Basketball Coach Leon Rice. A stud LB for powerhouse Mater Dei High School, Roman continues a trend of adding successful players from successful programs.

Next up in the Golden State, San Gorgonio’s (Highland, Calif.) Tyreque Jones became an official member of Boise State’s roster. A Safety known for hammering offensive players had an offer from BYU, but chose Boise State back in the fall. Bryan Harsin and Lee Marks joked about the cooking prowess of Tyreque’s mother, noting that the complex meal of gumbo was fantastic and a wonderful mess all at once, with Harsin apparently deciding to wear some of the meal on his shirt.

El Cerrito’s Damon Cole, a projected WR, was the final addition of the recruiting class before the dead period closed when he committed on Sunday. Brand new Wide Receivers Coach Eric Kiesau had built a relationship with Cole dating back to his brief stint at Fresno State. Described as an electric talent, Cole offers another WR with decent size at 6’1” 170 lbs.

Next up was Drake Beasley, a RB with a unique backstory. Coming into the 2016, Beasley was one of the top RB recruits on the West Coast, sporting a 4-star rating at one point. It’s not uncommon to see players want to transfer to bigger high school football programs. It is uncommon to see a player attempt to do the reverse, in this case leaving Loyola for his hometown of La Canada. There was no malpractice involved on Beasley’s part, he simply wanted to finish his high school playing career with his friends, but the district blocked the move, meaning he could not play his Senior season. While this unfortunate and petty move hurt Beasley’s overall stock, it presented Boise State with an opportunity to nab a top talent who experienced a bad break. A versatile talent, Beasley could prove to be a huge steal down the line.

The 2017 high school class was then interrupted to announce that San Clemente LB Riley Whimpey, who signed in 2015 but then went on a Mormon mission, will join the Broncos this summer. Whimpey put up video game numbers on defense while at San Clemente and might provide instant depth at a position of need.

To close out the California convoy, Boise State pulled off a shocker in getting San Diego LB Ezekiel Noa to sign with the Broncos. An instinctual talent at MLB, Noa ranked as the 31st best ILB in the nation. Whispers of top tier Pac-12 schools circling around Noa disappeared when he tore his ACL last season, but this allowed Boise State to swoop in and steal the top tier talent. He’ll need time to heal, but eventually Noa could be special.

The signing haul started on the east coast and with ended one final submission, this time from Oahu. Kahuka Safety Kekaula Kaniho made his intentions official at his high school on Wednesday morning on the north end of Oahu. The Defensive Player of the Year in the state of Hawaii, this ballhawking safety might prove to be a shrewd steal by the staff. Kaniho was not a big camper, but dazzled where it mattered most. A hard-working talent that identifies with Boise State’s blue collar mentality, Kaniho might emerge as a fan favorite in the future.

While the ink began to dry for aforementioned recruits, others had already signed and are enrolled at Boise State. Those individuals are Mesa C.C. QB Rathen Ricedorff, Butte C.C. (Calif) OL Zach Troughton, CB Michael Young from Kansas City (Mo.), OL John Ojukwu from local Boise High, and Newbury Park CB (Pasadena, Calif.) Marques Evans. The Junior College additions all figure to add depth where needed, while Ojukwu and Evans decided to get their journey going early.

We’ll have more updates on these players throughout the next few weeks as we here at Blue-Turf breakdown the Broncos 2017 recruiting class

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