Boise State is famous for the blue turf, but thanks to James Webb, the Broncos’ basketball program is surging and not that far behind their football counterparts.
We ran the Value Add Sports calculations on all returning athletes in the state and emailed sports writers and other experts in the state to help rank the 25 state players to watch on a list we will update here.
While Broncos litter this list, a Vandal finds his way on it, as Idaho signal-caller Matt Linehan (pictured) hopes to build on an inconsistent yet promising freshman campaign, highlighted by 2,540 yards passing and 11 scores—touted by the University of Idaho’s athletics site (govandals.com) as one of the best first-year performances in school history.
But Boise State ballhawk Darian Thompson tops all athletes, as he’s expected to play as one of the premier defensive backs in the nation for one of the winningest programs of the 2000s. In addition to making numerous defensive award watch lists, Thompson also joins the Walter Camp Player of the Year award watch list. His 71 tackles and seven picks last season earned him All-Mountain West Conference merits and All-America honors from CBSSports.com.
- Darian Thompson, Boise State, Football, DB
- Matt Linehan, Idaho, Football, QB
- James Webb, Boise State, Basketball, F
- David Elliott, Boise State, Track/Field, 800m Run
- Nick Duncan, Boise State, Basketball, PF
- Rees Odhiambo, Boise State, Football, OL
- Geno Luzcando, Idaho State, Basketball, PG
- Kamalei Correa, Boise State, Football, LB
- Tanner Vallejo, Boise State, Football, LB
- Marcus Henry, Boise State, Football, OL and Beau Martin, Boise State, Football, DE (tie)
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