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Six Broncos earn
first-team WAC honors
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It’s a slap in the face," Boise State senior linebacker Andy Avalos said regarding only six players on the Broncos squad earning All-WAC first-team selection on Tuesday.
Three others made the second team, along with head coach Dan Hawkins earning WAC Coach of the Year honors for the second time in the last three seasons.
"It’s a reflection of [the players] and our staff," Hawkins said.
Avalos leads the Broncos selections with his second straight first-team nomination. The preseason WAC Player of the Year led the Broncos with 77 tackles. Avalos joins Quintin Mikell, Brock Forsey and Ryan Dinwiddie as the only four Broncos in school history who have been selected to back-to-back first-team selections.
A bit of a disappointment for the Broncos was seeing only two players from the offensive side make first-team selection. Only senior receiver T.J. Acree and junior offensive lineman Daryn Colledge made the first-team.
An offense that currently ranks second in the nation in both scoring and total offense, the representation doesn’t seem to coincide with the numbers the Broncos put up this season.
Senior offensive lineman Klayton Adams, a walk-on from American River College in Sacramento, Calif., made second-team honors in his only season starting for the Broncos.
The decision for first-team quarterback looks as if it came down to seniority, rather than winning and accuracy. Hawaii quarterback, and the all-time leader in NCAA passing yards, Timmy Chang was chosen over BSU sophomore quarterback Jared Zabransky. Even with a higher passing efficiency than Chang, along with a higher completion average and 12 rushing touchdowns on the season—Chang received the nod over second-team member Zabransky in his first season starting.
Showing disappointment for some of his players that were left off the team, Hawkins said "It’s amazing. For what they’ve done nationally."
Avalos is joined by sophomore Korey Hall on the defensive first-team, stabilizing their claim as the most dominating linebacker tandem in the conference this season. Hall led the team with four sacks during the season where he earned two WAC Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Senior cornerback Gabe Franklin also was named to the first-team. The Hayward, Calif. native led the WAC in passes deflected and intercepted three passes during the Broncos’ 11-0 regular season.
Senior place-kicker Tyler Jones, a Lou Groza Award finalist, rounds out the first-team members for the Broncos. The former walk-on from Borah High finished the regular season ranked first in the country in field goals and third in scoring.
Sophomore punter Kyle Stringer earned second-team honors while averaging 44.7 yards per punt this season. Stringer would have led the WAC in punting and would have been seventh in the nation, but he did not have enough punts to qualify for either rankings.
Seven Broncos also recieved
honorable mention. Senior safety Chris Carr earned the honor in both defensive and special team despite missing five games due to injury.
The other honored Broncos were defensive linemen Julius Roberts, Alex Guerrero, and Andrew Browning. All three lineman were cornerstones to a defense that was ranked first in the conference, giving up only 83.5 rushing yards per game. Sophomore wide receiver Drisan James, tight end Andy Weldon and tailback Lee Marks also earned honors.
Trevor Horn
Sports Editor
