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Pete picks Tharp
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Taylor Tharp is the man now. He’s the man Boise State Head Football Coach Chris Petersen has picked to stand under center and run the offense against Weber State in the Broncos home opener on Thursday, Aug. 30.
“It feels good,” Tharp said in a press conference Saturday. “It’s been a long time coming for me to be in this spot right here. I’m extremely honored and extremely excited and I’m looking forward to the season getting started.”
Amidst a highly competitive Bronco quarterback race, which began immediately following Jared Zabransky’s last start as a Bronco in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, Tharp has surfaced as the quarterback of the immediate future at BSU.
On Friday, Aug. 24, Coach Petersen released the official depth chart for the home opener and Tharp was listed as the No. 1 quarterback ahead of junior Bush Hamdan and sophomore Nick Lomax.
After spending two years as Zabransky’s backup Tharp is getting his chance to lead the dance, not follow. The senior from Boulder, Colo. came to BSU in 2003 and spent his freshman season as a red shirt. In 2005 he was named the No. 2 QB on the depth chart and sat two seasons behind Zabransky, wondering if his time to lead would ever come.
As a freshman Tharp watched Zabransky beat out senior Mike Sanford for the starting job to open the 2004 season. After five years in the BSU program Sanford never got his chance to run the show.
“I could care less that I’m a senior just now starting at quarterback for Boise State University, it just an honor to be in this position,” Tharp said.
Entering his senior season Tharp found himself in a similar situation. Succeeding one of the program’s most prolific quarterbacks, Tharp found himself in a nail-biting race with three under classmen – Hamdan, Lomax and freshman Michael Coughlin.
“We really like the competition we have at that position,” Coach Petersen said. “Bush and Nick both did nice jobs and Mike is still hanging in the wings and we think he’ll be a good player.”
Through spring practice Tharp progressed through the four weeks of workouts but left many questions unanswered about his ability to be consistent. With limited game appearances in his first three seasons the “experience factor” was thrown out the door months ago.
“He did a decent job in spring ball but we didn’t think he was quite were we wanted him to be,” Coach Petersen said. “To his credit he didn’t blink and he improved and played the most consistent in fall camp.”
In 2006 Tharp attempted just 13 passes. He did complete 11 of them for 88 yards, however, with one touchdown pass. Tharp’s quarterback rating was 151.48 and his top game of the year came against Louisiana Tech when he finished 4-for-5 for 40 yards.
All of Tharp’s career highs have come in back up positions, and playing the staring role will be different. All eyes will be on Tharp and the spotlight is shining more brightly on him than ever before.
“I’m just focused on Weber State,” Tharp said about dealing with the new attention. “Right now that’s what I’ll worry about and after that we’ll go from there.”
Coach Petersen’s decision is final for now, but Tharp and the coaching staff will continue to approach his job on a game-by-game basis. Coach Pete said he hopes the back ups continue working for the starting job, because the competition is never over.
Jake Garcin
