Injuries force Broncos to look down depth chart

This year’s Boise State team has endured more injuries than any other in the Chris Petersen era.

What has to make Petersen feel good is the fact that the injuries haven’t slowed the team down – yet.

JOSH RASMUSSEN/THE ARBITER. Junior wide receiver catches one of his 14 touchdown passes three weeks ago against the Idaho Vandals. Pettis caught 4 TD's in the rivalry game.

It started early in the season during week three when BSU traveled to Fresno State to take on the Bulldogs in its first away game. Junior running back D.J. Harper was having another great game just as the previous two games. Then, in the second half, with the Broncos threatening to score Harper was taken down in the backfield and tore his anterior cruciate ligament.

But not all was lost. That gave sophomore running back Doug Martin a chance to move back to offense and replace Harper, and he’s not disappointed. Since his transformation back to offense, Martin has gained 650 yards on 105 carries for a 6.1 average per carry. I guess you could say Martin came to the rescue.

“Nothing surprises me with Doug,” Petersen said. “We knew he would rise to the occasion and be productive. By watching him in practice you knew he was going to bring that same mentality to the game.”

Things haven’t gotten much better for the Broncos in the injury department since Harper’s season ending injury back in September.

Three weeks ago, against Idaho, BSU lost senior full back and team leader Richie Brockel and up-and-coming running back freshman Matt Keiserman to season ending injuries. Sophomore wide receiver Tyler Shoemaker was also injured in that game and has not played since. Petersen has said Shoemaker will be back for the bowl game.

Having Shoemaker back for the bowl game is huge, especially when we learned this week that junior wide receiver Austin Pettis will be out for the game against New Mexico State on senior day at Bronco Stadium. Petersen said Pettis’ injury was a lower leg fracture, but did say that there’s a chance Pettis could be back for the bowl game. Pettis was BSU’s No. 1 receiver as he caught a touchdown pass in every game besides the Utah State game. Pettis had 14 TD’s on the year.

“We’ll have some guys step up,” Petersen said optimistically. “Austin’s a heck of a player and hopefully we’ll get him back for the bowl game and we’ll go from there.”

The receivers who will be called upon to fill Pettis’ role are freshmen Kirby Moore, Chris Potter and Mitch Burroughs.

Brockel’s replacement, sophomore Dan Paul, had himself a great game in only his second start of his career. Paul caught three TD passes and blocked extremely well for Martin and sophomore quarterback Kellen Moore.

“It was a little frustrating for me. I wanted to be that guy scoring, but knowing that it was a guy (Paul) I like filling in for me and playing hard felt really good for me,” Brockel said.

Starting middle linebacker junior Deron Mackey re-tore his ACL against Nevada and will miss the rest of the season. He has been sharing time with junior Derrell Acrey, who also suffered a sprained ankle in the Nevada game and is listed as day-to-day.

All of the injuries force the Broncos to look down their depth chart at their young players. Though the team has taken dramatic hits, they’re still confident they’ll be ready to play at a high level.

“I think they’ll be fine. When their numbers called they’ll be ready. Thats part of the game. It sucks, but they’ve got to carry the flag,” senior cornerback Kyle Wilson said confidently. “I can’t wait to see those guys step up and make some plays.”

Related Posts:

1. Injury update for Boise State football
2. Brockel, Kaiserman likely out for season
3. Early production displays depth despite late season injuries
4. Three-headed monster for Halloween?: Broncos find new depth with Kaiserman
5. Boise State Broncos vs. Miami (OH) – 9/12/09