Boise State, Oregon decline to release depth charts ahead of Week 1 showdown

Spencer Danielson still offered several clues about Boise State's lineup

Boise State's Jaden Mickey | Boise State Athletics

Boise State and Oregon both declined to release public depth charts for Saturday’s showdown at Autzen Stadium. 

Broncos head coach Spencer Danielson did speak about several position battles during Monday’s press conference. 

Here are the three biggest takeaways from Danielson’s comments on the hidden depth chart. 

Young players earn starting roles on offense

Boise State will roll into Autzen Stadium with a pair of youthful starters on offense.

True freshman Rasean Jones earned a starting role at wide receiver while redshirt freshman Stewart Taufa beat out fourth-year junior Jason Steele to start at center. 

“Everything was graded through fall camp, and Jason did a great job through fall camp. Stew just did a little bit better than him,” Danielson said. “This is going to be an ongoing competition.”

Danielson also spoke at length on Jones, a local product who was an immediate standout in spring practice after graduating from Idaho power Rocky Mountain High School.  

“I’m very, very proud of Rasean Jones. But I’m also very, very calculated when I talk about him because he’s also a true freshman,” Danielson said. “And that was my meeting with him last week. 

“You’d be hard-pressed to find a better young man than Rasean Jones. How he treats his teammates, how he works. Loves the lore, great in the classroom, great in the community. He’s a 10 out of 10 young man, but he’s also a true freshman. And that was my message to him last week: ‘I don’t need you to be anybody but the best Rasean Jones.’”

Broncos to try new placekicker?

Sophomore Canaan Moore has likely edged fifth-year senior Colton Boomer for the starting placekicker job. 

In his lone appearance last season against Eastern Washington, Moore went 4 for 4 on PATs and 1 for 2 on field goals with a 35-yard make and a 24-yard miss. 

Boomer had a solid junior season, going 46 of 47 on PATs (98 percent) and 11 of 15 on field goals (73 percent). Boomer was a perfect 3 for 3 on kicks of 50 or more yards but went 1 for 5 on field goals between 40 and 49 yards.

Danielson noted that Boomer could handle kickoff duties while Moore serves as Boise State’s placekicker. Boomer recorded touchbacks on 61 of 77 kickoffs (79.2 percent) last year.

“I’ve got a lot of trust in (Boomer), but Canaan outplayed him a lot of times in fall camp,” Danielson said. “Finalizing the field goal kicker and who is kicking off will be the things we’re going to do in the next 24 hours. Right now, it’s probably going to be Canaan as our starting field goal kicker and Boomer as our starting kickoff.”

Defensive either-ors 

Danielson said Jaden Mickey, Sherrod Smith and Kennesaw State transfer JeRico Washington Jr. will all rotate at cornerback. 

“The cornerback competition has been at a high, high level,” Danielson added. 

At linebacker, either Kansas transfer Logan Brantley or fifth-year senior Jake Ripp will start alongside Boen Phelps. Both players were banged up in fall camp and were unable to receive a proper evaluation, Danielson said. 

Manu Tuioti and Syncere Brackett-Lambey could also rotate at linebacker, but either Brantley or Ripp will be in the starting lineup on Saturday. 

“How that rotation is going to be—who are our two first linebackers going out there—I really don’t know that,” Danielson said.