Despite March 20th being the official first day of spring, for the Broncos that would be March 11th. This being the first day of spring practices. There are several positions this spring in which players will be competing for starting rolls, such as cornerback, tight end, and running back to mention a few. Over the course of the next five weeks, these position battles will carry on. Some will carry on into the fall as well. The practices will culminate into the annual spring game April 13 at 5 PM MST.
One of the positions up for grabs will be cornerback. Boise State lost both starting corners from last season; however, it appears one of the two starting jobs will belong to senior Ebo Makinde. The other side is a different story where players battle it out with one another for the job. The primary players being evaluated are sophomore Donte Deayon and incoming junior college transfer Cleshawn Page. The consensus is Deayon is a rising talent; however, Page’s experience may be enough to get the starting nod. Also, don’t count out Deon’tae Florence. He has really impressed coaches thus far into the practices with his three interceptions and may push for playing time or better, a starting job.
With D.J. Harper off the NFL, the running back spot is open. Last season we watched Jay Ajayi receive significant playing time and looked extremely good. Many made Doug Martin type comparisons. That said, another junior college transfer, Derrick Thomas, will be looking to take that spot away from Ajayi. So far in the practices, Ajayi has really asserted himself as the man for the job. Obviously he has a huge advantage with his playing time last year. He averaged 6.7 yards per carry last season. You can’t argue with the numbers. Other players have not necessarily performed poorly this spring but Ajayi has looked impressive.
I will continue following the various position battles throughout this spring. Check back soon for another installment of my spring evaluation. If you like this article, you can receive e-mail alerts when new articles are available. Just click on the "subscribe" button above. You can also follow me on Twitter @RonnieEastham.
Comments