Air Force notes: Boise State will get crash course in triple option
LAS VEGAS - Teaching players how to defend Air Force’s triple-option offense in less than a week is a monumental challenge, but it appears Boise State is going to try.
When asked at Mountain West media days how much his team has prepared for Air Force, which Boise State plays Oct. 22, Broncos coach Chris Petersen said Tuesday they hadn’t at all. That might make things difficult.
“Yeah, I think it’s going to be really hard,” said Petersen, whose Boise State team will be in its first season in the Mountain West. “Extremely hard.”
Petersen said the Broncos might do a little triple-option work during training camp, but it seems possible the first time they will see Air Force’s offense is during practice the week of the game. Petersen said the last time he prepared for a triple-option offense was 1997, when he was on Oregon’s staff and it played Air Force in the Las Vegas Bowl. Reminded that Boise State played Rice’s option offense in the early 2000s, Petersen groaned and said he has tried to forget that. Rice beat Boise State 45-14 in 2001. Boise State did beat Rice the following year.
Air Force will be an underdog when it plays at Boise State, but it could catch the Broncos by surprise.
“Air Force is one of the teams where you’re just like, ‘Great, they’re in this league?’” Petersen said. “Those guys do a great job.”
Warzeka honored
Air Force receiver Jonathan Warzeka was named the Mountain West’s preseason special teams player of the year, an honor he did not see coming.
“To be honest, I was pretty surprised,” Warzeka said. “It’s great to be recognized. At the same time, it’s preseason. A lot can happen during the season.”
Freshman ready
Air Force coach Troy Calhoun is impressed with this year’s freshman class, and predicted more freshmen than usual could compete for significant playing time, without singling any out. That includes at fullback, where Calhoun said three freshmen have a chance to contribute.
“I’m fired up about our freshmen,” Calhoun said. “We’re going to have to play freshmen this year.”
