Welcome to a fun off-season series that Michael, Hunter (both of FKWG), Zach, and Mike (both of MWCConnection) are rolling out for your viewing enjoyment (hopefully). Back in February, excitement was at an all-time high for fans and coaches alike as the 2024 class was officially signed. Like every year, fans often tout a class as potentially one of the best on paper. However, once players get on campus and actually on the field, the true story begins to reveal itself. It can often take years for a class to truly be judged as the impact of many players won’t be seen for a few seasons. That being said, this series will aim to revisit and evaluate Boise State’s 2019 class. There has now been enough time that many members of the class have either left or are entering their final seasons, which means players are able to be looked at for their production (or lack thereof) rather than projection and hype.
Anyway, each week, the four of us will look at a different position group or two from the class. While we will contribute two posts each week over the next month, the location of the posts will change. The start of the week will feature a post on FKWG while the end of the week will see a post up on MWCConnection, that way readers of both sites can follow along. This year, we are changing up the format a bit on how we discuss each player. The old way of assessing a recruit by categorizing them (exceeded, met, or failed to meet expectations) grew stale, as players basically were a bust, pleasant surprise, or lived up to the hype. Instead, our analysis will be more straightforward. The four of us will each share our thoughts when the player signed, and then share our thoughts over the past four years. The hope is that allows for more freedom in our descriptions rather than trying to fit everything into a pre-designed box. Hopefully, it will still be a worthwhile trip down memory lane, even if it is not always enjoyable.
This year features the 2020 class, which was the last full class with Bryan Harsin as the coach. It had to follow up the Broncos’ greatest recruiting class ever, but managed to hold its own by bringing in a number of talented players. There seemed to be an emphasis on the defensive line and secondary this time around. Also, Boise State began to lean more into the transfer portal during this cycle. Relive it all while we dive into this series.
Part 4: Defensive Line
Boise State invested a lot of focus in the defensive line in this recruiting cycle. It was an interesting blend of high school and junior college talent, and quite a few bame big contributors in one way or another during their Bronco career. Look below for the specifics for each of the four players.
DT Robert Cooper
Thoughts when he signed:
Michael: Cooper seemed like a solid add to that recruiting class. Not a have-to-squint-real-hard-to-see-the-diamond-in-the-rough type, but also not an apparent superstar.
Hunter: Cooper had all the right pieces. Good size, and good production out of high school, he was as good a candidate as any to be a solid lineman on The Blue. Like the rest of the group, I thought he had a good chance to develop into something impactful, given some time.
Zach: On paper seemed like the prototypical Boise State defensive lineman. A guy that enters the program very raw, but develops into a big time contributor by the end of his career. I had high hopes for Cooper.
Mike: Cooper was a pretty solid recruit out of Washington and part of the big push on the defensive line. He had nice height and room to add on some weight over his redshirt year. Like most recruits, I thought he would develop over time and be part of the interior defensive line rotation that the Broncos like to do.
Thoughts over the past four years:
Michael: Never really got a chance to form an opinion. He was here and then suddenly was not.
Hunter: No playing time until he eventually transferred to Eastern Washington. That’s the whole story for him in B-Town.
Zach: Cooper never played a game on the Blue. A disappointing outcome for sure. He definitely failed to meet expectations.
Mike: Robert left as quickly as he came. After redshirting in the 2020 season, he left the next summer and ended up at Eastern Washington. He played in three games over two seasons with minimal impact.
DT Herbert Gums
Thoughts when he signed:
Michael: Extremely excited. His highlights made me more hyped than any DL prospect since Jabril Frazier.
Hunter: There was a lot of hype around Gums’ signing. I think I wondered if his height got him overlooked (which is wild because Aaron Donald exists). Ultimately felt like the exact type of player that becomes a star in Boise.
Zach: Gums was an elite get. A Texas defensive lineman with a ton of potential. I expected Gums to be an immediate contributor and have a big career in Boise.
Mike: Gums was a huge get both figuratively and literally. For some reason, he went underrecruited in his home state of Texas and the Broncos ended up benefitting after gaining his commitment. I figured he would eventually step into a starting role and be a force on the inside.
Thoughts over the past four years:
Michael: He’s not stiff-arming offensive linemen with one hand while rag-dolling a hapless QB or RB with the other anymore. The talent increase to college is substantial, plus he’s evolved into more of a pure NT. However, he’s progressed nicely to where he’s a verstarter and dependable starter.
Hunter: Gums has done really well as a Bronco. Probably not a star but I think the bottom line is that he’s filled his role admirably as a NT. Seems like the kind of guy we’ll appreciate more once he’s gone.
Zach: Gums has become a fixture on the defensive line and a key contributor on the defensive line. Gums has been really solid, but I don’t think he has really developed into the elite lineman I thought he would be. Gums needs to improve as a pass rusher, something I expect to see over the course of the 2024 season.
Mike: He got his feet wet with one game during his redshirt year and then seven games the next season. In 2022, he became a starter and has not let that role go since. Over the past two seasons, he has stuffed up the run game on the interior and filled up the stat sheet a bit as well. Gums has basically filled the role that was imagined for him upon committing.
DT Divine Obichere
Thoughts when he signed:
Michael: The same as with most JC transfers: “We’ll see”. He physically fit the bill, so that made me tilt toward optimism.
Hunter: Not much? JUCO lineman with light offers left me cautiously..skeptical. Ready to believe in him but not hoping for anything crazy.
Zach: Divine was kind of an unexpected junior college addition. I did not have high expectations for him and thought he would have a limited role.
Mike: Divine was recruited from the same junior college as his more prominent teammate (featured below). I recall a photo of him on his official visit and he towered over the others in the picture. I thought he would add quality depth to the defensive tackle positon and hoped he could step into some kind of role.
Thoughts over the past four years:
Michael: Turned into an above-average starter and–lowkey–one of the more entertaining post-game interviewees.
Hunter: He certainly outperformed my expectations, although the most memorable legacy of him will probably be the complete lack of consistency on how his last name was pronounced (Oh-bee-cee-air? Oh-bi-cherry?). That and his 2022 game against CSU where he looked like the greatest DL in the history of sport. Probably won’t ever forget him just for that reason.
Zach: Honestly, Obichere carved out a pretty nice role for himself during his time in Boise. He proved to be a reliable rotation player and a solid pass rusher in third and long situations. Obichere exceeded expectations for me.
Mike: Obichere made the most of his three seasons at Boise State. He was lower on the depth chart, but seemingly every time he was called upon to get on the field, he delivered. Divine generated a tremendous interior pass rush, most notably his game against Colorado State. He was a one-person wrecking crew in that game, with 7 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and two sacks.
DE Shane Irwin
Thoughts when he signed:
Michael: Honestly, the same as Obichere: “We’ll see”. While statistically less of one, JC guys always FEEL like more of a lottery ticket.
Hunter: I’m not as skeptical as Zach about JUCO players, although I think his previous stint at SDSU also made this one more intriguing. I expected him to see the field, but I can’t say I was too sure about how much.
Zach: As I have stated before, I have a really hard time getting my hopes up about junior college players. Boise State had not had a ton of recent success with junior college players in the trenches. I was just hoping that Irwin would be a pleasant surprise.
Mike: Irwin began his career at San Diego State before excelling at Long Beach City College and transferring to Boise State. I thought irwin would continue to be a dynamic pass-rusher at Boise State and ideally develop into a well-rounded player on defense.
Thoughts over the past four years:
Michael: He was actually a really good player for Boise State. Solid on the field (with some legitimate “takeover” moments) but had all-star level hair. It’s incredibly unfortunate injuries cut his career short. He was a lot of fun.
Hunter: All in all, I thought he had a great career as a Bronco. He had multiple back-to-back sack games in 2020, and was genuinely a star player in 2021, albeit overshadowed by JL Skinner’s superstar season. Only disappointment was that he wasn’t around for longer.
Zach: Irwin’s first year game during the 2020 COVID shortened season and we didn’t really get to see his full potential. However, the 2021 season was a different story. Irwin emerged as a key contributor and one of the top pass rushers on the team. Irwin finished his Boise State career with nine sacks.
Mike: After a so-so season in 2020, Irwin lived up to the hype during the 2021 campaign. He started half of the games and piled up the tackles for loss and sacks, helping contribute to the pass rush the defense portrayed. Unfortunately, he retired due to an injury, which cut short what was supposed to be a great 2022 season to end his college career.
