Boise State Football All-Decade Team

We enter a new decade and expectations will continue to remain high for the Boise State football program. The 2010’s were great to the Broncos: two Fiesta Bowl victories , five conference champions, and they finished the season ranked six times. There were a lot of great players that helped Boise State get there. Let’s take a peek at my all-decade team. (Players had to play in at least two seasons this decade).

Offense

Quarterback: Kellen Moore. It was hard to determine where to put the guys that only played on the 2010 and 2011 teams. The 2010 team might very well be the most talented team in school history, and Kellen had some great weapons. He may have only played two years in this decade, but he went 24-2 and had victories over Virginia Tech and Georgia.

Also considered: Brett Rypien. Rypien was the only other player I considered. Rypien might very well be the second best quarterback in Boise State history and holds a number of records, but Kellen gets a slight edge. Hedrick did not play in enough games to earn consideration.

Running Back: Jay Ajayi. I think you could argue that Ajayi had the best season of any Boise State running back in 2014. He was far and away the best player on a team that won a Fiesta Bowl. He had a phenomenal, three year career and was the featured back for two seasons.

Also considered: Jeremy McNichols, Alexander Mattison, Doug Martin. Mattison might have given Ajayi a run for his money if he had a better offensive line. Martin played in only two seasons this decade and shared carries at times.

Wide Receiver: Matt Miller

Wide Receiver: Thomas Sperbeck

Wide Receiver: Cedrick Wilson

Also considered: Tyler Shoemaker. I considered putting Shoemaker in over Wilson. Both players had spectacular senior seasons, but Wilson was the better playmaker.

Tight End: Jake Roh

This one was pretty easy to be honest. There wasn’t really a receiver with a comparable body of work. Roh had a great senior season and helped lead the Broncos to a Mountain West Championship.

Offensive Line: Charles Leno, Jr.

Offensive Line: Matt Paradis

Offensive Line: Rees Odhiambo

Offensive Line: Marcus Henry

Offensive Line: Ezra Cleveland

Also considered: Nate Potter, John Molchon

Defense

Defensive Line: Shea McClellin

Defensive Line: Tyrone Crawford

Defensive Line: Demarcus Lawrence

Defensive Line: Kamalei Correa

Also considered: Billy Winn, David Moa. This was really tough; Boise State’s strongest position in the past decade has been their edge rushers. I think you could put them with the defensive line or the linebackers. Winn could probably go in; those 2010 and 2011 defenses were super dominant, but the body of work favors those guys.

Linebacker: Curtis Weaver

Linebacker: Leighton Vander Esch

Linebacker: Tanner Vallejo

Also considered: Ben Weaver. I feel like this is a fair list. Boise State has had some solid linebackers, but these three guys are NFL players that all had a significant impact on their teams. Vander Esch and Weaver were conference players of the year. It might be a bit of a cop out to put Weaver at linebacker, but he dropped into coverage quite a bit over the course of his career.

Corner: Jamar Taylor

Corner: Donte Deayon

Also considered: Tyler Horton, Jonathan Moxey. This was a pretty easy choice; Taylor and Deayon were staples at the corner position all four years of their Boise State careers. Deayon and Thompson formed the best interception duo in Boise State history.

Safety: Darian Thompson

Safety: George Iloka

Also considered: Jeremy Ioane, Chanceller James. This was another pretty easy choice. Thompson had his ups and downs in his career, but he is one of the greatest ball hawks in Boise State history. George Iloka is one of the most well rounded safeties in Boise State history, great hitter and great in coverage.

Special Teams

Kicker: Dan Goodale

Also considered: Kyle Brotzman, Tyler Rausa. This was a tough one; the kicker position has come under plenty of scrutiny in the past decade. Goodale had a strong leg and was a reliable kicker for the most part. The miss against TCU was tough, but the local kicker had a solid career and a strong leg.

Punter: Brad Elkin

Also considered: Sean Wale. As we learned this year, the best kickers/punters are the ones you hear the least about. Wale and Elkin were both solid punters. I give Elkin the slight edge.

Kick Returner: Doug Martin

Also considered: Cedrick Wilson, John Hightower. Doug Martin was the classic example of a player that would do whatever he could to help the team. Martin was a featured back and also the best kick returner on his team.

Punt Returner: Avery Williams

Also considered: Donte Deayon. Donte was a solid punt returner, but Avery Williams has made a solid career of being a great punt returner. The award has to go to the 2019 special teams player of the year, Avery Williams.

That’s my Boise State All-Decade Team. Please, feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below.