BOISE – For the second game in a row, the Boise State football team will be without one of its senior leaders on defense for the first half.
And this one hurts.
Starting linebacker Riley Whimpey, who has appeared in 44 games and made 32 starts during his Boise State career, will be forced to watch the first half of Saturday’s showdown with Oklahoma State from the sidelines after being disqualified for a targeting call in the second half of last week’s 54-13 win against UTEP.
NCAA rules stipulate if a player is disqualified due to targeting in the second half of a game he also must sit out the first half of the following game.
The same thing happened to Boise State last week when senior starting nickel Kekaula Kaniho missed the first half against UTEP after his targeting call in the second half of the UCF game.
It’s one thing to lose a guy against a team like UTEP. But to lose a key player like Whimpey for the first half against Oklahoma State? It’s less than ideal for the Broncos – regardless of what people thought about the call itself.
Sensing a repeated problem, coaches have spent this week working on drills to focus on legal tackles and avoiding potential hits that could result in targeting calls in the future.
“You have to go back and obviously clean things up,” safeties coach and co-defensive coordinator Kane Ioane said. “If you get two weeks in a row where you get penalties which result in the situation that we’re in, we have to find a way to fix it.
“We can’t continue to lose guys on a weekly basis, especially with the quality of guys that we’re losing.”
Redshirt junior Brandon Hawkins, who has two tackles this season while playing mostly on special teams, will start and play the majority of the first half in place of Whimpey. DJ Schramm also could see some action.
But the bigger issue is the trend of targeting calls – two in two games – and what the Broncos are trying to do to stop it.
“We’ve gone back as a staff and figured out how we can go about this in practice and create some drills and situations that put our guys in a scenario where they have to make sure they are utilizing the strike zone and still wrapping and driving and creating the physical type of plays we want as tacklers, but doing so in a way that’s within the rules of the game,” Ioane said. “As coaches that’s our responsibility to find ways to teach that and model it and to manage it throughout the week and in turn (hopefully) we’ll get the results we want on Saturdays.”
In previous years, Whimpey would be forced to watch the first half from the locker room, but a recent NCAA rule change will allow Whimpey to be on the sidelines for the first half.
Whimpey led Boise State in tackling last season and is second through two games in 2021.
“I let him know his influence and leadership doesn’t change just because he’s not on the field,” Kaniho said. “Watch every play like you’re the guy in. Watch the guys on the field as if you were on the field with them, so when they come to the sidelines or have questions, you see something that maybe they don’t and you can correct them like a coach would.”
Kaniho’s penalty at UCF was legit, but the call on Whimpey appeared questionable at best.
Whimpey made apparent helmet-to-helmet contact with UTEP running back Ronald Awatt on a play in the third quarter, but only after Awatt had been hit by Boise State’s Kekaula Kaniho. Awatt’s body dropped slightly after the initial hit, and Whimpey had no time to adjust.
“The ball carrier got his legs taken out from him and his helmet went down,” Boise State coach Andy Avalos said. “It was a bang-bang, physical play.”
Even more puzzling? It took less than 45 seconds for the replay official to review the play an confirm the call.
“We just have to continue to rep these situations and make sure that when we’re making contact we’re making contact with our shoulder,” Avalos said. “Sometimes with the speed of the game and things like that, we’re going to be in situations that are very tough and in terms of playing fast and physical, and there are going to be big collisions like that.
“We just have to keep teaching and emphasizing it and making sure we’re emphasizing the target zone, from the numbers down to the knees, with all the things we’re repping in practice.”
Whimpey was not made available to the media this week.
Hawkins steps into a huge assignment in the first half. The 6-foot-2, 220-pounder has played in 21 games the past three seasons but almost exclusively on special teams. He’s battled a shoulder injury previously but finally is playing at full strength.
“He’ll step up to the plate,” defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Spencer Danielson said. “I know he’s fired up. I was just with him and seeing him watch film and seeing how he continues to use these days to grow mentally and have that confidence on the field has been cool to see.
“He brings a lot to our defense. He shows up to work, he’s not going to be super loud but you know he’s going to get his work in and ask questions when he needs to. He’s going to be ready to go on Saturday. I’m excited for him.”
BRONCO BITS
The Bronco Walk will begin at 4:20 p.m. on Saturday. There was confusion over the time last week and the team arrived earlier than most expected, causing many family members to miss it. A Boise State spokesman confirmed it will begin at 4:20 p.m. and take the same route as in previous years. … Less than 2,100 tickets remain for Saturday’s game. Tickets can be purchased at BroncoSports.com.
