By Chadd Cripe
ccripe@idahostatesman.com

Boise State junior wide receiver Jeremy Childs met with the media Tuesday for the first time since he was suspended for the 2007 Hawaii Bowl and 2008 season opener against Idaho State.

Childs was suspended from school for the spring semester. He worked out with teammates during the summer and officially rejoined the roster Monday when fall camp opened.

Childs began by giving a statement to the media. Reporters were told they couldn’t ask any questions about the circumstances surrounding Childs’ suspensions.

"First, I want to apologize to the city of Boise, to the school and the team for what happened in the spring,” Childs said. “It was an honest mistake. I regret the mistake. I want to thank the coaches, my team for accepting me back. The athletic director. The vice president. The assistant vice president. One of my teachers. My family for the support and everybody in the community who supported me. I'm looking forward to the season and getting ready to be back with the team and getting rolling."

Childs was an All-WAC first-teamer last season, when he set a school record with 82 receptions. He said missing spring ball and winter conditioning might affect him a little bit, but he worked out with a couple of pro football players during his time away.

“I’m just trying to get back out there and play hard, play better than I did last year,” he said. “I just feel like I’m starting all over again. I’ve got to earn my way, work my way up.”

We’ll have more about Childs in Wednesday’s edition of the Idaho Statesman.

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Senior quarterback Bush Hamdan said Tuesday that surging confidence has helped him rebound from a frustrating 2007 and make a strong run at the starting job in 2008.

“When I’m rolling with the guys and I feel like I’ve got the guys behind me, I feel like I’m unstoppable,” he said. “And there are times when things kind of go on and reps start to get cut for whatever reason and you start to go down a little bit. It’s just a mental battle.”

Hamdan has looked sharp during the first two days of fall camp. He and freshman Kellen Moore entered fall camp in a dead heat for the starting job.

“We’re on the same page,” Hamdan said. “Whatever happens, I’m going to be there for him and he’s going to be there for me. He’s a great player. He’s ahead in a lot of ways with the game than a lot of us were. … He had a heck of a spring.”

Hamdan also was locked in a duel for the starting job last fall. Then-senior Taylor Tharp won the job.

Hamdan slipped as low as fourth on the depth chart during the season but finished the season as the unquestioned backup.

“I think, mentally, the summer was really good for me,” Hamdan said. “Last year was draining for me — going from potentially being the starter to legitimately dropping to the fourth string without knowing why. I’d like to think I had a great summer. I’m fresh and I’m ready to get back into this thing.”

We’ll have more on Hamdan in Wednesday’s edition of the Idaho Statesman.

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The veterans’ morning practice had a couple of moments that highlight the competitiveness involved in fall camp.

During one-on-one drills with the running backs, tight ends and linebackers, coaches set up a battle between fullback Andy Silsby and freshman linebacker Hunter White. Hamdan tossed a short strike to Silsby, who slipped tight coverage from White for what would have been a big gain.

“Play of the day!” tight end Chris Strausser shouted as he jogged past the media.

“Best backs in the country,” Hamdan added. “Put that in the newspaper.”

Later, tight end Kyle Efaw and safety Jason Robinson collided on a pass over the middle. Robinson deflected the ball high into the air and White grabbed it for an interception.

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Daron Mackey, a junior-college transfer from Bakersfield, Calif., is expected to play a role at linebacker this year. He does have a redshirt year available.

“He will be in the mix,” defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox said. “We’ll see what he can do.”

Mackey has practiced at weak-side linebacker with the newcomers during the first two days of fall camp. He grabbed an interception in his first practice.

“It’s a little different, a little fast,” he said of major college football. “It’s not as hard as I thought it would be, though.”

Mackey has been waiting two years for this opportunity. He was pushed to Bakersfield College because he didn’t meet NCAA academic requirements out of high school — a setback that Mackey considers a blessing. He lived at home the past two years while playing at Bakersfield.

“I always wanted to play D-I football — that was my dream,” Mackey said. “Going to JC was the best thing for me. I wasn’t mature enough. … Two years ago, I would have been homesick and probably would have wanted to go back.”