By Chadd Cripe

Boise State junior Julian Hawkins has settled into his new role at wide receiver.

Hawkins (6-foot-3, 220 pounds), who switched from tight end to wide receiver in December, envisions himself as a Legedu Naanee-type receiver because of his size.

Hawkins made one catch in a limited role last year.

“This year I see my role being a whole lot more in the offense,” Hawkins said.

Hawkins has endured an up-and-down career. He was academically ineligible in 2005 and had to sit out fall camp.

“Coach Pete kind of said this is the light at the end of the tunnel for me now,” Hawkins said, “so I’m just going to take it and run with it.”

By Chadd Cripe

Boise State senior fullback Michael Lose has been awarded a scholarship, coach Chris Petersen said.

The Broncos gave scholarships to four walk-ons in the spring. Another scholarship became available and Petersen gave it to Lose, who also plays special teams.

“Lose has done everything exactly right in this program,” Petersen said. “He’s been a leader. He’s an excellent student. He’s been a mentor for the young guys. He’s kind of what being a Bronco is all about.”

•••

The Broncos offense struggled mightily Monday in both practices. The timing was off, passes weren’t caught and turnovers were rampant.

By Chadd Cripe

Boise State junior quarterback Bush Hamdan took snaps this morning during the first of two Broncos practices.

Hamdan missed Saturday’s scrimmage because of a sore hand, the result of hitting it on a helmet during practice last week.

Senior Taylor Tharp took most of the snaps with the first-team offense. Sophomore Nick Lomax, who played well in the scrimmage, also took some snaps with the first team. Hamdan played mostly with the second team.

The offense, which performed well in the scrimmage, was out of synch for most of the practice. The wide receivers couldn’t hang onto the ball during 1-on-1s, the timing was off on several pass plays and the offense committed at least four turnovers.

By Chadd Cripe

The Boise State offense moved the ball consistently and the defense stiffened near the goal line Saturday afternoon at Bronco Stadium in the team’s first scrimmage of fall camp.

The first-team offense drove inside the 10-yard line on all three of its possessions, all under the leadership of senior quarterback Taylor Tharp. The results: a fumble by Tanyon “Slash” Bissell at the goal line, a 1-yard touchdown sneak by Tharp and a missed field goal.

In all, the first-team offense ran 36 plays covering 199 yards.

The first-team defense stopped two of those drives in the end zone and stuffed star tailback Ian Johnson on three straight run plays inside the 2-yard line before Tharp sneaked across the goal line.

Boise State junior quarterback Bush Hamdan did not play in Saturday’s scrimmage at Bronco Stadium. Hamdan bruised his throwing hand by hitting it on a helmet at practice Wednesday.

Hamdan’s throwing ability was hampered Thursday and Friday, but he expected to play in the scrimmage. However, he did not have enough strength in the hand to play.

Hamdan is expected to practice Monday, the team’s next scheduled workout. Coaches were uncertain how his missed practice time will affect the search for a starter.

Senior Taylor Tharp and sophomore Nick Lomax appeared sharp in Hamdan’s absence.

By Chadd Cripe

Boise State’s quarterback race enters the critical first scrimmage of fall camp unchanged from the offseason.

Junior Bush Hamdan and senior Taylor Tharp are the co-No. 1s, while sophomore Nick Lomax is No. 3, redshirt freshman Mike Coughlin is No. 4 and freshman Kellen Moore is No. 5.

Offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin hopes to narrow the race to two or three quarterbacks after Saturday’s scrimmage, which will begin between 3:30 and 4 p.m. at Bronco Stadium. The public is invited to attend.

Hamdan, Tharp and Lomax will get quality time with the first-team offense in the scrimmage, Harsin said. The first-teamers, second-teamers and third-teamers will take about 30 snaps each. The three quarterbacks also will play with the second team. Harsin wants to keep their opportunities as balanced as possible.

By Chadd Cripe

The Broncos’ new kicker, walk-on Brock Jaramillo, has taken a winding path to Boise.

Jaramillo is a longtime soccer player who joined his high school football team in Temecula, Calif., during his senior year. He was so impressive that San Diego State offered him a scholarship.

However, Jaramillo broke his leg playing soccer and San Diego State pulled its offer.

That sent Jaramillo on a junior-college tour. He spent one year each at Mt. San Jacinto, Palomar and Orange Coast. The stay at Palomar was the most frustrating, because Jaramillo was told the day before the season opener that he was a half-credit shy of being eligible.

Senior special-teamer Ia Falo might be the least-likely Broncos captain ever.

Falo (5-foot-7, 165 pounds), who all but begged the Broncos to give him a chance out of Mountain Home High, was named the team’s special teams captain in December.

He was selected by his teammates.

“As a walk-on, that’s like your farthest dream to be a captain,” Falo said. “… All that hard work did pay off.”

While announcing the captains, coach Chris Petersen told the story of a time when Falo and several teammates were doing 100-yard bear crawls as punishment for being late for practice. Falo completed his in about 30 seconds.

The Boise State football team’s trick play trifecta in the Fiesta Bowl is part of a larger national trend, ESPN.com’s Pat Forde writes.

Gambling is in across college football. Conservatism is out.

The story quotes Broncos coach Chris Petersen.

“We may have run five or six (trick plays) during the course of last year," Petersen said. "Guys think now we're all about trick plays. We're a standard, hard-nosed football team and 1 percent of the offense is trick plays.

"But we will call them. If we practice them during the week, they're going to get called. When we practice them the players are not thinking, 'He'll never call that.' Because we will."

The Boise State football team’s afternoon practice Wednesday was full of big plays.

Tailback Ian Johnson caught a short pass, cut inside, then cut back to the outside — tying linebacker Tim Brady into a knot in the open field.

Freshman quarterback Kellen Moore made his first big splash of the fall with a bomb to walk-on wide receiver Tyler Shoemaker, opting for his third read. The play went for about 90 yards.

And the defense got some revenge later when linebacker Dallas Dobbs stripped wide receiver Jeremy Childs from behind, scooped up the loose ball on a big hop and returned it about 20 yards.