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PROVO — Located 340 miles from Salt Lake City, the top college football program in the state of Idaho has made a habit of pulling some of Utah’s top high school talent to its blue turf year after year.
For a while, BYU quarterback Zach Wilson was one of them.
The former Corner Canyon standout was a solid Boise State commit before signing late in the early signing period with BYU and enrolling in January. Now he’s the Cougars’ starting quarterback as he leads his current team against a team he once dreamed of playing for during his own recruitment at 8:15 p.m. MDT Saturday at Albertsons Stadium.
Of course Wilson doesn’t regret his decision — even if it was a late decision spurred by offers from Cal, Oregon State and Iowa, among others. He had the chance to compete for immediate playing time at BYU, and eventually won the starting job midway through the season, leading the Cougars to a 1-1 record in two games at the helm.
“I can’t ask for anything more with the opportunity to play as a freshman,” Wilson said. “It’s an opportunity I know a lot pf people wish they would have, and I am grateful for it every day.
“I’m glad to see my family every day, and hang out with this team and these coaches. I love it here.”
Of course Wilson also knows the allure of Boise State. Head coach Bryan Harsin and his staff recruited Wilson regularly at Corner Canyon, and the top boss made several in-home visits to the son of former University of Utah defensive lineman Mike Wilson over the past four seasons.
It’s an allure that many local high school products feel as well. Among the players seeing time for the perennial Mountain West favorite Broncos (6-2) are former Bingham standout Durrant Miles and Alta nose tackle Sonatane Lui.
But what attracts most recruits to the famous blue turf is the offense.
“They have a very explosive offense, and that’s No. 1,” Wilson said. “And they do a good job of recruiting LDS kids as well. It’s not a far drive, and I think they do a great job of bringing those kids over.
“They throw the ball really well, and that’s kind of what drew me to them.”
The Cougars (4-4) are looking to bounce back after an ugly 7-6 loss to Northern Illinois last week.
Here’s what to expect from the matchup with the Broncos.
Boise State offense
The Broncos aren’t ranked in the Top 25 at this meeting, but that’s been a rarity in the normally stable relationship with the Cougars in the era of independence.
The "down season" is not for their offense, though.
Boise State averages 40.1 points per game, the 15th-highest scoring offense in the nation. The Broncos are led by quarterback Brett Rypien, a senior who has thrown for 2,166 yards and 18 touchdowns with just five interceptions.
On the ground, Alex Mattison averages 4.2 yards per carry for 637 yards and eight scores for a team that piles up 154.4 rushing yards per game.
But stopping the Broncos starts with the senior calling the signals.
“It’s very easy to make a quarterback uncomfortable by bringing a lot of pressure,” BYU assistant head coach and linebackers coach Ed Lamb said. “The good quarterbacks can carve it up where there isn’t a lot of coverage. We hope to strike that balance.
“Why can’t aggressive be pinning your opponent deep and getting a stop? Guys have their own opinion, and I’m not going to change anybody’s mind. But aggressive can be a drop-eight coverage; that means three guys are getting pressure up front, and the other guys are dropping into coverage. The end result needs to be sacks. But you can get a sack in a one-man pass rush, too.”
Boise State defense
BYU averages just 22.8 points per game, taking a big step back offensively after last week’s loss to the Huskies when they failed to score an offensive touchdown.
But that’s right on par with the Broncos’ defense, which holds opponents to 24.6 points per game.
The Broncos are led by safety Kekoa Nawahine, a junior from nearby Meridian, Idaho, who has 47 tackles, including 27 solo stops in 2018.
“They developed a culture and started winning with blue-collar guys who do their jobs on a consistent basis,” BYU offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes said of the Broncos. “Their recruiting has elevated since I was there, but I think they maintain that blue-collar attitude.”
X-factor: Familiarity
BYU and Boise State are playing for the ninth time in program history, with the Broncos leading 6-2 all-time. The Cougars have never won on the blue turf in four trips, and Boise State outworked the Cougars 24-7 a year ago in Provo.
But the series has played close lately — and familiarity can breed contempt in a game that many consider a budding rivalry between the top private school in the Beehive State and the top public school in the Gem State.
First-year BYU offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes came to Provo from Boise State — nearly two decades ago, when he was an assistant to then-head coach Dirk Koetter, along with Harsin and several other assistant coaches. The last includes Brad Bedell, the offensive line coach who was one of Grimes’ graduate assistants in Boise.
“There are a lot of guys on the staff that I know well and maintain friendships with,” Grimes said. “So it means a lot to me that we go there and play well.”
