Weekly Player to Watch, 4th Edition

Since last week's player to watch was Brandyn Thompson and his name didn't even get mentioned once in the ridiculously bad WAC Sports Network telecast, I knew that I had only succeeded in not getting him injured, unlike the first two...At least there was a positive to come out of it. I'm not even sure the Broncos needed to put a defense out there at New Mexico State anyway. This week I am going to pick a player and that will be that. If he gets injured, I will have to think up some new creative way to do this where the player does not leave the game early, but at the same time plays great and has success. So for now, the Weekly PTW is...Tyler Shoemaker!



As mentioned in my previous post, the Toledo Rockets have the 103rd ranked pass defense in the nation. In other words, teams have been able to throw the ball against them, achieving plenty of success. At the same time, their run defense is pretty stout so I knew I couldn't pick a running back. But a wide receiver will do just fine! After catching a Kellen Moore laser for a touchdown against the Oregon State Beavers two weeks ago, it made sense to think the Shoemaker was back. Let's take a look at him in action against Hawai'i last year;


Tyler is from my old stomping grounds of Meridian, Idaho (actually, he is from the western side, I was more east, but you get the point). He graduated from Mountain View High School in 2007, but not before racking up 8 athlete letters and earning first team all-state honors his senior year. Despite all that, he was not offered any scholarships and decided to walk-on at Boise State. By 2008, Shoemaker was awarded one and had also become the new "SHOE" at Boise State (every fan in the stadium chants "shoooooooooooe" and holds up their right shoe whenever he does something good for the team. This was started in honor of former Bronco tight-end Derek Schouman). Here is to hoping that Tyler Shoemaker uses his under-the-radar talent to do a little bit more of this against the Rockets tomorrow!

I love this picture!

Shoemaker had a stellar freshman year, but his second campaign was cut short due to a hernia injury. Like I said, it appears he is back and ready to score some more touchdowns. He looks pretty thick out there when he has all his pads on. Not (offensive lineman) fat by any means, but probably tough to bring down when he's at full speed! At times it looks like he is capable of being one of Kellen Moore's best weapons, but other times he just fades away and does nothing. I think that this will definitely be an advantage against Toledo. Whatever defense/coverage the Rockets can muster in the secondary will be aimed at super stars Austin Pettis and Titus Young. If that is the case then guess who gets left all by himself with plenty of room to run? We are hoping that it is Tyler Shoemaker (the tight ends should have plenty of catches as well, by the way). I would not be the least bit surprised to see this exact scenario play out in the first half, then after intermission watching the Toledo secondary stumbling around, confused out of their minds, not knowing who to stay on. Ahhhh, such are the benefits of having a fantastic receiving core and a quarterback that can hit them with ease. Can we get a little Boise State wide receiver/tight end love up in here?!


The fourth edition of the Bronco Chase's Weekly PTW features junior wide receiver Tyler Shoemaker. We hope he catches lots of passes, a few of which end up with him celebrating in the end zone! Go Broncos!

Check back in Sunday for my take on the outcome of the game against the Toledo Rockets. Let's hope nobody gets injured, especially Mr. Shoemaker!