Boise State continues busy month of recruiting with commitment from defensive lineman

The Boise State football team has added four players to its 2022 recruiting class over the past two days.

On Monday, the Broncos picked up a verbal commitment from JJ Talo — a 6-foot-3, 260-pound defensive lineman from Kearns High in Utah.

Talo doesn’t have a rating from 247Sports yet, but he has scholarship offers from Utah State, Colorado State, San Jose State and Morgan State, according to the recruiting website. He told the Idaho Statesman on Monday night that his final decision came down to Boise State and Utah State.

Three recruits gave Boise State their verbal commitments on Sunday: linebacker Kaeo Akana, wide receiver Keenan McCaddy and offensive lineman Roger Carreon.

Heading into June, the Broncos had just one player committed to their 2022 class — quarterback Katin Houser. Seven more have joined this month.

Talo has played on the offensive and defensive lines during the first three years of his varsity career at Kearns and was named 6A all-state as a defensive tackle last fall by Deseret News. The native of Salt Lake City will play on the defensive line at Boise State. He’s the first defensive lineman to join the Broncos’ 2022 class.

Talo is excited to get on campus and start learning from Boise State defensive line coach Frank Maile — a former assistant at Utah State, who grew up near Talo’s hometown.

“Coach Maile gets me, and I love his coaching style,” Talo told the Statesman. “Having a coach who is where I’m from and who understands what I’m going through, that’s special.”

While many high school football teams around the country saw the 2020 season postponed because of COVID-19, Kearns took the field last fall and only had two game canceled because of the virus. Unfortunately, one was a second-round playoff game.

Talo is looking forward to another playoff run when he takes the field this fall for his senior season, and he’s not afraid to set lofty goals. He’s eyeing Utah’s single-season sack record, which was set in 2013 by Cottonwood’s T.J. Fehoko, who took quarterbacks down 34 times that year, according to the Utah High School Activities Association.

Boise State 2022 recruiting class

QB Katin Houser, 6-3, 200, St. John Bosco High (Bellflower, California)

CB Dionte Thornton, 6-3, 185, Lawndale (California) High

OT Kage Casey, 6-6, 250, Clackamas (Oregon) High

TE Austin Terry, 6-5, 230, Tumwater High (Olympia, Washington)

LB Kaeo Akana, 6-3, 205, Theodore Roosevelt High (Honolulu, Hawaii)

WR Keenan McCaddy, 6-4, 180, Moanalua High (Honolulu, Hawaii)

OT Roger Carreon, 6-5, 295, Jal (New Mexico) High

DL JJ Talo, 6-3, 250, Kearns High (Salt Lake City, Utah)

Track: Former Broncos at Olympic Trials

Former Boise State distance runners Marisa Howard and Allie Ostrander competed in the semifinals of the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase Sunday night at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

Howard and Ostrander ran in the same heat, with Howard finishing fifth in 9 minutes, 30.62 seconds to grab an automatic qualifying spot in the final. Ostrander clocked a 9:35.56 for sixth in the heat, and she advanced to the final as one of the four fastest runners outside the top 5 in the two heats.

The steeplechase final is scheduled for 9:47 p.m. MT Thursday. The top three finishers in the final will represent the U.S. at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

Ostrander and fellow Boise State alum Emma Bates are both listed as entrants in the women’s 10,000 meters, which will be contested at 7:44 p.m. Saturday.

At least three other runners with Idaho ties are competing at the trials. Logos High graduate Paul Ryan is entered in the men’s 1,500 meters (7:04 p.m. Thursday, first round) and former BSU runner Sadi Henderson is entered in the women’s 800 (8 p.m. Thursday, first round). Chari Hawkins, a Madison High graduate, will compete in the heptathlon.