Boise State held its first spring scrimmage. How did the new offense look under Hamdan?

New Boise State offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan’s scheme made its debut Wednesday in the Broncos’ first scrimmage of spring camp, and head coach Andy Avalos was pleased with what he saw.

“It was good to see some long throws and explosive pass plays,” Avalos told reporters Wednesday. “It was great to see the progress we’re making, but obviously with it being scrimmage No. 1, there’s a lot to clean up.”

Hamdan, a former quarterback at Boise State, was hired in December. He’s taking over for Dirk Koetter, who stepped in as the interim offensive coordinator after Tim Plough was fired in September.

The Broncos’ first scrimmage counted as spring practice No. 7 of the 15 allotted by the NCAA. Avalos said the competition was back and forth, but he was especially impressed with how the Broncos’ young group of quarterbacks performed.

Taylen Green, who was 8-2 after taking over as the starter last season, went 14-of-19 on Wednesday, completing 73% of his passes. He was named Mountain West Freshman of the Year after racking up 2,042 yards and 14 touchdowns through the air and 586 yards and 10 more touchdowns on the ground last fall.

“It was a pretty solid day in terms of accuracy and getting the ball out on time,” Avalos said. “The thing I always look for, too, is are we spreading it around? Are the wide receivers getting their touches? Are the tailbacks and the tight ends?”

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Freshman CJ Tiller and redshirt freshman Maddux Madsen split reps with the No. 2 offense. Tiller completed 4-of-5 passes, and Madsen went 6-of-10. Leading the team in live game situations was educational for both, Avalos said.

“It’s learning the game and being able to apply what you know in real time,” Avalos said, “and not only leading yourself, but leading the others around you.”

Avalos said redshirt sophomore Eric McAlister was the Broncos’ most explosive wide receiver Wednesday. The 6-foot-3, 196-pound native of Azle, Texas, hauled in 11 passes for 259 yards and four touchdowns last season, averaging 23.5 yards per catch.

Avalos also said returning starters Latrell Caples and Stefan Cobbs made some nice catches Wednesday. Caples led the Broncos with 51 catches for 549 yards last season. Cobbs missed two games but finished No. 3 on the team with 29 catches for 396 yards.

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The Broncos will hold meetings Thursday before taking a week off for spring break. Players will return to campus by March 25, and the team will hold another scrimmage before the spring game, which is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. April 8.

Here are more of Avalos’ takeaways from the first scrimmage:

▪ There were some big plays on defense. Avalos said the offense got stopped on fourth-and-2 from the 2-yard line. He also said cornerback A’Marion McCoy snagged an interception during a 2-minute drill, and linebacker Andrew Simpson got consistent pressure on the quarterbacks.

McCoy signed with the Broncos in December after one season at Laney College in California. He’s been on campus since January.

▪ Avalos said Braxton Fely held his own at nose tackle and redshirt senior Michael Callahan took starting reps at defensive tackle. Reminder: Defensive tackle Herbert Gums is not on the field this spring as he recovers from offseason surgery.

▪ Avalos said Ahmed Hassanein and Utah transfer Tyler Wegis were disruptive at defensive end. Wegis signed with the Broncos this year after three seasons at Utah. He has been on campus since January.

▪ Redshirt junior Nathan Cardona and freshman Jason Steele split reps at center. Ben Dooley and Garrett Curran started at guard, while redshirt sophomores Cord Kringlen and Rick Moore took most of the reps at left tackle. Joseph Amos, a 6-6, 310-pound redshirt sophomore, who has played guard the past two years, got some work at right tackle.