How will Boise State’s new offense differ from what the Broncos ran last season?

The Boise State football team has been busy laying the foundation of a new offense during spring practice.

Offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan was hired last December. The former Boise State quarterback came back to replace Tim Plough, who was fired last September. Former Boise State head coach Dirk Koetter stepped in on an interim basis for the final 10 games of the season.

The question on everyone’s mind is: How will Hamdan’s scheme differ from what Plough and Koetter ran? He said there will be subtle differences, but he’s not trying to reinvent the wheel.

“The bones are going to be similar,” Hamdan told the Idaho Statesman. “There has been a great tradition here for a long time, and I would be foolish to deviate from that too much. That doesn’t mean there aren’t going to be wrinkles.”

Hamdan said the fundamentals of the Broncos’ new scheme will closely resemble what they ran in the second half of last season, especially in the running game.

After averaging just 120.2 rushing yards per game through the first four contests of 2022, the Broncos averaged 226.8 yards on the ground with Koetter running the show and Taylen Green starting at quarterback.

“They ran the ball well under coach Koetter and play-action passed off of that with movement and deceptive route running,” Hamdan said.

Boise State’s offense will begin with a physical, downhill rushing attack, he said.

Hamdan played for former head coach Chris Petersen at Boise State and coached under him at Washington. He said Petersen instilled in him the importance of a strong ground game.

“We feel like you have to be able to run the ball to win championships,” Hamdan said.

He has leaned on that in his previous coaching stops.

Hamdan was the offensive coordinator at Davidson in 2014, when the Wildcats averaged 37 attempts and 143.3 yards a game, and finished the season with 22 rushing touchdowns.

Hamdan spent two seasons as Washington’s offensive coordinator. In 2018, the Huskies led the Pac-12 with 564 rushing attempts and averaged 176.3 yards per game, which ranked No. 5 in the conference. In 2019, they averaged 35 carries and 147.8 rushing yards.

Boise State finished last season averaging 39 rushing attempts per game and ranked No. 2 in the Mountain West with 196.4 rushing yards per contest.

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Hamdan said he developed much of his strategy around the running game while working as the Atlanta Falcons’ quarterbacks coach in 2017. He worked under offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian, who is now the head coach at Texas.

Hamdan said the Falcons were still running a system championed by San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, who was the offensive coordinator in Atlanta in 2015 and 2016. He said the system specializes in keeping defenses guessing, no matter what formation the offense is in.

“The first thing that comes to mind is whether it’s a run or pass, you’re trying to make everything look the same,” Hamdan said. “Every time there’s a midzone play being run, there’s a (QB) keeper off of that and a play-action pass off of that.”

Running the ball shouldn’t be a problem for the Broncos.

Redshirt junior George Holani decided to put a shot at the NFL on hold after posting the second 1,000-yard season of his career. He put up a career-high 1,157 yards and has 2,848 career rushing yards heading into what will likely be the final season of his college playing days.

“He’s a consummate professional in the college ranks,” Hamdan said. “He’s tough and elusive, and I’ve been so impressed with him as a leader. He knows what needs to be done, and as a coach, you know what you’re getting from him on a daily basis.”

Sophomore Ashton Jeanty is also back after posting 821 yards and seven touchdowns last season, and explosive freshman Jambres “Breezy” Dubar is expected to join the team in July.

Hamdan said he also expects Green to run the ball 10 to 12 times a game. Green posted 586 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground last year.

The QB calls the shots

Hamdan’s offense may not look that different from Koetter’s, but he said it does differ greatly from what Plough ran in one key are: the quarterback’s presnap responsibilities.

Plough was open about how much responsibility he put on quarterbacks to set protections and identify blitzers. Koetter took some of that away, and Hamdan said he’s taking it a step further.

The center now will be responsible for identifying defensive fronts and blitzers, which Hamdan said will allow Green to rely more on his athleticism and play faster.

Green will have the freedom to change plays at the line of scrimmage if the need arises, Hamdan said.

“If we can take some stuff off the quarterback and get him locked in on what he’s supposed to be looking at, that can really help,” the coach said.

Hamdan’s past offenses have featured efficient quarterback play.

He spent the past two years as the quarterbacks coach at Missouri, where former Boise State offensive coordinator Eliah Drinkwitz is the head coach.

Former Missouri starter Connor Bazelak completed 65.2% of his passes while racking up 2,548 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2021. Last season, Brady Cook completed 64.6% of his passes while finishing with 2,724 passing yards and 14 touchdowns.

Both of the starting quarterbacks Hamdan worked with at Washington, Jake Browning in 2018 and Jacob Eason in 2019, also completed more than 64% of their passes.

Green went 8-2 as the Broncos’ starter last year. He completed 61.2% of his passes, and threw for 2,042 yards and 14 touchdowns. Hamdan said Green is poised to have another big season, but he has to continue to develop as a passer in the pocket.

“He is such a talented athlete, but when you get to this level, you have to constantly work on pushing up in the pocket,” Hamdan said. “For his whole career, he’s been able to escape and outrun people, but the art of playing in confined space and staying in the pocket is what is going to take his game to the next level.”

Boise State returns nine starters on offense and Hamdan said the unit has a chance to be special.

“The pieces are in place, but it always comes back to mastering those fundamentals and techniques,” Hamdan said. “When you’re facing tough moments in this game, overcoming them almost always takes having a mastery of the basics.”