Boise State Football: Latest News, Injuries and Updates

What a busy week for the Boise State Broncos. From the spring game, to a new contract for the head coach, things are sure happening in Bronco Nation.

There was also the hiring of a new assistant coach, a stadium upgrade ground-breaking and a new merchandise deal with a major sports company.

Add to that NFL draft predictions for a record number of former players and you have a pretty exciting seven days.

Let's take a closer look at all that's happening in Bronco Country.  

The Spring Game

First of all, the spring game was a good one. It might have been the best in memory. For a complete report on that game, check out that story here on Bleacher Report.

The game was competitive with the offense pulling off a come-from-behind victory on the final drive.

That drive was led by quarterback Joe Southwick, who appeared to take the lead in the quarterback competition. However, true freshman Nick Patti seems to be nipping at his heels.

Look for Patti to come into fall camp ready to battle. No matter who wins the starting spot, it is safe to say that Boise State will have a good quarterback in 2012. Both were impressive, and they only figure to improve.

The defensive line looked good with players like junior-college transfer Demarcus Lawrence and veteran Michael Atkinson showing everyone that the defense will be good once again.

The secondary looked good, with a few exceptions, and the linebackers played great as well.

Injuries caused some key players on the offensive line to sit out, which led to a few sloppy plays by the backups. But come fall, the likes of Joe Kellogg and Cory Yriarte will be ready to go.

The running backs and the kicking game are the two question marks coming out of spring practice.

D.J. Harper and Drew Wright will be a good combination at running back, but behind them there aren't really any backups. The hope is that Jay Ajayi gets healthy, and that newcomers and true freshmen Devan Demas and Jack Fields can make an immediate impact. 

The kicking game is frustrating for Bronco fans, and you have to believe coach Chris Petersen will give the kickers on the roster an offer they can't refuse.

Expect the kicking game to be improved by the time the season rolls around—or else.

Injury Report

Spring practice produced some good results. However, some key players have missed some or all of the action because they are recovering from injury.

The thin rotation at running back is most key. Jay Ajayi is still healing from last season's knee injury, and the Broncos need him by the fall. He should be ready to go.

Fullback Dan Paul is also coming off a season-ending injury. He sat out the spring game as well. He too should be ready by the fall.

The offensive line is deep and experienced. They have 14 returning players from last year's squad. Also, nine of those 14 have started at least one game.

Joe Kellogg, Jake Broyles and center Cory Yriarte missed the spring game. But like others on the team, they should be ready by the time the season rolls around.

Defensive linemen Kharyee Marshall and Nick Alexander, corner Jerrell Gavins and safety Taylor Loffler also missed the action.

All of those players should be good to go in the fall, except for possibly Loffler. He has re-aggravated a knee injury and there is no news on how long he will be out.

Overall, the Broncos look to be in good shape for the fall.

A New Face on the Coaching Staff

Boise State hired a former tight ends coach from Washington State this week.

Rich Rasmussen was brought on board as the director of player personnel. He will act as the on-campus recruiting coordinator and will oversee recruiting and scholarship budgets, according to the Idaho Statesman.

In that same article, coach Petersen called Rasmussen a major asset. "He understands what we’re trying to get done, and we look forward to him playing a key role as we continue to grow the program,” Petersen said.

Rasmussen has been a student assistant and a running backs coach at Eastern Washington and a tight ends coach at Washington State. He was also a director of football operations and recruiting, travel and summer-camp coordinator at EWU.

Coach Petersen's Contract

The details of coach Petersen's well-deserved new contract were finalized and released this week. It looks like it is a bit less than first announced. However, that was because coach Petersen chose to do it that way.

Even with the small reduction, it is the biggest coaching contract in Boise State history.

Chad Cripe of the Idaho Statesman did an outstanding job laying out the details of that contract.

The highlights:

• *Annual Salary of $1,706,33, increases yearly until 2016 when it will be $2,498,000.
• *$250,000 annual payment for licensing his image.
• *Several performance bonuses and yearly extensions. 

It is key to note that none of Petersen's pay comes from state-appropriated funds. It is all athletic department revenue.

Stadium Construction

Boise State president Dr. Bob Kustra proudly announced the ground-breaking of the new stadium expansion project at Bronco Stadium.

The new facility that will be built on the north end of the stadium will include locker rooms, weight rooms, coaches offices and team meeting rooms.

It will also have a player lounge and will bring additional seating to the north end zone.

Coach Petersen seems very excited about this project. He reportedly told local donors during the event that the expansion had already helped to attract assistant coaches to Boise.

This is just the first of a few different expansions planned for Bronco Stadium. However, it is probably the most significant because of the athlete facilities.

Nike Deal

Boise State has reportedly signed an all-sports contract with Nike.

It is reported as a six-year contract worth over $6.2 million. It still has to be approved by the State Board of Education, but that seems like a formality.

Under this new contract, Boise State will receive merchandise and cash over the course of the contract.

However, the contract can be altered greatly if coach Chris Petersen leaves Boise during the six-year span.

There are also additional performance bonuses in the contract. Those bonuses range from $10,000 for a "Tier 1" bowl game, $25,000 for a BCS game and the same amount for a national title.

Other sports are also included in the performance bonuses as well. Men's and women's basketball both have various benchmarks for increased value.

Broncos in the Draft

Several Broncos are looking to be selected in the upcoming NFL draft.

Look for a more complete article here on Bleacher Report later this week.

There is a good possibility that seven Broncos will go in this year's NFL extravaganza.

Those players are Shea McClellin, Doug Martin, George Iloka, Billy Winn, Tyrone Crawford, Nate Potter and, last but certainly not least, Kellen Moore.

McClellin has been projected as a first-rounder and is invited to attend the draft ceremony in New York.

Doug Martin looks to go in the second round, but some say he could move up to late in the first round.

CBS Sports.com reported that Kellen Moore visited the Saints this week. Could they be looking for another so-called "small" quarterback with great anticipation and accuracy? It wouldn't be a bad spot for Moore to land.

No matter what happens, it will be a historic year for Boise State.