Bronco Breakdown: A veteran line should pave the way for Boise State’s intriguing offense

Editor’s note: This is the fifth installment in a series breaking down Boise State’s likely starters and the top players in the Mountain West at each position.

Once seen as a liability, the offensive line has become one of the Boise State football team’s most consistent units.

Last season, the big men up front helped the Broncos rank No. 1 in the Mountain West in total offense (6,106 yards), No. 2 with 214.9 rushing yards a game, No. 3 with 16 sacks allowed and No. 4 in third-down (46%) and red-zone (88.7%) conversions.

Boise State returns four starters up front for the second year in a row, and offensive line coach Tim Keane said the chemistry among this year’s group is high.

“It’s been really fun being here, building the room and getting those guys believing in something bigger than themselves,” Keane said. “These guys are coming together and love being Broncos. They don’t care about hype or stats. They just want to help the team.”

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The interior of the line is led by a pair of veterans in guard Ben Dooley, a sixth-year senior, and center Mason Randolph, who is a redshirt junior. Dooley started 10 games at left guard last season and surrendered just one sack. He has played in 31 games and started 24 since 2020 and was a second-team All-Mountain West pick in 2021.

Despite dealing with nagging injuries, Randolph has started 18 games the past two seasons and has played center and guard.

They’ll be joined again this season by redshirt sophomore Roger Carreon, who played in all 14 games at right guard last season and started seven.

“Having so much experience on the middle of the line is huge for communication and leadership,” Keane said. “Those guys keep the younger guys steady.”

Redshirt sophomore Kage Casey is back at left tackle after starting all 14 games there last season. He was named second-team All-Mountain West and a second-team All-American by The Athletic last year. The 6-foot-5, 310-pound native of Happy Valley, Oregon, was named to the preseason All-Mountain West team earlier this month.

“He has an extremely high ceiling,” Keane said. “His standard is different than other people’s, so it’s about finding ways to push him and motivate him and make him understand it’s not enough to win your rep, you have to dominate it.”

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The only open position on the line this year is right tackle, where Cade Beresford started 27 consecutive games the past two seasons after transferring from Washington State.

Redshirt sophomore Hall Schmidt and redshirt freshman Kyle Cox saw the majority of the snaps at right tackle this spring. Schmidt ended spring practice with a slight advantage, Keane said, but he added that the position battle won’t be decided until fall camp.

The wild card in the battle to name a new starter at right tackle may be junior college transfer Daylon Metoyer, who recently arrived on campus. He was named a junior college All-American and a unanimous first-team all-conference pick last season at Mt. San Antonio College.

This former Boise State football coach is back in Idaho, coaching with his son

Projected depth chart

Starters: LT Kage Casey, R-So, 6-5, 310, Clackamas High, Happy Valley, Oregon; LG Ben Dooley, 6-yr., 6-5, 310, Churchill High, Fallon, Nevada; C Mason Randolph, R-Jr., 6-4, 302, Yorba Linda (California) High; RG Roger Carreon, R-So., 6-5, 305, Jal (New Mexico) High; RT Hall Schmidt, R-So., 6-7, 305, Peninsula High, Gig Harbor, Washington.

Backups: T Kyle Cox, R-Fr., 6-6, 293, Eatonville (Washington) High; G/T Daylon Metoyer, Jr., 6-4, 315, Oak Hills High/Mt. San Antonio College, Hesperia, California; G/C Nathan Cardona, R-Sr., 6-5, 305, Yorba Linda (California) High; G Tyler Keinath, R-Jr., 6-2, 309, Franklin High/American River College/Western Illinois, Elk Grove, California.

Sleepers: T Jake Steele, R-So., 6-4, 304, Murrieta Valley High/San Jose State, Temecula, California; G/C Zach Holmes, R-Jr., 6-2, 297, West Linn (Oregon) High/Oregon State.

Mountain West OLs to watch

C Jacob Gardner, Colorado State — The 6-4, 310-pound fifth-year senior has started 45 games in his college career, which began at Nevada. He has started games at left tackle and center and is a two-time All-Mountain West pick, earning honorable mention honors in 2022 and a second-team nod last season. He started all 12 games at center last season and led an offensive line that ranked No. 2 in the conference after allowing 14 sacks.

G Mose Vavao, Fresno State — The 6-3, 317-pound fifth-year senior has started 42 consecutive games and played in 46 since 2020. He was voted a team captain last season and started all 13 games at right guard for an offense that ranked No. 5 in the Mountain West with 5,051 yards of offense. He’s a two-time all-conference pick after earning honorable mention honors in 2022 and a second-team nod last season.

G Jack Walsh, Wyoming — The 6-3, 313-pound redshirt junior started all 13 games last season and was named All-Mountain West by Pro Football Focus and Phil Steele. He helped pave the way for running back Harrison Waylee to rush for more than 100 yards four times, including a season-high 191 yards against New Mexico.

T Tiger Shanks, UNLV — The 6-5, 325-pound fifth-year senior became the first UNLV lineman since 2002 to earn first-team All-Mountain West honors last season. He’s a three-year starter at tackle for the Rebels, and he helped the offense lead the conference in third-down conversions (49.3%) and scoring (34.4 points a game) last season.

T Isaiah World, Nevada — The 6-8, 312-pound redshirt junior has started 22 consecutive games at left tackle. He was one of three Nevada linemen to start all 12 games last season and earned honorable mention All-Mountain West honors.