Idaho’s top high school football recruit puts Boise State at the top of his list
Boise State is in the running to land the No. 1 2024 high school football recruit in Idaho.
Burley wide receiver Gatlin Bair, who still has his senior year ahead of him, said Tuesday on KTIK that Boise State will be one of the final two schools he considers.
Bair announced in April that his top five schools were Boise State, Oregon, Nebraska, TCU and Michigan.
“BSU honestly will be in the top two pretty much no matter what,” Bair said Tuesday during an interview with radio hosts Michael Prater and Johnny Mallory. “It’s going to be between BSU and one of the other four.”
Bair’s rationale for considering the Broncos despite holding scholarship offers from just about every program in the country, including Georgia and Alabama, was simple. Boise State is a 2.5-hour drive from Burley.
“Boise State has something no other program can offer — the ability to make a big impact and stay close to home,” Bair said.
Bair is a four-star recruit with a grade of 96, according to 247Sports, but he’s dangerously close to earning a fifth star, which is reserved for players who have a rating between 98 and 110. He hasn’t taken any official visits yet, but he said Tuesday on KTIK that he plans to schedule three or four for this summer.
The 6-foot-3, 190-pound junior was named first-team All-Idaho in December after finishing the season with 73 catches for 1,073 yards and 18 touchdowns.
Bair also showed off his blazing speed on the track last weekend. He set state records in the 100 meters (10.15 seconds) and 200 meters (20.56 seconds) at the 4A track and field meet.
He said during his interview on KTIK that he doesn’t plan to run track in college, but he said just about every coach he’s spoken to has been open to it, and things could change by the time he commits. Bair’s older brothers, Peyton and Jaxon, run track at Mississippi State and Arkansas, respectively.
Holani, Jeanty earn preseason honors
Boise State running backs George Holani and Ashton Jeanty were both named first team on Athlon Sports’ preseason All-Mountain West team, which was released on Tuesday.
Holani, a senior, cracked 1,000 rushing yards for the second time in his career last season. Finally healthy after two seasons that were mostly lost to injury, he posted 1,157 yards and 10 touchdowns. He finished with 1,014 rushing yards as a freshman in 2019.
Jeanty burst onto the scene last year as a freshman with 821 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground.
Offensive lineman Cade Beresford and linebacker DJ Schramm were the only other two Broncos to make the first-team cut.
Beresford started 13 games at right tackle last season, and he could replace John Ojukwu at left this year. Schramm, a sixth-year senior, led the Broncos with 107 tackles in his first season as a starter.
Quarterback Taylen Green made the second team on Athlon’s All-Mountain West team. He racked up 2,042 yards and 14 touchdowns through the air and 586 yards and 10 scores on the ground after replacing Hank Bachmeier four games into last season.
