Welcome to a fun off-season series that Michael, Hunter (both of FKWG), Zach, and Mike (both of MWCConnection) are rolling out for your viewing enjoyment (hopefully). Back in February, excitement was at an all time high for fans and coaches alike as the 2023 class was officially signed. Like every year, fans often tout a class as potentially one of the best on paper. However, once players get on campus and actually on the field, the true story begins to reveal itself. It can often take years for a class to truly be judged as the impact of many players won’t be seen for a few seasons. That being said, this series will aim to revisit and evaluate Boise State’s 2019 class. There has now been enough time that many members of the class have either left or are entering their final seasons, which means players are able to be looked at for their production (or lack thereof) rather than projection and hype.
Anyway, each week, the four of us will look at a different position group from the class. While we will contribute two posts each week over the next month, the location of the posts will change. The start of the week will feature a post on FKWG while the end of the week will see a post up on MWCConnection, that way readers of both sites can follow along. Each post will have all of us weighing in on the same talking points for each season: our expectations of the player from when they signed, the production they gave each season on the team, and their overall impact. The impact will fit into one of 3 categories (exceeded expectations, met expectations, or below expectations). We will each keep a running tally of our totals and then at the end we can each determine the over impact the 2019 class had. It should be a fun and interesting study to see what kind of careers each player had and revisit some names that may have been forgotten.
The 2019 recruiting class was arguably the best in Boise State history and one of the best classes by a Group of 5 school ever. It was flooded with four-stars and other highly-rated players and seemed poised to make a big impact on the field for the Broncos. It definitely raised the ceiling for what the coaching staff could do on the recruiting trail. Perhaps more importantly, this class raised the floor for BSU recruiting as well, as not many players would be labeled as projects or under-the-radar types. But how has it translated on the field? To hear our thoughts on specific players from the class, read below.
Part 3: Wide Receiver
The Broncos took three wide receivers in this class, and two of them were pretty high-profile players. Two went down the same paths at different times and the third is still attempting to forge the path they set out to do. Read more below.
Khyheem Waleed
Michael
Expectations when he signed: High. I had gone back to BSU to finish my degree (better ten years late than never!…or is it?) and was actually sitting in a Comparative Politics class next to former Bronco, Sonatone Lui, when I got an alert that Boise State had signed Waleed. I immediately saw the height and learned soon after that he had chosen Boise State over a number of P5 schools. As far as rankings go, he was in the top 100 high school wide receivers, nationally. Naturally, I immediately watch some highlights on Hudl and was excited at his potential!
2019 Season: Three games played; no stats.
2020 Season: Four games played; no offensive stats. Although, he did have one assisted tackle on special teams!
2021 Season: Again, compiled no stats as a Bronco because he had entered the transfer portal before the season…
2022 Season: N/A
Overall Impact: None. Accumulated zero catches at Boise State in seven games played before transferring to Arkansas State. Did not meet expectations.
Hunter
Expectations when he signed: Pretty high! He picked the Broncos over quite a few big names, with offers including Oregon, UCLA, Michigan State, and even Yale. We already had a strong WR core, but Waleed was an exciting addition.
2019 Season: Appeared in 3 games, with his debut against SJSU, no stats.
2020 Season: No stats, but 4 more appearances.
2021 Season: Hit the portal and went to Arkansas State.
2022 Season: N/A
Overall Impact: No impact, sadly. Didn’t log any stats in his career, so it’s easy to say “failed to meet expectations.
Zach
Expectations when he signed: Very high! On paper it seemed like Waleed could be the next Austin Pettis and should be an immediate contributor. Boy was I wrong.
2019 Season: Saw limited action on special teams.
2020 Season: The COVID year was weird, but Waleed really only saw action on special teams.
2021 Season:N/A
2022 Season: N/A
Overall Impact: In my opinion, this is one of the more disappointing recruiting stories. It appeared that Waleed had all of the physical tools to be a very good player. Even after entering the transfer portal, Waleed has seen limited time at Arkansas State. He failed to meet expectations.
Mike
Expectations when he signed: Waleed was a premiere talent at wide receiver and it would not have been a surprise if he ended up playing early.
2019 Season: Khyheem played in three games, but recorded no stats.
2020 Season: He got in more games (four), but still had no stats. After the season, he entered the transfer portal.
2021 Season: N/A
2022 Season: N/A
Overall Impact: Waleed ended up at Arkansas State and has gotten in a few games the past two years, but it has yet to translate into much production. Still, it is more production than his time with the Broncos. To no surprise, he failed to meet expectations.
DK Blaylock
Michael
Expectations when he signed: I’m going to be completely honest and say that literally the only thing I remember about DK Blaylock was his name and his position. That must mean that my expectations for him weren’t particularly high, but then again I always have at least a little hope for guys with a good athletic profiles, and he had that. So…medium-to-low expectations.
2019 Season: Didn’t even make it to his first game as a football player before deciding he wanted to be a basketball player and left the program.
2020 Season: N/A
2021 Season: N/A
2022 Season: N/A
Overall Impact: None. Did not meet (relatively low) expectations.
Hunter
Expectations when he signed: It’s probably not ideal to measure guys by their other offers, but it’s useful sometimes. He had a couple low P5 offers to go with a pretty decent tape, so I’d say expectations were lowish to medium.
2019 Season: He left before the season started after deciding that basketball was his ideal american sport that’s played with a leather ball.
2020 Season: N/A
2021 Season: N/A
2022 Season: N/A
Overall Impact: No impact, but from the looks of it, he still ended up playing football, transferring over to Abilene Christian. Pretty easy “failed to meet expectations”.
Zach
Expectations when he signed: Cautiously optimistic. Boise State has not had a lot of wide receivers with the kind of athletic ability that Blaylock possessed. He would need time in the weight room before he could ever really contribute.
2019 Season: Blaylock didn’t even make it throught fall camp. He claimed he wanted to play basketball instead.
2020 Season: N/A
2021 Season: N/A
2022 Season: N/A
Overall Impact: Zero. He never came close to seeing the field and it appears he never saw playing time after transferring. Blaylock failed to meet expectations.
Mike
Expectations when he signed: Blaylock looked like an incredible athlete coming into play wide receiver. I figured he was raw and would need some time to develop but could become a big deep threat for the Broncos.
2019 Season: DK lasted about two weeks into fall camp before leaving the program, deciding football wasn’t for him and he wanted to play basketball instead.
2020 Season: N/A
2021 Season: N/A
2022 Season: N/A
Overall Impact: Blaylock resurfaced, but not in basketball. He went back to football, signing with Abilene Christian, but I couldn’t find any stats or how long he lasted with that team. He failed to meet any and all expectations.
Shea Whiting
Michael
Expectations when he signed: Medium. I think Waleed was the one I was most excited about at the position in this recruiting class, but Whiting seemed solid too. In his final high school season, he had 570 yards and six touchdowns, was named to an all-district team (in Texas, mind you), and was chosen as his high school team’s MVP.
2019 Season: Three games played; no offensive stats.
2020 Season: Two games played; no offensive stats.
2021 Season: Six games played, no offensive stats
2022 Season: Three receptions for one yard. Five tackles on special teams.
Overall Impact: As a receiver, low. As a special teams contributor, medium. But my expectations were higher than that for him so, unfortunately, “did not meet expectations”. It’s not likely because Boise State has a lot of talent at wide receiver, but since he’s still around, there’s always the possibility he breaks out this year! You never know. In the meantime though… did not meet expectations (yet).
Hunter
Expectations when he signed: Medium probably. Definitely a name that had some buzz, but he was by no means a lock for a big role. Good tape and solid offer list though.
2019 Season: Redshirt season, played in 3 games, first one against New Mexico.
2020 Season: 2 games, no stats.
2021 Season: Moving up a bit in the world, he played in 6 games, primarily on special teams.
2022 Season: Consistent special teams work to go with 3 catches for a yard. He was not an unknown on the field, but certainly didn’t have big production numbers either. Mostly support in the run game.
Overall Impact: Pretty small so far. I’m not one to discount special teams (especially after some woes last year) but I don’t think it’s enough to say he’s hit what we hoped for from him yet. He’s still got time to make a mark, and I wouldn’t be shocked if he did, but as of right now I’d say “failed to meet expectations”.
Zach
Expectations when he signed: Lukewarm. Whiting did not have the athletic tools that the other receivers in this class had, but he may have the best hands. I hoped that Whiting would turn in to a reliable third down receiver.
2019 Season: Redshirted and appeared in three games.
2020 Season; Did not record any stats in two games.
2021 Season: Saw limited action, appearing in only six games.
2022 Season: Whiting finally found a consistent role on special teams and appeared regularly in run packages.
Overall Impact: Whiting’s impact has yet to be determined. He saw more playing time and still has two years of eligibility. Will this be the year he breaks through? The Broncos are deep at wide receiver, so it will be a tough rotation to crack. As of this writing, he has failed to meet expectations.
Mike
Expectations when he signed: I wasn’t blown away by Shea’s commitment to Boise State, largely because of the talent in the class already, especially at wide receiver. I thought he could become a good special teams player and maybe end up being a contributor by the end of his college career.
2019 Season: He redshirted but played in three games. No stats, though.
2020 Season: Whiting played in two games in the pandemic-shortened season. Still no stats.
2021 Season: In six games, Shea carved out a role on special teams. He even recorded his first statistic, notching a tackle.
2022 Season: This past year, Whiting played in all 12 games, again mostly on special teams. And once again, his stats were smaller compared to others. He made 5 tackles but also contributed on offense, catching three passes for one yard.
Overall Impact: Shea hasn’t made a huge impact in his four seasons with Boise State so far, and he doesn’t appear poised for a breakout in 2023 with how crowded the wide receiver room is. Still, having a steady special-teams contributor is valuable for any team, and Whiting seems to have round a role as one. Because I figured this would be his role coming out of high school, I am going to say he meets expectations.
Running Totals:
Michael: 0 exceeded expectations, 1 met expectations, 6 failed to meet expectations
Hunter: 0 exceeded expectations, 1 met expectations, 6 failed to meet expectations
Zach: 0 exceeded expectations, 1 met expectations, 6 failed to meet expectations.
Mike: 0 exceeded expectations, 2 met expectations, 5 failed to meet expectations.
