Top Ten Greatest Boise State Broncos

Athlon looks at the 10 greatest players since 1967. 

The 6-foot-3, 255-pound defensive end from Caldwell, Idaho, is one of the great defensive players in school history. He was a two-time first-team all-conference selection (2010, WAC and 2011, Mountain West) and finished his illustrious career by starting 37 consecutive games. McClellin was a part of one of the winningest senior class in NCAA history by posting a 50-3 record over his four-year career. He posted 130 total tackles, 20.5 sacks and 33 tackles for a loss over his 49 game career. He also proved his versatility by intercepting four passes and returning one 36 yards for a score in 2010. The stabilizing force for the Broncos defensive line for the better part of four seasons was selected with the No. 19 pick by the Chicago Bears in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft — making him only the fourth Boise State player ever drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft (Ryan Clady, Doug Martin and Kyle Wilson).

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Statue of Liberty and marriage proposals aside, Ian Johnson will go down in Boise history as one of the most productive players to ever suit up for the Broncos. All told, Johnson carried the ball 752 times (strangely, the identical number of carries as another talented RB on this list) for 4,184 yards – good for second-best in school history. His 25 rushing scores in 2006 are second-best and his 58 total rushing TDs rank first in school history. His 1,713 yards in ’06 are a single-season school record. His 4,953 career all-purpose yards were good for fourth all-time in school history. The Broncos were 44-7 in Johnson’s four seasons at Boise State. And, of course, he scored the most important two points of his career — and in Boise State history — when he took the Statue of Liberty hand-off and raced around the left end and into NCAA history in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl win over Oklahoma. Five seconds later, he was engaged to be married to long-time girlfriend and BSU cheerleader Chrissy Popadics.

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A local product from Timberline High School in Boise, Idaho, Potter is a key member of a senior class of Broncos that will go down in school history as one of the best classes in NCAA history. He played on four teams that combined to go 50-3 and was a three-time first-team All-Conference performer protecting quarterback Kellen Moore. The 6-foot-6, 295 pounder missed only four games in his 53-game career and ended as an All-American as a senior.

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It didn’t take long for Broncos fans to realize how good Wilson would be. As a redshirt frosh, Wilson capped a freshman All-America season by making 10 tackles in the historic 2007 Fiesta Bowl win over Oklahoma. As a sophomore, Wilson earned second-team all-WAC honors after 41 tackles, two INTs, a sack and blocked kick. In 2008, he led the team in INTs (5), passes broken up (10) and passes defended (15) as a junior. He also scored on three punt returns (33 returns for 470 yards) and was awarded All-America honors by several publications. As a senior, Wilson led the team to a second unbeaten season in his four-year tenure and playing a huge game against TCU in the 2010 Fiesta Bowl win. Boise went 49-4 in his time on campus. Wilson was selected with the 29th overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft by the New York Jets.

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As a redshirt sophomore, Zabransky took over the Boise offense and led the Broncos to an 11-1 record in 2004. Despite a tough start against Georgia in 2005, Zabranksy still started all 13 games, leading Boise State to a 9-4 record (with losses to Oregon State, UGA, Fresno State and Boston College). As a senior, Zabransky topped his career with an unbeaten 13-0 record and memorable performance against Oklahoma in the historic 2007 Fiesta Bowl win – where the QB earned Offensive MVP honors. His 66.3% completion rate was a single-season school record at the time. He finished with a fourth-best 144.99 career QB rating, a fourth-best 8,256 passing yards and fourth-best 58 TD passes.

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As a redsirst freshman, Clady started 11 of 13 games in 2005. After several All-America awards, Clady switched to left tackle for 2006 and started all 13 games, helping lead the Broncos to a historic unbeaten season and Fiesta Bowl win over Oklahoma. He started every game as a junior in 2007 and was selected with the 12th overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos. He has become one of the league’s elite backside protectors in only a few seasons.

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As a two-time All-American, Minter set the single-season rushing record for Boise as only as sophomore when he posted 1,526 yards in 1978 (later broken). As a senior, Minter became the school’s all-time leading rusher with 4,475 yards – a mark that still stands today. His 37 career rushing TDs were a school record at the time and are still good for third-best today. Minter helped lead the 1980 Broncos to the I-AA National Championship.

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If it were not for No. 1 on this list, Dinwiddie would go down in Boise history as the greatest quarterback in school history. Boise owned a 33-6 record with Dinwiddie as the quarterback, and he left school with his name atop every major passing list in school history. His 9,819 career yards were a school record. His 82 career TD passes were a school record. His 4,356 yards in 2003 are still a single-season record. His 532 yards against Lousiana Tech in 2003 are a school record. The most impressive marks from Dinwiddie were his efficiency, however. He set an NCAA record with a career QB-rating of 168.79 (later broken), and his 188.18 QB-rating in 2003 is a school record - and technically is better than Colt Brennan's recognized 186.0 NCAA QB-rating record.

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This two-time All-American is the only Boise State Bronco to be inducted into the NCAA Football Hall of Fame. The monster defensive lineman dominated Big Sky competition and earned the 1981 Defensive Player of the Year honors. He helped lead the Broncos to the I-AA 1980 National Championship and was drafted in the ninth round of the 1982 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins.

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There is little more a coach or fan base can ask of a quarterback than what Moore accomplished during his time at Boise State. He is the winningest quarterback in NCAA history and became the first signal caller to reach 50 wins (50-3). He never missed a game in his career, and if it wasn't for Case Keenum, would have thrown more touchdown passes than any player in NCAA history. His finished with 142 passing touchdowns for his career against only 28 interceptions. He was second in the nation in QB-rating as a sophomore (161.65), led the nation in QB-rating as a junior (182.63) and finished third nationally during his final season (175.19). He rewrote the Broncos record book by tossing a total of 14,667 yards, also the fifth highest total in NCAA history. He owns school and conference records for career and single-season touchdown passes and completions as well as six of the top 10 single-game passing outputs in program history. His 16 career 300-yard games are a school record and he led his team to three conference championships and won three conference player of the year awards (WAC in 2009 and 2010, Mountain West in 2011). There is no hole on the 2010 Heisman Trophy Finalist's resume as it is impossible to truly evaluate Moore's overall value to the Boise State program.

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