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 2024 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 or two 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. This year, we are changing up the format a bit on how we discuss each player. The old way of assessing a recruit by categorizing them (exceeded, met, or failed to meet expectations) grew stale, as players basically were a bust, pleasant surprise, or lived up to the hype. Instead, our analysis will be more straightforward. The four of us will each share our thoughts when the player signed, and then share our thoughts over the past four years. The hope is that allows for more freedom in our descriptions rather than trying to fit everything into a pre-designed box. Hopefully, it will still be a worthwhile trip down memory lane, even if it is not always enjoyable.
This year features the 2020 class, which was the last full class with Bryan Harsin as the coach. It had to follow up the Broncos’ greatest recruiting class ever, but managed to hold its own by bringing in a number of talented players. There seemed to be an emphasis on the defensive line and secondary this time around. Also, Boise State began to lean more into the transfer portal during this cycle. Relive it all while we dive into this series.
Part 6: Defensive Back Part 2
On to the second part of the defensive back commits in this class for Boise State. This group had common traits of length and athleticism to group them together and all were high on potential coming into the program. Instead, two of them transferred before seeing the field, while the third transferred later in his career.
DB Jaylen Clark
Thoughts when he signed:
Michael: “That’s not a corner. That’s a small linebacker.” In all seriousness though, he was 6’2” and 201 LBs. So, not just tall, but densely packed.
Hunter: Tall corner from Washington had this Seahawks fan thinking about the ‘ol Legion of Boom. Definitely a player I was excited about, and seemed like a player who could make an impact in the secondary.
Zach: Clark was a raw prospect with excellent size coming out of Washington. He seemed like an excellent candidate to get early playing time after a year in the weight room. But from a recruiting perspective he kind of took a backseat to the other Clark in the class.
Mike: Jaylen Clark was a late signee in the class, coming sometime in the spring I believe. He was a good get with a high ceiling, and combined with great size for a cornerback spot and I thought he had a bright future.
Thoughts over the past four years:
Michael: He announced himself on the scene with his lone start in 2022, which was the Frisco Bowl. In that game, he had three passes defensed and one pick that he returned 38 yards. He was one of the starting corners in 2023 and performed…okay. But then, due to some off-the-field stuff, he was dismissed from the team this offseason.
Hunter: He was mostly off my radar until 2022, but the bowl game against North Texas looked to be his breakout party. 2023 wasn’t great for any Bronco DB, but he had some good moments as a starter, including being gifted a pick in the end zone against UCF. I was hoping this season would be better for him, but some trouble with the law has him off the team.
Zach: Jaylen was a rotational player who started to emerge late during the 2002 season. His performance late in 2022 earned him a starting spot in 2023. He was slightly inconsistent and struggled with getting beat downfield on long-passing plays. Clark was dismissed from the program this offseason after an off the field incident.
Mike: Clark had a normal development, redshirting before breaking into the rotation. He was then a starter this past season. He was inconsistent, sometimes locking down wide receivers, and sometimes looking lost. The biggest issue with him was some dumb and costly unsportmanlike penalties that he committed the past two seasons. He was dismissed from the team after last season due to some off the field stuff.
DB Donovan Clark
Thoughts when he signed:
Michael: Big. “Deal” and “DB”. Both applied in regards towards Donovan. And he had impressive highlights to go along with that large size.
Hunter: Another large corner from Lincoln High School surnamed Clark? Maybe now you can see why my Legion of Boom dream was starting to materialize. Considering his offer list, Donovan was the more hyped of the two, and it was widely assumed he would be one of the best from the class.
Zach: This was a huge signing. Clark was a highly touted recruit with an impressive list of offers coming out of high school. Clark had offers from nearly every PAC-12 team, including Oregon. He seemed like a lock to play as a true freshman.
Mike: Donovan Clark’s commitment to Boise was more or less on par with the JL Skinner signing the class before. Clark seemed poised for a huge career with Boise State and was a good bet to see the field during his first season or two.
Thoughts over the past four years:
Michael: Unfortunately, he never developed into a contributor, possibly due to lingering injuries, and ultimately was a casualty of the portal.
Hunter: The tough reality of college football is that only a small % of commits end up on the field. I expected Donovan to at least see some time, but it seemed like the usual suspects of injuries and a crowded DB room kept him from doing that.
Zach: Probably the biggest disappointment from this class. A 6’3” defensive back who never saw the field and ended up transferring to Missouri State.
Mike: Unfortunately, that was not the case for Clark. Despite his world of talent, he was never able to get on the field. Part of that was due to alleged injuries and that he got buried on the depth chart. He transferred to Missouri State and has played sparingly there.
DB Semaj Verner
Thoughts when he signed:
Michael: A cousin of NFL all-pro CB, Aterraun Verner, and a four-star talent himself, I was HYPED when he committed to Boise State.
Hunter: It’s hard not to notice the 4th star in a sea of 3-star players. Time has since taught me to exercise caution with 4-stars as well, but I hadn’t learned that lesson yet. Semaj seemed like the kind of player who would be seeing the field early and often at the safety position.
Zach: A four-star safety with offers from teams all over the West. Verner was an intriguing prospect who seemed like a solid contender for playing time. It was widely considered one of the best signings of this class.
Mike: Verner came out of a good high school program and seemed like a great bet to become a fixture in the Boise State secondary early in his career. It was an exciting class for defensive backs and he was one of the headliners. I figured he would become a solid college player.
Thoughts over the past four years:
Michael: Semaj was one of the players that helped teach me that just because a player has four stars, it doesn’t mean they’re going to automatically be a superstar. In fact, it’s actually somewhat statistically unlikely that they will be at Boise State. For whatever reason, from DSG to Kam Miles to Chase Blakely to Casey Kline to Dishawn Misa, big success for four star athletes remains (mostly) elusive on The Blue. Semaj was another case of that. He never made his mark at Boise State and has since found a home at UC Davis.
Hunter: Semaj never really found the field in Boise. It’s hard to say what the reason was, but he made just once appearance in 2021 before moving to UC Davis, which feels like our sister school these days.
Zach: Similar to Clark, Verner never found his footing in Boise. He transferred and is now playing at UC Davis. Verner has been a rotational player the last few seasons for the Aggies.
Mike: Verner couldn’t crack the rotation. He may have been hurt too at times, but was also ineffective. The coaching staff moved him off of safety during one spring, trying him at cornerback but that position was just as crowded. So he ended up going the transfer route and has found his way on the field a big for UC Davis.
