Boise State Football: 5 reasons why Broncos will struggle in 2017
By Zach Bigalke
2. Jeremy McNichols will be hard to replace in Broncos backfield
Boise State has cycled Ian Johnson, Doug Martin, and Jay Ajayi through its backfield in the past decade. Even then, it will be hard for the coaching staff to replace the impact that Jeremy McNichols has had over the past two seasons. The running back was a fifth-round selection of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2017 NFL Draft, and his loss will be felt dearly in a season where the skill positions turned over in great quantity.
McNichols took over the rushing duties as a sophomore in 2015. That year, he compiled 1,336 yards and 20 rushing touchdowns while catching another half-dozen scores. As a junior last season, he stood out in a deep field of Mountain West running backs to finish in the top 10 nationally in rushing yards per game.
He was also a favorite target of Rypien the past few seasons. McNichols finished his Boise State career with over 1,000 receiving yards and 11 touchdown catches. With the receiving corps gutted by graduations, McNichols will be missed even more by coordinator Zak Hill. Hill and Harsin will likely look to split McNichols’s carries between backs Alexander Mattison and Ryan Wolpin, but neither will be quite as good as the man they are replacing.