Practice Report, Boise State News

Stephen Tsai writes that UH caught a spy at yesterday's practice.

During yesterday's closed practice at Meridian High School, a man, hiding behind a fence, was spotted trying to video the Warriors' drills.

Tommy Heffernan, the Warriors' strength and conditioning coach, was summoned. He sprinted toward the man, who, in a panic, packed his video equipment quickly and fled.

As Heffernan returned to the field, he was greeted with rousing applause.

"That was an awesome play," linebacker Corey Paredes said. "That was awesome to see Coach Tommy on that 50-yard burst. That guy immediately got scared."

Tsai also has some injury news:

Right tackle Laupepa Letuli, who has missed the past three games because of a sprained ankle, worked with the first-unit offensive line.

McMackin said it will be a "game-day" decision whether right slotback Kealoha Pilares will start against the Broncos. Pilares is recovering from a strained left hamstring.

Dave Reardon writes about the relaxed, confident attitude of the Warriors.

"Obviously (Boise State is) a very good team," Tiwanak says. "But it's just the next game on our schedule. We can't do anything different."

Slot receiver Greg Salas spent part of yesterday's practice throwing passes to a team manager, just for the fun of it.

"We know what this game represents," Salas says. "But you have to stay true to yourself. If you start doing things differently you might psyche yourself out.

"Every game is a big game, because we want to win every game we play. We're looking forward to the opportunity."

Chadd Cripe of the Idaho Statesman has some news and notes about Saturday's game, and has a lot more on his blog, including this:

Boise State junior cornerback Jerrell Gavins will give up 5 inches and 36 pounds if he gets matched up with Hawaii slot receiver Greg Salas on Saturday.

Gavins (5-foot-9, 174 pounds), the third corner, plays in the Broncos’ defensive package that features six defensive backs and likely will get extensive playing time against the Warriors’ run-and-shoot.

He expects to face Salas and fellow slot receiver Kealoha Pilares often.

“That’s a challenge to me,” Gavins said. “I look at it as, I always say I want to go pro. If I go pro, I’ll probably be one of the smallest dudes in the league. The average receiver is 6-2. Andre Johnson (of the Texans) is 6-5. That’s what I want to go against. Let’s do it. I can jump pretty high.”

And Dave Southorn of the Idaho Press-Tribune writes about the walk-ons making big plays on Boise State's special teams.