Moore of same at BSU

MOSCOW, Idaho – By the time Robb Akey settled into his new gig at Idaho two years ago, there wasn’t a speck of doubt left in Kellen Moore’s mind. The record-setting quarterback was headed to Boise State.

But that didn’t stop the Vandals’ new coach from trying to pry the lightly recruited Prosser, Wash., star away from the Broncos.

“He’s a guy when I did get the job here, we were very interested in,” Akey said. “His decision was made at that point in time, and so it wasn’t going to do us any good to bang our heads against the wall. We made it clear we’d like to have him here.”

Other coaches probably wish they had been as dogged in their pursuit of Moore. He’s completed 70.9 percent of his passes, piled up 2,427 yards through the air and came into the week ranked ninth nationally in passing efficiency for the unbeaten and ninth-ranked Broncos (9-0, 5-0 WAC).

And to think, he’s only a redshirt freshman.

“He’s having a great first year over there at Boise State,” Idaho defensive end Taylor Rust said. “He’s very accurate. He’s composed in there. He’s smart and he’s a great football player. We’re looking forward to playing him.”

The Vandals (2-8, 1-5 WAC) take on their longtime rival at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Kibbie Dome. It will be Moore’s closest game yet from his hometown since leaving Prosser after the 2006 season.

Under the direction of his father, Tom, the 6-foot QB threw for more than 11,000 yards at the Class 2A powerhouse. He holds a bushel of Washington state prep records, including the top mark for career completions (787), career TD passes (173) and completions in a season (317).

Despite the numbers, Moore was offered only a few scholarships. Part of the reason may have been his smaller-than-average height. Akey said recruiters often look first at a quarterback’s physical traits, but that’s not always the best barometer.

“I’ve been around a lot of guys who a lot people thought were too short to play quarterback,” Akey said. “Jason Gesser was one of them when we were at Washington State that did a pretty darn good job.”

Boise State coaches had plenty of time to watch Moore mature. He was a regular at the BSU summer camps while growing up. Nevertheless, coach Chris Petersen wasn’t totally sure what kind of QB he was getting until the season started.

“You never know.” the Broncos coach said. “We think we’ve got a couple good quarterbacks here, but you think he’s got a chance to do some really good things. But until a guy plays, you never really know.”

Braying at Broncos

Last year, Akey caused a bit of a firestorm by referring to the Broncos as “Donkeys” at an Idaho booster function. This time around, he’s not sidestepping the limelight.

He told reporters from the state this week that the best way for the Vandals to make the BSU-UI game into a competitive rivalry is to win Saturday. Akey then paused and added: “I probably wasn’t supposed to say that. Those Boise people down there will be mad that I even think we can win this game.”

Around the conference

Utah State coach Brent Guy said he could use Dionde Borel and Sean Setzer at quarterback this week at Louisiana Tech. Borel had been the main QB for the Aggies before getting roughed up and benched last week versus BSU. … After escaping Moscow two weeks ago with a 30-24 win, San Jose State mustered just 148 yards of offense in a 21-0 loss to Tech last week. That’s the lowest output of any WAC team this year. Colin Kaepernick and Nevada have a chance to further dampen SJSU’s spirits this weekend. The Wolf Pack and Spartans play in Reno, Nev., with a possible share of second place on the line.