‘Every play could be your last.’ Boise State redshirt senior embodies message of urgency

4-5 minutes 8/3/2023
With two season-ending injuries and three surgeries to his name, Markel Reed’s Boise State football career has come with a lot of heartbreak.
But there’s also something the redshirt senior cornerback has that a lot of others don’t — perspective.
“Every play could be your last play, and guys need to know that,” Boise State cornerbacks coach Demario Warren said. “He brings the type of urgency that nobody else has because he’s been through this so much. He misses doing spring ball. He misses doing workouts. He hasn’t got a chance to do that.”
Reed was carted off the field with a knee injury in the Broncos’ 2022 season opener at Oregon State. He missed the entire season as well as spring ball, but he is back on the field for fall camp and itching to show what he can do.
“When I first got injured in Corvallis, I had a lot of emotions going through my head,” Reed said. “But it was an easy decision (to come back) once I got past all those emotions. It’s unfinished business. It’s gonna take a lot for me to quit, and I’m gonna keep going every single time for sure.”
If he stays healthy, Reed is projected to take one of the starting cornerback spots, as the Broncos must replace graduated veterans Caleb Biggers and Tyric LeBeauf.
“He doesn’t know it yet, but this is about to help him for the rest of his life,” Warren said. “Any obstacle that comes in his way he’s gonna know he can battle back from it, and that’s the blessing of him going through this. Again, it’s not fun at the time doing it, but he’s going to learn that grit that he showed in the last three years is gonna really pay off and I’m hoping it pays off on the field this year for him because we’re all big Markel fans.”
Joining Reed in the battle for playing time is another experienced veteran in redshirt junior Kaonohi Kaniho. He saw action in 13 games last season, starting 11. He totaled 20 tackles, including two for loss, three pass breakups, recovered a fumble and blocked a kick.
“He’s a vet. He’s another coach out there,” Warren said of Kaniho. “He needs to just build the versatility of making sure that he knows how to play different positions and prove that he’s back and can do the same things that he did last year and showing that consistency staying on top of routes and being able to make sure that he is protecting this defense over the top.”
Redshirt junior Jaylen Clark will also challenge for a starting spot. He made the first start of his career in the Frisco Bowl last December, hauling in his first career interception.
“He’s competitive. It’s all out. Sometimes too much competitive,” Warren said. “But I love that kid. He does the things that we ask him to do. He’s just got to grow in his consistency.”
Two wild cards in the race are Laney College transfer A’Marion McCoy (junior) and redshirt freshman Dionte Thornton. McCoy, who put on 16 pounds this offseason, was among the leaders during spring ball in interceptions.
“He’s shown some elite cover skills this fall,” Warren said.
At 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds, Thornton is one of the Broncos’ biggest corners, making him a tough matchup for taller receivers, and Warren said Thornton “came a long way in the spring.”
Boise State also welcomes in five freshmen to the position in Franklyn Johnson Jr., Gabe Tahir, Khai Taylor, Jacob Williams and Troy Wilkey.
“We’ve got five new freshmen guys that I don’t want to speak on too much yet,” Warren said, “but I bet you there’s gonna be a couple guys that are gonna push these older guys, and that’s what’s fun about this program. There’s a lot of competition, and everybody’s involved in it.”
Boise State’s projected cornerbacks
Markel Reed: He’s suffered season-ending injuries the past two seasons, but has appeared in 24 games since 2019 and opened the past two seasons as a starter.
Kaonohi Kaniho or Jaylen Clark: Both players bring experience to the position, but Kaniho has the slight edge with 11 career starts to Clark’s one.