BOISE, Idaho — Amid massive competition in Boise State's cornerback room, position coach Demario Warren said Tuesday's fall camp practice was the first session with every candidate at full speed.
Last fall, injuries to Boise State's Markel Reed and Tyriq LeBeauf resulted in Caleb Biggers and Kaonohi Kaniho taking over as starters during the season. Utah State transfer Jared Reed is a fifth name to consider in the Broncos' race.
Warren's hands are full, tasked with narrowing down a hungry and talented group to the two Broncos who will ultimately win the job.
"Every time I turned around, somebody was standing right next to me, ready to go. They feel it now. They know we're close," Warren said. "They know guys are playing well and they know they're going to have to play well each and every day if they want to play on Saturdays. They're hungry. Their standard is very high and if it's not met every single day, then we hold ourselves accountable.
"The standard is the standard and our standard is higher than most people. We're going to hold each other accountable to that. It's fun to see that amount of guys care enough about it to hold each other accountable."
Reed got off to a great start last season, racking up 18 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and a pass breakup in the first four games. He was limited to just one appearance the rest of the fall following an injury.
"It was definitely hard, you know, just mental issues and stuff like that, but I pushed through, kept pushing, had the guys motivate me every single day, coaches motivate me every single day and I'm glad to be where I am now, back with the team and going 100%," Reed said.
After a knee injury and a shoulder surgery this offseason, the Temple, Texas, native took the time to rebuild his body ahead of the 2022 campaign.
Now, Reed is ready to return to The Blue and lead the Boise State cornerbacks.
"You know, I haven't played football in 10 months, but it feels good to be back and get some of that old rust off and get some more reps, get back to wrapping guys up, the physicality of it -- it just feels good getting 'bang bang' again," Reed said.
Warren also admitted the obvious -- Reed was bound to face some rust following surgery this offseason -- but the Boise State cornerbacks coach said the senior is driven to improve.
"Again, 'cause he's competitive, so he's gonna make mistakes, a little rusty, but every single day when he goes in the film room, he's going to try to get better and that goes for the whole group," Warren said. "They're learning from each other and every time we get out there and make a mistake, we're trying to fix it the next day."
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