<H1 id=storyTitle>Murphy: Shoemaker a vintage Boise State football player</H1>
Boise State's breathlessly anticipated season opener with Oregon is less than three weeks away and, while I recognize it is too early for 2009 superlatives, certain facts have emerged about this year's Broncos.
Sophomore quarterback Kellen Moore is the most irreplaceable player on the roster - and it's not particularly close.
Junior safety Jeron Johnson is the emotional centerpiece of the defense, a fact that was underscored when Johnson collapsed to the turf after a violent collision during Thursday's scrimmage.
Seniors Richie Brockel and Kyle Wilson are excellent leaders and ambassadors for the program, an important standard on a team with just four seniors.
They are team-defining - and, in Moore's case, program-defining - players. For instance, it will never be the Tyler Shoemaker Era at Boise State.
But Shoemaker, a sophomore wide receiver, may well be the "Broncoiest" of all the Boise State players. The most Bronco, if you will.
His journey to this point - Shoemaker is expected to start at slot receiver, while also working at both outside receiver spots - is a traditional Bronco path, a harkening to the type of players that forged the beginning of Boise State's decade of dominance.
He was lightly recruited out of an Idaho high school. He walked on at Boise State. He earned a scholarship. He dealt with setbacks. He found his role. The ending, typically where the player ends up stan-ding out in his role, is yet to be written in Shoemaker's case.
But things certainly look promising for the man who elicits the latest round of "Shoe!" calls. They were noticeable during Thursday's scrimmage when the 6-foot-2, 211-pound Mountain View High product paced Broncos receivers with six catches and 116 yards. It was his second big scrimmage, following a three-catch, 138-yard, two-touchdown performance in the Spring Game. Taken together, the output suggests he is ready for his expanded role in the offense.
Boise State needs him, having lost four of its top five pass catchers from last year. Shoemaker finished last season with seven catches for 110 yards and two touchdowns, both against Idaho State.
It is quick ascension for someone who couldn't find the field at Mountain View during his first two seasons - and attracted little interest once he did. A backup quarterback bored by holding a clipboard, he found his way to wide receiver.
Football Championship Subdivision teams Idaho State, Eastern Washington and Western Washington, a Division II team and NAIA Carroll College recruited him. But Shoemaker had his heart set on playing at the highest level in college. No one was going to tell him no.
For those wondering if Boise State has lost the collective edge of disrespect - a key ingredient in the Broncos' rise to national prominence - in the face of national recognition, fear not. It is alive and well in players such as Shoemaker.
"I had my mind set. I wanted to play Division I (in the Football Bowl Subdivision), and when those (offers) didn't come, it was kind of a letdown," he said. "It put a little chip on my shoulder."
Shoemaker is among the 40 walk-ons to earn a scholarship at Boise State since 1998, former coach Dirk Koetter's first season.
"It's a long road. It's a tough road. I don't think they really knew what to expect out of me," Shoemaker said. "They just said, 'All we want is all you got.' I tried to give them the best I could, everything I had, every single play."
That's why December hurt so much. Shoemaker, having gotten his scholarship and established a role, found out a few days before the Poinsettia Bowl that he would not be making the trip. Coach Chris Petersen suspended him for one game for violating a team rule. Shoemaker called it "heartbreaking."
"I stepped out of line. I took full responsibility for what I did. I deserved it," Shoemaker said. "I knew the rules going in. You can't break the team rules and not expect to get punished. That's part of the Bronco Way. We do things right around here and if you're straying away from that, (Petersen's) got to let you know."
The setback has been temporary, though the feelings linger - and motivate.
"I keep a little scar over my heart every day. I think about it," Shoemaker said. "It just makes me realize how precious every day I have out here on this blue is. Every practice I think about, 'Keep going. You're headed in the right direction.' "
It is a path traveled by many Broncos before him, a well-worn road that has served Boise State splendidly in any era.
