Larry Brown Sports

Naijiel Hale is a high school defensive back prospect and the son of late rapper Nate Dogg, aka Nathaniel Hale. It appears that Naijiel is going to continue the trend of legendary rappers’ sons playing college ball at top-tier schools, as he reportedly received his first Division-1 scholarship offer on Tuesday.

According to Greg Biggins of FOX Sports (via @ScottEnyeart), Hale landed an offer from Boise State. If he accepts, that means he could have an opportunity to wear one of the sickest helmets in the country.

As you likely know, Nate Dogg died back in 2011 from complications due to multiple strokes. Now, we’re left wondering how long it will take for Jim Mora to get UCLA involved in recruiting Hale. Mora seems to love recruiting the sons of famous rappers and entertainers, as P. Diddy’s son Justin Combs has already committed to UCLA and Snoop Dog’s son Cordell Broadus has received interest from the Bruins and other teams.

Don’t ask me what the correlation is between rappers and talented football players, but three times in the past year or so can’t be a coincidence.

Photo via YouTube

There’s going to be a lot of black and blue around on Saturday when Boise State hosts UNLV, and we’re not talking about bruises. Between Boise State’s trademark blue turf and the new “Black Out” uniforms they will be wearing — which still contain some blue and orange — the Broncos’ stadium will be black and blue all over.

As you can see from the photo above that Lost Lettermen shared with us, the helmets are clearly the best part. During a season in which we have seen some hideous helmets like these horrible ones Notre Dame wore a little over a week ago, Boise State’s black shells are a welcome change. I give them a 10 out of 10.

We’ve seen a Tim Thomas corn maze tribute, a John Calipari corn maze, and now we have a Boise State football maze. This corn maze comes from Linder Farms in Meridian, Idaho.

Pictured is the Boise State logo, a quarterbacking throwing a ball, and the new Mountain West Conference logo. The Idaho Statesman says this is the third straight year Linder Farms has featured a Boise State theme. The maze is mighty impressive, but if they had any real skills they would have made the quarterback a lefty. Just sayin’.

Helmet knock to Dr. Saturday for the story

College football teams schedule their non-conference games with one of two goals in mind: to pick up an easy win or build their strength of schedule.  By scheduling Boise State as one of their non-conference opponents, Georgia was hoping to give themselves an opponent that would demand national attention but was also beatable. According to Bulldogs head coach Mark Richt, that was before Georgia knew Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore was sticking around.

On Friday, Deadspin passed along an interview between Richt and WCNN in Atlanta from Sports Radio Interviews.  Here is what the Georgia coach had to say when asked about scheduling the Broncos.

“[The athletic director] came to me with that and he was like, ‘Well, that quarterback’s a senior and he’s leaving.’ I really didn’t look at it. I knew that he had been there a long enough time that he was probably on the way out. After we signed on the dotted line, then I went and looked at the depth chart and realized he was still there. Then I was hoping he would turn pro early and he didn’t do that.”

Richt has every right to be concerned about Moore, who has been an absolute monster over the past couple seasons.  He has thrived in the Broncos’ system to the tune of 39 touchdowns and three interceptions in 2009 and 35 touchdowns and six interceptions last season.  Joining the Mountain West and not wearing blue uniforms at home could hurt his production a little, but Moore is as legit a college signal-caller as they come.  Next time the Bulldogs will do their homework.

Everyone knows there are teams in the college football world that take issue with the color of Boise State’s field turf.  To many, it is seen as a competitive advantage.  Some coaches have made an attempt to have the blue turf removed from Bronco Stadium while others have painted their own practice field blue in preparation for a game at Boise State.  A hat manufacturing company, Zephyr, even decided to create a ridiculous hat that references the blue turf.

According to ESPN’s College Football Nation Blog via Deadspin, the Mountain West has decided to take some form of action.  The turf can stay, but the all-blue uniforms must go during home games.  Apparently it is believed that the uniforms make the Broncos invisible and give them an unfair advantage.  They certainly can give viewers a headache.

“I thought it was ridiculous,” head coach Chris Petersen said. “That’s our colors. That’s who we are. That’s who our fans have wanted us to be since I’ve been at Boise State. That’s what it’s been through and through.”

Ridiculous it may be, but I can’t say I’m unhappy about it.  The blue turf is tough enough to look at as is let alone throwing royal blue uniforms into the mix.  As Deadspin’ Emma Charmichael pointed out, an argument could be made that the concept is the same as a team in all-green uniforms playing on a green surface.  That’s a fair point, but I suppose you can say this is the price the Broncos will have to pay for joining the Mountain West.

There’s just no way they approved of this hat, right?

According to hat manufacturer Zephyr, this is part of the new Boise State xline. From the hat’s description “Fear the Turf! This xline was made to represent their signature and controversial blue turf on their football field.” Contain your excitement — the hat won’t be available for two months.

OBNUG calls the monster “adorable” while others say it looks like Spongebob.

I don’t know what I would call it, but I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be worried about any Black Hole-like beatings in Boise if I walk into a stadium of folks wearing that hat. Rocky Long does not approve.

Rocky Long is the new head coach at San Diego State and he’s wasted no time asserting himself as a powerful voice. The former Aztecs defensive coordinator took a shot at Boise State in an interview with the Idaho Statesman, complaining about the Broncos’ home field.

“I think they ought to get rid of that blue turf. I think it’s unfair,” said Long. “It takes the visiting team a quarter or two to get used to that different field.”

Long said players “track the ball differently” on the blue turf, particularly since Boise State traditionally wears all-blue uniforms on the blue turf, according to the Statesman.

Boise State’s upcoming move to the Mountain West is what inspired the statement, and my guess is the Broncos will remember his remark and pour 60 on them in the fall. Even though many of us would love to see the blue turf banned, it distinguishes Boise State and adds to their mystique. In other words, it’s not going away.

In fact, the trend seems to be moving in the opposite direction. Like our friends at New Era Radio say, maybe San Diego State needs to consider changing the color of their turf for an advantage of their own. I know Oregon State would agree.

Thanks to Marcas G for the story, and check him out on twitter.