Kellen Moore Comes Home: Boise State’s Glory Days Return

Kellen Moore left Boise State years ago. During his time away, the Broncos have had a share of quarterbacks who’ve led them to victories. But the kid from Prosser, Washington, still holds a special place in the hearts of Bronco Nation.

Our town has changed tremendously over the years. Gone are the days of every Walmart playing the 2007 Fiesta Bowl victory over Oklahoma every fall. We no longer see a sea of Bronco flags adorning cars starting every Thursday of game week. And like Kellen, legendary Coach Chris Petersen moved on to Washington and then to the Fox Broadcast Booth.

Mr. Moore came to Boise a longshot, unproven at best, and left as the winningest quarterback in college football history. If the university had today’s communications department, he would’ve finished a lot higher in the Heisman voting.

He left the Treasure Valley playing for the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys. He was so good that he eventually graduated onto coaching, won a Super Bowl as an offensive coordinator and now coaches the New Orleans Saints. Not bad for a kid who only got to Boise State due to then Defensive Coordinator Justin Wilcox's intensive lobbying efforts.

Boise is a wonderful place to live, but a challenging place to be a national football figure. Ashton Jeanty proved the Blue and Orange magic is still there, but there will always only be one Kellen. Ask Georgia, Virgina Tech, TCU and all the other doubters what happened when they faced the great Kellen and Petersen teams.

Those were special times that we will never see again. One could argue the success of that era alarmed the college football powers that be never to allow a quarterback or a team like Boise State to threaten their control over the sport.

So for those that remember those great days, Saturday night will be a special night, a statue, a return, and perhaps another victory on the Blue.