The Idaho Press is counting down the 20 most important players for the Boise State football team in 2019. We’ve reached No. 1, Curtis Weaver:
The secret is out that Curtis Weaver is one of the best pass rushers in the country, and a strong 2019 could make him the latest first round NFL Draft pick to come from Boise State.
He’s the obvious choice for our top spot as the most important player to Boise State in 2019.
Weaver is the biggest star on Boise State’s roster, and has the most NFL potential. He’s also been the most productive the past two years. The 6-foot-3, 264-pound Weaver already has 20.5 sacks in two years, which puts him at No. 6 on Boise State’s all-time sacks list.
There were only four players in college football that had at least 9.5 sacks in each of the past two years, and two of the four — Clellin Ferrell of Clemson and Montez Sweat of Mississippi State — both went in the first round of the NFL Draft in April. The only one of the four to return to college in 2019? Weaver.
He was a first-team All-Mountain West selection in both 2017 and 2018 and was a USA TODAY Freshman All-American in 2017.
But Weaver has done his damage the past two seasons while splitting snaps with Jabril Frazier, who is now off to the NFL. That leaves potentially more time on the field — and even bigger numbers — for Weaver this fall.
How Weaver handles the media hype and attention this season — and the double teams and extra blockers from opposing teams — will be fascinating to watch.
If he puts up another big season, he’ll have a strong chance to make it seven straight years that a Boise State player has left school early for the NFL.
Boise State needs Weaver to be productive this season with the losses of Frazier, Durrant Miles, Tyler Horton and Tyson Maeva on defense. If he can maintain his production this season, Boise State’s defense should be in pretty good shape.
Weaver has a lot of reasons to want to have a big year in 2019. The Broncos would love to see it.