Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009

Broncos' Kaiserman shines in collegiate debut

By Brian Murphy

HONOLULU — Matt Kaiserman waited nearly three years for his first collegiate opportunity. The Skyview High alum certainly was going to be prepared when it finally came.

“They told me to be ready and the last thing you want to do is come in unprepared,” said Kaiserman, who made his debut a memorable one with 23 carries for 122 yards and one touchdown in the Broncos’ 54-9 victory against Hawaii on Saturday night. “You practice all week and I practiced for two and a half years for this. You got to be ready.”

The 6-foot, 194-pound Kaiserman last played in a competitive game in 2006 for Skyview in Nampa. The Idaho Statesman’s 4A Player of the Year, he rushed for 1,782 yards and 26 touchdowns as a senior. He grayshirted in 2007 and joined the Broncos for a redshirt season in 2008.

Kaiserman impressed during spring practice this year, but suffered a concussion during fall practice that kept him off the field for the first six games of the season. He was cleared to play against Tulsa, but did not see action in that game.

But this week, he got a sense that he might be needed. Backup running back Doug Martin was battling a pulled muscle and reserve Jarvis Hodge did not make the trip to Hawaii because of a death in his family. That left starter Jeremy Avery and Kaiserman on the depth chart at running back.

With the Broncos leading 24-0 late in the second quarter, Kaiserman saw his first collegiate action. He rushed for 10 yards and a first down on his first attempt. On his first four carries, Kaiserman rushed for 23 yards and three first downs.

“It was nice to get Kais rolling there a little bit,” quarterback Kellen Moore said. “He’s been waiting for about 10 years. It’s big.”

In the second half, with the game well in hand, Kaiserman became a workhorse. He carried 19 times for 99 yards in the second half. On the Broncos’ final scoring drive, he carried 11 consecutive times and capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown plunge.

After the score, he was greeted by plenty of teammates who know the determination Kaiserman has shown to become a part of the program and get on the field.

“We didn’t know really what to expect out of Matt. Matt probably didn’t know. He’s been out so long,” coach Chris Petersen said. “He practiced well the last couple of weeks and it was really good to get him in there and get him some meaningful carries. He did a really nice job. He was patient in there, finding his seams and falling forward most of the time.”

The pride was evident on Kaiserman’s face after the game.

“It’s hard to describe exactly what I’m feeling right now. I don’t think it’s quite set in yet,” he said. “I told myself, if anything, good, bad or ugly, to get my shoulders downhill and break some tackles and by no means to go down on first contact. And it happened that way.”

Brian Murphy: 377-6444