At long last, six days before Boise State's season opener at Oregon State, the Broncos unveiled their initial depth chart. The intrigue was subdued. Unlike the past three seasons, there was no starting quarterback to sort out, no monumental revelations that sprung up.

Instead, much of the intrigue came from the backups. Starting with the No. 2 quarterback. After a month-long battle between redshirt freshman Taylen Green and Oregon State transfer Sam Vidlak, BSU head coach Andy Avalos announced Monday that it will be Green behind starter Hank Bachmeier.

"He's done a really good job from year no. 1 to year no. 2," Avalos said. Obviously his knowledge of the offense and being able to operate — and it's not just his assignments but it's running the whole show."

Offensive coordinator Tim Plough admitted that while 6-foot-6, 220-pound Green arrived on campus with every physical tool on the planet, he didn't have experience handling the run game, calling out protections, checking things down and all that.

His athleticism allowed him to hide any deficiencies, weaknesses that the coaches said he did a great job improving upon this fall.

"He's not a real loud communicator," Plough said. "He just had to get comfortable communicating at the line of scrimmage and getting everyone on the same page. He's taken huge strides there."

STARTING JOBS WON

The main two position battles throughout fall camp were at weakside linebacker and field safety, where Boise State had to replace Riley Whimpey (Graduated) and Tyreque Jones (Moved to nickel).

Announced as the starter at weakside linebacker was DJ Schramm, a redshirt senior who has never started a collegiate game. Schramm beat out fellow redshirt senior Brandon Hawkins along with Isaiah Bagnah — one of BSU's best pass rushers who will play at EDGE.

"Seeing him grow — this is really the first offseason he's had where he hasn't had to have surgery and miss (time)," defensive coordinator Spencer Danielson said of Schramm. "He's one of our better players on defense."

At field safety, it was Rodney Robinson, the 5-foot-8 Energizer Bunny beating out sophomore Seyi Oladipo, who looked like he might be the starter entering fall camp. Regardless of this decision, both guys will get a ton of playing time.

But Robinson, sparked by his passion and instincts, caught the attention of coaches and teammates the last few weeks, forcing a fumble during the first scrimmage and staying consistent throughout the fall.

"He's a very savvy football player. He plays bigger than he is," Danielson said. "Obviously very explosive, but with how he understands the game, he plays very fast — which you need to when you're undersized."

OTHER DEPTH-CHART NOTEABLES

— Freshman Ashton Jeanty was listed as the backup running back behind George Holani. Jeanty graduated high school early, showed up for spring ball and has been the talk of practice ever since — mainly for his lean 205-pound stature. "It's great to have a guy who can come in and bring some electricity," Plough said.

— As mentioned before, Bagnah moved to EDGE, capping off a wild few months. During the spring, he was at EDGE, then got moved to linebacker before fall and has now been moved back to EDGE. Danielson said BSU will have different packages that will allow Bagnah, who had six sacks last year, to garner plenty of playing time.

— Unsurprisingly, James Ferguson-Reynolds won the starting punting job. The freshman from Australia has an arsenal of rugby-style and traditional kicks that brings a new wrinkle to Boise State's special teams.

— Speaking of special teams, the depth chart noted that Holani will be the Broncos' punt returner while wide receiver Stefan Cobbs will be the kick returner.

LOOKING AHEAD TO OREGON STATE

Coming off their best finish in eight years (7-6), the Beavers head into 2022 with a loaded secondary, a returning starting quarterback in Chance Nolan and a head coach that seems to have things on the right track.

But what is the true strength of Oregon State? It's offensive line — and it's not really close.

The Beavers' big men were finalists for last season's Joe Moore Award — given to the nation's best offensive line unit — and while they lose two guys from that group, Oregon State is replacing them with a pair of upperclassmen.

While the Beavers lost running back BJ Baylor, who led OSU last year with 1,337 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns, it might not matter. If the offensive line is as good as it was last season, they might be able to grab a fan from the stands and pick up 100 yards on the ground.

"I think their offensive line coach (Jim Michalczik) is one of the best in the business, in regards to dealing with different pressures, different looks and having answers," Danielson said. "The tailbacks, obviously, do a great job making them right. And just like a great program, they're going to find a way to put a tailback — even if they lose someone — right in."

And running the show is Nolan, the 6-3 redshirt junior quarterback who completed 64% of his passes last season for 2,677 yards and 19 touchdowns to go along with 10 picks. But just ask Avalos — Nolan can be clutch.

When Avalos was Oregon's defensive coordinator in 2020, Nolan scored a fourth-and-goal, gamewinning touchdown on a quarterback sneak to lead the Beavers to an upset victory.

"I think that a big part of the success of (OSU's) offense is their ability to operate and stay on schedule and move in and out of different formations, different looks, use different personnels," Avalos said. "But the quarterback has to be able to handle that. And obviously Chance has shown that."