THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: Hout on Boise State/Pac-12; Idaho high school product to face Vandals

One way to get a smile out of Byron Hout, Lake City High’s second-year football coach, is to ask his thoughts on his alma mater, Boise State, finally getting invited to join the Pac-12 Conference. 

“I love that for Boise State,” Hout said. “The thing about me too is, I’m also a Bobcat (he was an assistant coach at Montana State from 2016-20), and I think they also need Montana and Montana State in that conference, for sure. For sure. No doubt. They’ve got one of the biggest stadiums in Washington-Griz (home of Montana), you have a rival team (in Montana State). It makes sense geographically. They’ve already talked about Montana and Montana State for years making the jump to FBS.” 

Montana State beat New Mexico, like Boise State a member of the Mountain West Conference, in this year’s season opener. Montana shocked the now-Big Ten Washington Huskies in the 2021 season opener in Seattle. 

“Yes, super happy for Boise; I would love for them to pick up the Montana schools,” Hout said. "I’m looking at the schools that were suggested (for the Pac-12) ... Tulane? ... Memphis? ... All hat’s off to them, but just geographically, and it obviously it (adding the Montana schools) would just be so cool for the Northwest.” 

LAN LARISON is an Idaho kid starring in the Big Sky Conference — far from Idaho. 

The 6-foot, 215-pound senior running back is the reigning conference offensive player of the year — at UC Davis (3-1), which plays host to Idaho (3-1) on Saturday in the conference opener for both schools. 

While starring at Vallivue HIgh in Caldwell, Larison said Idaho and Idaho State both offered scholarships, and Boise State was interested in him as a walk-on. 

At the time, UC Davis’ head coach was Dan Hawkins, the former Boise State head man. And his son, Cody, was an assistant at Davis and a former star at Bishop Kelly High in Boise. 

“They (the Idaho schools) just weren’t as persistent as the Davis guys, and ... it just didn’t seem like they wanted me to go there as much as the Davis guys did,” Larison said in July, at the Big Sky Football Kickoff media day. “I kinda clicked with them when I went down and visited, and I fell in love with the campus, fell in love with the people, the culture, and I wanted to be an Aggie, and I knew that pretty early on when I was a junior.” 

Hey, go where you’re wanted, right? 

LAST YEAR, Larison rushed for 1,101 yards and 13 touchdowns, and was a finalist for the Walter Payton Award for the top player in FCS football. 

In 2022, he totaled 1,259 all-purpose yards and was an all-Big Sky first team selection on special teams. 

He said it was a “big bummer” when UC Davis was not selected for the 24-team FCS playoffs last year despite a 7-4 record and a win over Sacramento State, which was selected, in the regular season finale — a game in which Larison rushed for 121 yards and four touchdowns. 

Dan Hawkins retired after last season. Cody Hawkins left to take the head coaching job at Idaho State in 2023.  

But with the hiring of Tim Plough, a former Aggie, as head coach, the culture that attracted Larison to Davis remains. 

“The glue’s still together; the wheels didn’t fall off,” he said. 

Larison said he’s never been north of Moscow in Idaho, but hopes to someday play the Floating Green hole at The Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course. 

Prior to his senior year, Larison won a state championship in steer wrestling. 

And on Saturday, he will be looking to help UC Davis wrangle a win over the Vandals. 

“It kinda just shows that you can be from anywhere, and do anything spectacular if you really want to, and really set your mind to it,” Larison said. 

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @CdAPressSports.