Leaving a Legacy
By David Dietrich
Two-star prospect. No Power 4 offers. Only four offers from Group of 5 or FCS schools. If these traits sound familiar, it’s because countless high school football players who commit to Boise State share a similar story - even Hall of Fame inductee Ryan Clady.
Clady played at Eisenhower HS, located in Rialto, Calif. The Eagles went 3-7 his senior year, but Clady stood out at defensive tackle, earning Division I first team All-California Interscholastic Federation honors. This garnered looks from Cal, Stanford, UCLA and USC, but none of the local powerhouses offered. After receiving offers from Boise State, Idaho State, San Diego State and UTEP, Clady decided to trek to the Treasure Valley, choosing the Broncos.
“It was my best opportunity and I saw the growth,” said Clady. “The program, the coaches, the players and the city were trending in the right direction.”
Clady arrived in Boise in 2004 and made instant impressions, including one on Daryn Colledge, the Broncos’ starting offensive tackle that season. Like Clady, Colledge was recruited as a defensive lineman after playing both ways at North Pole HS in Fairbanks, Alaska.
“I immediately knew he was a smart, strong, athletic kid that had the build to do what we were doing. He was a problem right off the bat, even as a defensive lineman,” said Colledge. “He was going to be as talented a kid as he wanted to be at that position. He would have been a handful.”
Chris Strausser, Boise State’s offensive line coach, had a penchant for transitioning defensive linemen to the opposite side of the trenches. He saw potential in Clady like he did in Colledge and asked the returning starter for his thoughts.
“As long as he can figure it out, he's going to be great,” Colledge told Strausser. “He's got the build that everybody wants. You look at him as your prototypical offensive lineman.”
As Clady made the transition, Colledge mentored him, realizing quickly that Strausser made the correct decision again.
“When I started working with him, I realized how smart a kid he is, how humble a guy he is. He just went to work,” explained Colledge. “He was a good talent and a big, strong kid. He was one of those guys that put the hard hat on and said ‘Let's get the work done and figure out what it’s going to take.’”
The duo anchored the tackle positions for the Broncos in 2005, both securing All-America honors as Boise State won its fourth-straight WAC title. Colledge was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the second round of the NFL Draft and Clady prepared for another transition, moving from right to left tackle
To say the transition was seamless is a massive understatement. Clady started all 13 games for the Broncos, paving the way for an offense that ranked second in the nation in scoring (39.7 points per game) and rushing touchdowns (39). Boise State won all 12 regular season games, clinching its fifth-straight WAC championship. The Broncos earned a top-10 ranking for the first time in program history, securing a berth in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl and setting the stage for some of the most iconic moments in college football history.
When asked if he had any special memories of his time at Boise State, Clady first mentioned the historic game.
“The Fiesta Bowl was special. I get tons of questions about it whenever I tell someone I played at Boise State,” said Clady. “It was truly a great game that everyone still remembers years later.”
By now, you’ve probably watched the highlights and heard the stories of the Broncos’ 43-42 overtime win over No. 7 Oklahoma. Clady was elite for the Blue and Orange, consistently protecting Offensive MVP Jared Zabransky and making the sealing block on Ian Johnson’s game-winning two-point conversion run on the Statue of Liberty. His performance against a defense that featured eight future NFL players caught the eye of professional scouts, who kept watch on him throughout the 2007 season.
The impact of Clady’s 2007 campaign is still felt on The Blue today. He became the first consensus All-American in program history, collecting first team honors from four outlets and second team selection from four more. He mentored Nate Potter, who eventually took over as the left tackle and became Boise State’s second consensus All-American. Potter, who was recently named the offensive coordinator for the Broncos, vividly remembers his first encounter with Clady.
“My first impression of Ryan was that he was the largest, best athlete I've ever seen in my life,” said Potter. “To see somebody his size move the way he did was something to marvel at.”
The best quality Potter noticed in Clady is one he preaches to the current Broncos: consistency.
“His consistency was incredible. Watching him at practice, he was just as good at practice as he was in the games,” Potter said. “I tell the players this all the time, it's about consistency, whether it's practice or whether it's games. It's a difficult thing to do, but once you find that consistency, that's how you separate yourself.”
Although Colledge and Potter met Clady on opposite ends of his college career, they witnessed the same qualities that separated Clady from the rest. Colledge describes him as technically proficient while Potter talks about his focus on the details. Both rave about his intelligence and work ethic, agreeing that he is the standard for Boise State football players. Perhaps the best compliment of Clady came from his former teammates.
“I don't think that guy ever lost a one-on-one rep in his career at Boise State, which is unheard of,” Potter said. Colledge echoed the sentiment, saying “I almost saw him lose a practice rep. But only once.”
The consistency and production led to Clady reaching another program milestone when he became the first Bronco to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft. He was picked 12th overall by the NFL’s Broncos, joining a Denver franchise that wore the familiar Blue and Orange he grew to love. Nearly two decades later, he remains the highest NFL draft pick in school history.
Clady spent nine seasons in the NFL, playing 107 games for the Broncos and New York Jets. His NFL career started the same way his college career ended, winning one-on-one reps and collecting numerous awards. He did not allow a full sack in the first 20 games of his career, an NFL record. He finished third in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting and earned All-Pro honors in his first two seasons. Despite nagging injuries in the following years, he was chosen for the Pro Bowl in 2011, 2012 and 2014, adding another All-Pro honor after blocking for legendary quarterback Peyton Manning in 2012.
The Broncos reached the Super Bowl twice during his time in the Mile High City, but Clady missed both games due to injury, including Denver’s 24-10 win over Carolina in Super Bowl 50. He was traded to the Jets in 2016 and played in nine games before suffering another season-ending injury. On August 1, 2016, he announced his retirement from the NFL.
Since his retirement, Clady and his family have traveled the world. Their Instagram account, thecladystouchdown, shows highlights from trips to Abu Dhabi, Greece, Paris, Singapore, Phuket and Bangkok.
Clady fondly remembers the impact the City of Trees had on his life.
“It was a great town to become an adult in,” he said. “I am blessed to have gotten the opportunity to play and live in Boise. The people are amazing.”
Boise State had a lasting impact on Clady and it’s clear the influence is reciprocated.
“He was one of the first ones that showed we were evolving into a new program. He was a guy that went in the first round and changed the game,” said Colledge. “He was the antithesis of the change we had. We were starting to take those steps, but a kid that comes into Boise State, walks out of here as a junior and goes in the first round, I don't know that anybody knew what that was then. It started to beat down the doors of the old establishment for us.”
In his role as offensive coordinator, Potter sees the value of his players watching how Clady operated.
“He'd be a great guy to watch just to see how he played the game, how he played the left tackle position, what that looked like and how that carried over into a great NFL career,” said Potter. “He's always a great example for a young offensive lineman to try to emulate, try to learn from and try to watch, even now that his playing days are over.”
Potter and Colledge both agree they don’t see Clady as often as they’d like, but as Colledge says, “Real life doesn't always match up with what you want for yourself.” While the interactions are limited, they still hold great meaning to the Boise State legends.
“Ryan was a great kid, and now he's a great man. He's an example to a lot of these players of what you can do. We don't see enough of each other, but that's just life.” said Colledge. “You hope that you get to come back for the reunions, see each other, tell old stories and laugh and have some fun, making memories that you can add to the old ones.”
“I think the cool thing about this program and this place is if I see him, it's automatically back to that mutual respect and that Brotherhood. It's always great to catch up,” said Potter. “It’s great to see who he is as a father and what he's doing. He's got a great laugh and even though we don't talk regularly, when we do see each other, it's good to reconnect. We have that shared experience, which is Boise State football, which is very unique and special.”
On Nov. 2, 2024, Clady was officially inducted into the Boise State Athletics Hall of Fame, an honor Colledge knows was much deserved.
“Each guy that comes before the guys now laid some kind of foundation to show that there's a line of success out the door, and what that line of success looks like if you want to play at the next level,” he said. “It’s up to each guy to choose to follow that path, forge a new path, or choose to not. We’ve had so much success at Boise State, whether it be guys that were walk-ons to guys that were high-level recruits, that there's a path for every single guy to make it to the next level if they wanted. Every single guy now has that chance.”
The path forged by Clady wouldn’t have been possible without the people around him. The ever-humble Hall of Famer credits his legacy to the unity and love he felt during his time on The Blue.
“The relationships are special. The Brotherhood is a lasting bond.”Ryan Clady