Man of Routine
Starting left tackle Kage Casey developed into one of the best offensive linemen in the country through developing and refining his routine
Chris Kutz
Everyone has their morning routine. Coffee. Exercise. Hit snooze. Not necessarily in that order.
For the Boise State offensive line, their morning routine includes a group text.
With an early start to their screen time, the group of trench workers gets a text one hour before their first meeting or workout of the day from senior Mason Randolph that simply says “Good morning.”
All 21 members of the offensive line are expected to react to the text - mostly with a thumbs up emoji, occasionally an exclamation point - to signal to the group they are awake and ready to attack the day. One of the Steele brothers - Jason and Jake - are usually the first to respond.
For Kage Casey, redshirt junior left tackle out of Happy Valley, Ore., he is usually walking into the Bleymaier Football Center when the text arrives in his messages. Five minutes or so after it is sent, Casey checks in with his teammates by reacting with a thumbs up.
“I get one message ring, and then right away it's like, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding,” said Casey. “It's just part of our routine. It's what we do every day as an o-line, but it's typically for the new freshmen, as a ‘Hey, we need to know you're awake. Because if no one has seen you in the facility, we're going to go to your dorm.”
However, this is not the start of his daily routine. An Information Tech Management & Supply Chain Management major, his system is firing well before the text is sent and received.
This is by no accident. Since making his Boise State debut on Oct. 29, 2022 against Colorado State, Casey has built himself into one of the best offensive linemen in the country and already considered one of the top NFL prospects for that position going into the 2025 season.
His fall camp routine is crucial, and a routine he has slowly added to and refined over his college career. He arrives at the football building a little before an hour prior to the first meeting or lift, changes into his clothes for the day and then works his way into the athletic training room. He starts his first of many stretching sessions, focusing first on his ankles and hips to help get into his stance better later in the day. He also uses a laser machine on hand in the training room to warm up his body.
On his way to the first set of meetings, he grabs a breakfast sandwich or a bag of pretzels and a banana to provide the first batch of sustenance provided by the Boise State nutrition team.
Even though he is in meetings, he works efficiently by continuing to stretch. During this time, he focuses on stretching out his hips and doing ankle circles.
Meetings become walk-throughs and then Casey heads to the locker room to get equipped with his pads for practice. As soon as he gets out on the field, he does one more round of stretches prior to practice, with an emphasis on activating as much of his body as possible.
Once practice is over, Casey’s routine reconvenes. Pads off, shower, weigh in, foam roller with the strength staff, lunch, wait for the training room to open (typically opens 30 minutes after lunch), enter the training room for an hour of treatment, and then - you guessed it - more stretching, this time for about an hour.
The stretching during this window includes “working from the ground up,” which means going from the calves to hamstrings to shoulders and everything in between. Then it is contrast therapy in the hot and cold tubs before going into more meetings.
“I do not leave the building, except for lunch,” said Casey about his typical day during fall camp. “I have to make sure my body feels good. So if that means I don’t leave the facility, then I don’t leave the facility.”
Casey’s routine, which is mostly crafted by him outside of scheduled meetings and practice, is born out of constant tinkering and adjustments as he talks to others and learns more.
“I always talk to Coach D (head coach Spencer Danielson) about what I can add to my process,” said Casey. “And it doesn't have to be like, ‘Oh, I'm doing so much in my day.’ Like stretching doesn't really make me feel too stressed. It’s really so I want to make sure my body feels as good as it possibly can. And if I need to stretch for an hour, I'll stretch for an hour, and my body's feeling pretty good.”
Another source of Casey’s routine came out of his experience at the OL Masterminds camp this past summer. Considered one of the top developmental experiences for up-and-coming offensive linemen, Casey worked with current and former NFL offensive linemen and coaches to fine-tune his craft and further add to his routine.
He specifically spoke with Pro Football Hall of Famer and 11-year NFL veteran Joe Thomas, who recommended the book “Becoming a Supple Leonard,” which is loaded with mobility and maintenance for the human body.
His routine as an offensive lineman also requires plenty of fuel.
“On my way to lunch, I'll drink a Core Power,” said Casey. “It's all about what can I do extra? Any little extra thing, especially as an o-lineman, it's hard to make sure I'm eating well while also eating a lot of food. And so that's where I just eat as often as I can, even if it's little things. In the mornings, I'll try to get my proteins and something that will give me energy that doesn't have too much sugar in it. And so that's where the pretzels come in or a breakfast sandwich.”
Casey’s current routine will soon change slightly. In addition to the season opening in eight days at South Florida (3:30 pm MT, ESPN and Bronco Radio Network), classes at Boise State start on Monday. He has classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, one at 1:15 p.m. and another at 4:15 p.m.
He will also continue his studies in the film room, which is another tidbit he picked up from the OL Mastermind experience. His game week routine includes watching film of his opponents and tracking tendencies by looking at every single pass rep he can. He will watch for all the moves defensive ends and EDGE rushers try to put on the offensive line so that he can better know what to expect when the ball is put down on game day.
Last year as a redshirt sophomore, Casey appeared on the All-America list for five different outlets, including second team All-American from Walter Camp and The Athletic.
Casey is entering his third season as Boise State’s starting left tackle. After 28 games in that role, he has continued to pick up national attention, including preseason All-America nods from Walter Camp, ESPN, Phil Steele and Athlon Sports. He was selected to the Lombardi Award and Outland Trophy Watch Lists as well.
“That's sort of what brought me here in the first place,” said Casey. “I went to other colleges, and guys were wearing different shirts, different shorts in their spring or fall conditioning, and coming to Boise State, everything is, ‘you're doing this, and then you're doing this, and then you're doing this, and then you're doing this, that's what you're going to wear. I thought to myself, ‘I like that. That’s pretty nice.’”
Built Different is synonymous with this era of Boise State football.
Coined by head coach Spencer Danielson, it summarizes FBS’s all-time winningest program, based on winning percentage, in several ways. From being a program that is built on developing players to how it builds its roster with high-character, high-performing individuals, it succinctly describes the Broncos.
Casey is also a living, walking - and stretching - example of Built Different.
“Kage is a young man that has earned everything he’s ever gotten,” said Danielson. “He came here, developed here year in and year out, and now he’s one of the best offensive tackles in the country - and honestly, one of the best football players we’ve ever had here.”
And while it all may seem mundane, Casey’s routine wears off on his teammates and in particular, his fellow offensive linemen. When he’s stretching in the weight room, with his phone connected to the speaker system playing worship or country music, others start to trickle in and adopt his ways.
“He leads by example, and cares about his teammates,” added Danielson. “I see him constantly meeting with younger offensive linemen. And it’s because he cares about the team and wants to leave an impact.”