Khalil Shakir continues to dazzle Bronco Nation with fantastic catches

BOISE, Idaho — The Boise State Broncos return home to face the 5-1 Air Force Falcons in a Mountain West showdown on Saturday night, kickoff is slated for 7:00 p.m.

The Broncos are coming off a big win at BYU which evened their record at 3-3 on the season, and senior wide receiver Khalil Shakir helped secure that win with a clutch catch.

"I mean as a receiver you are supposed to catch the ball with two hands so it all worked out perfectly," said Shakir who called that catch his favorite of his career.

Picking out a favorite catch by Shakir is a tough proposition as Shakir has dazzled Bronco Nation with several incredible one-hand grabs, catches in traffic and he's racked up yards after the catch.

Shakir grew up in Murrieta, California idolizing Deion Sanders, but Khalil gravitated towards the other side of the ball and he credits A.J. Richardson, Akilian Butler and Sean Modster for helping him adapt to collegiate life, Modster who Shakir's roommate on road trips as an underclassman.

"He made me fix my bed at the hotel and I would be like they are going to clean the room right when we leave," said Shakir. "He was like it’s not what it’s about, it’s called respect you get up out of bed, you made it a mess so you fix it up."

As a senior, every opposing team has to figure out a way to gameplan against Shakir who ranks in the top 25 nationally in catches and receiving yards.

"He has great ball skills, he's very dynamic and runs good routes just tremendous production outstanding player," said Air Force head coach Troy Calhoun. "

BYU decided to routinely drop eight in coverage and double team Shakir which opened up the ground game for BSU and Shakir didn't mind at all as the Broncos picked up their biggest win of the season.

"He overheard me saying something on the headset like we got to get Shak the ball and he overhead it," said BSU offensive coordinator Tim Plough. "He was like coach keep running the ball if it is working, do not worry about me, let’s win the game, and if you guys know wide receivers that is a rare statement."

Shakir ranks eight in school history with 167 receptions, he's nine. receiving yards and three touchdowns away from cracking the top ten in both of those categories and he's also taken on a mentor role as Modster did with him in the receivers room.

“Those guys just need to feel at home so doing anything we can to make sure they are all good and comfortable not only within the facility but outside the facility," said Shakir. "Making sure they are doing the right thing going to class showing up and doing all those small things really matters."

Shakir will no doubt go down as one of the greatest receivers in Boise State history and Bronco Nation can't wait to see what he will do next.