Year in and year out, as it runs roughshod over the Western Athletic Conference in football on a regular basis, we've come to see Boise State's program as pretty remarkable.

But it is this time of the year, when the NFL Draft hardly deigns to acknowledge the Broncos' existence, that you really scratch your head and marvel at what they have going on up there in the mountains.

If you caught any of the recent draft you might have seen players from all the powers — Stillman, Monmouth, Western Ontario (Canada), West Texas A&M and, yes, even St. Paul's of Virginia — get selected. But, heavens to Mel Kiper Jr., not a one from Boise.

Yet, the Broncos, you might recall, went 12-1 (8-0 in the WAC) and finished 11th in The Associated Press poll. And, were the only team in the Top 25 without a player drafted. The schools ahead of them averaged 5.4 players taken.

There are lessons galore to be learned here for the rest of the WAC. Especially when it comes to maximizing potential and carving a niche.

It was the second time in five years and third in six the pros declined to invest so much as a pick in the Broncos. Over those five years, while Boise State was going 38-2 in the WAC and winning four conference titles, it had only seven players drafted.

So, either the well-financed NFL hasn't done its homework or the Bronco coaches really have. We bet it is the latter with Boise State not only doing a good job of assessing potential and developing it but putting the players it does get in a system that makes the most of their abilities.

On the flip side, there is Fresno State, which leads the WAC with 12 players drafted over the five-year span, but hasn't had a share of a conference title to show for all that talent. UH, meanwhile, has had 10 taken and a (2007) WAC title.

As if recruiting to Boise might not have been tough enough, you'd think the proven paucity of NFL draft interest would have further complicated the Broncos' efforts to roundup championship-caliber talent.

Instead, it is almost as if the Broncos have turned this seeming setback into a resounding plus, attracting players who invest and thrive in the team concept while subordinating egos and pro expectations. They identify players with a something-to-prove mentality and provide the means to do it.

They've done it so well and so consistently over the years that they are now able to sell prospects on the opportunity to be part of an expanding tradition. And playing on that blue field, of course.

Even if they might rarely hear NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell say their names on draft weekend.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.