BOISE - They call you benchwarmer. They call you teammate, backup, second string. At Boise State, they also call you ready.

It's a brave concept, the strategy the BSU coaching staff employs: equality in coaching. Across the board, the coaches try to give every football player equal attention in practice and in film study, so they are all ready to get in the game. The next opportunity:Saturday's 2 p.m. matchup with Western Athletic Conference foe Nevada.

"They always want you to be ready," linebacker Hunter White said. "Even if you're not going to play, they still want you ready like you're going to play the whole game. You get your reps in practice like you're going to start."

White has mainly made his mark, like many BSU backups, on special teams, where he made a couple of tackles against Idaho. During that game, White also played middle linebacker and tied George Iloka for the team lead with eight tackles.

White switched to middle linebacker from outside linebacker, where he has played his whole life, when Derrell Acrey suffered a minor injury two weeks ago. The coaching staff just wanted another guy ready at the position in case Acrey could not go.

White has 17 tackles this season, 1.5 for a loss - numbers that don't exactly sing from the rooftops. But those are 17 tackles that stopped runners in their tracks.

"All across the board guys step up when others get hurt," White said. "We rotate nine linemen. We have six linebackers. We have a bunch of DBs. We have depth, which is nice. It's unfortunate that guys get hurt, but at least we know the guys who are rotating in can pick up the flag."

The saying "pick up the flag" goes beyond Civil War-era warfare. If the flag-bearer was slain, someone had to pick the Stars and Stripes off the ground and lead the unit into battle, carrying that flag, the whole reason for the fight.

Quarterback Michael Coughlin is in a tight spot. He is the third-string quarterback, a sophomore playing behind a freshman. There is a chance he may never start a game at BSU. But the coaching staff has found ways to keep Coughlin involved in the offense. He is probably the best running quarterback the Broncos have on the roster, so they're letting him run the read option.

BSU used Coughlin in short-yardage and goal-line situations, where the option increases the possibility to score. The Broncos ran a 5-wide quarterback draw a handful of times this season, and against Utah State they faked it and let Coughlin throw a touchdown pass to Austin Pettis.

Coughlin has only completed 3 of 5 passes this year, with a touchdown and seven total carries for five yards, nothing flashy. He is one of five Broncos to throw a touchdown pass this season.

"You just want to get in the game," Coughlin said. "We're doing whatever we can to help this offense be the best that it can. Everyone's gotta be ready. Pete always talks about carrying the flag. If one guy goes down, you gotta step in."

Dustin Lapray covers Boise State football for the Times-News. Read his blog at Magicvalley.com/blogs/bsu.