Dishawn Misa bringing pro-level football IQ to Boise State: ‘I forgot I was talking to a high school kid’

Dishawn Misa’s understanding of what’s happening on every blade of grass on the football field stood out to Eastside Catholic defensive coordinator Marcus Ungaro. 

As Ungaro adjusted to coaching the high school game after spending seven seasons on the New Orleans Saints’ defensive staff, he quickly found his eyes and ears on the field in Misa, a 6-foot-3, 225-pound linebacker.

“I had to take myself back ever once in awhile and really appreciate it,” Ungaro said. “I forgot I was talking to a high school kid.”

That’s what Boise State fans are getting when Misa, a four-star per Rivals and 247 Sports, signs his national letter of intent on Wednesday afternoon at Eastside Catholic High School on the first day of the early NCAA football signing period. 

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A four-year starter at linebacker, Misa was a part of a star-studded run that produced 3A championships his freshman and sophomore years. 

He fielded nine Pac-12 offers, but when it came time to make a decision, familiarity with the coaching staff won out and he picked the Broncos over Utah on Friday, canceling a visit to Salt Lake City with his family this upcoming weekend. 

During Misa’s sophomore year, Eastside Catholic had as many as eight future Division I prospects in the lineup, including four of the state’s top seven 2020 prospects and the No. 1 player in the class of 2021 nationally, according to 247 Sports. 

He said watching teammates like Gee Scott Jr. and J.T. Tuimoloau (both now at Ohio State) go through the recruiting process helped him learn the value of taking your time, and finding the right fit.

“A lot of recruits think of the bigger schools as a better stop for them,” Misa said. “For me, my choice was based on fit, and of all the schools I fit best at Boise.”

There was built-in familiarity with Boise State. It defensive backs coach Jeron Johnson was Eastside Catholic’s defensive backs coach in 2018 and the school’s strength and agility teacher when Misa was an underclassman. Broncos head coach Andy Avalos first met Misa at a Boise State camp going into his freshman year, when Avalos was the team's defensive coordinator.

Misa connected with defensive coordinator Spencer Danielson through film review. Danielson showed Misa some of the Broncos’ blitzes and formations, which Misa said are similar to what he’s run at Eastside Catholic, one of the state’s most suffocating defenses this past fall.

Danielson asked Misa for his favorite play. During Danielson, Avalos and Johnson’s recent home visit when Misa committed, Danielson opened his computer and showed a comparable play Boise State’s defense runs, where they line up slightly differently, but run the same gap shoots post-snap. 

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“The relationships I have with the coaches I feel will translate good into learning the scheme over there,” Misa said.

There will be more home state familiarity in his signing class, too, with Tumwater tight end Austin Terry and Peninsula offensive tackle Hall Schmidt also 2022 pledges.

Misa grew up up playing defensive end and switched to linebacker as a freshman. Playing under defensive coordinator Rob Christoff — now the outside linebackers coach at San Diego State — he discovered how reliant the team’s defensive success was on every player executing their specific assignment. 

“I had to learn for me to be successful, I had to learn everything around me,” Misa said, “just in case I’m on the field and I see something wrong, I can fix it on the fly.”

He had his best season this fall, leading a suffocating and turnover-forcing defense (14 points per game allowed) that carried the Crusaders to the 3A state semifinals. The Crusaders allowed 2.08 yards per rush, held seven teams under 150 yards of offense, flipped nine defensive touchdowns and forced 31 turnovers — including a Misa scoop-and-score against O'Dea.

He had a knack for quickly correcting players who are lined up wrong pre-snap, whether they were up in front of him on the defensive line or next to him at linebacker. 

The more responsibility Ungaro learned Misa was capable of shouldering, the more he’d put on his shoulders. Ungaro was more willing to rotated less experienced players in high-pressure moments, knowing that Misa and his long-armed, disruptive frame served as the on-field buffer for keeping the defense together.

“There was no possible way I could put too much on Misa because he’s too smart,” Ungaro said. “Once I realized that, it was like, everything’s open, he can handle it.

“When he played, people didn’t score on us. It’s hard to get first downs when Misa’s in the game. It’s impressive, man.”