Boise State’s top tight end working to be an ‘overall threat’ in 2026

BOSIE (Idaho Statesman) — The Boise State football program’s social media accounts posted a video on Thursday afternoon highlighting junior safety Kyle Hall’s lockdown defense.

Hall is one of the up-and-coming players vying for a starting spot in the Boise State secondary this spring, and his back-shoulder batting down to prevent a completed pass certainly won’t go unnoticed.

The stop was even more impressive considering it was against the Broncos’ presumed new starting tight end, redshirt junior Matt Wagner.

“The ball’s a little behind,” Wagner said with a laugh on Thursday afternoon. “But he made a good play coming back on it.”

That play is the exact sort of moment Wagner wants to experience this spring as he steps into the shoes of three-year starter Matt Lauter, who played his final season of college football last year.

Wagner has already established himself as a solid blocking tight end over the past two years, but he wants to develop into something that made Lauter stand out: a high-end pass catcher.

“I want to be considered an overall threat,” Wagner said. “You can see me in the slot, wide out, in line, blocking at the end, winning a one-on-one rep against the safety. I want to be able to do all those types of things for the team.”

Wagner totaled 251 receiving yards on 24 catches in 2026, including a career-high five receptions for 69 yards at Utah State, the game in which he also scored his first career touchdown.

To achieve that goal, he said the new mentality surrounding Boise State’s spring practices this year is helping immensely. The players were already in pads on practice two of spring and have been placing a strong emphasis on highlighting one-on-one plays. Several times through practice, head coach Spencer Danielson will call out two players and have them play a one-on-one rep as the rest of the team watches. That’s what was happening when Hall was playing defense on Wagner.

“It creates a big environment for the guys, where let’s see how you can handle a route under pressure,” Wagner said. “… When you get 100 eyes looking at you one-on-one, to see who can make a play, that’s how we find out who our real playmakers are.”

Wagner isn’t just using these one-on-one opportunities as a chance to show off, though. He said he has several specific things he’s working on this spring regarding his route running, chief among those being how he finishes.

He said on Thursday that he wants to accelerate out of the end of a route more quickly, which will help him create separation and get away from defenders after the catch.

“You’ve got guys within five yards trying to shoot you off your route,” Wagner said. “And being able to release off those guys and be fluid, be smooth, and just get around those guys and be able to run the route to the right timing for the quarterback.” Wagner also said he wants to improve his pass-catching ability against man coverage and “snapping off” defenders at the second level, where the opposition linebackers typically play.

“It comes down to the fundamentals, and being able to get live reps,” Wagner said. “… We have some great DBs, and I’m excited to compete with those guys this year.”