Here’s what Boise State’s defense looks like after two weeks of fall camp

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — After two weeks of fall camp, Boise State football’s 2025 roster is starting to take shape.

With just one week of camp remaining, and the Broncos’ season-opening trip to South Florida on Aug. 28 quickly approaching, here’s where each position group on the defense, as well as special teams, stands:

Interior linemen

Boise State almost lost all four of its top interior linemen from 2024 before senior defensive tackle Braxton Fely withdrew from the transfer portal. The other three main contributors all graduated.

Three transfers are expected to slot into the interior: redshirt seniors Dion Washington (Hawaii) and Keanu Mailoto (Arizona), and redshirt junior David Latu (BYU).

Junior defensive end Max Stege said he loves playing alongside Washington because he “sees a lot of cheats” and can read the offensive tackles.

Washington appeared in all 12 games for Hawaii last year and played in 27 games for Nevada in the three years before that.

Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson said Thursday that Latu is “rolling” and Mailoto recently had one of his best practices in short-yardage goal-line situations, but needs to improve his physicality at the point of attack. Danielson also said that redshirt sophomore Michael Madrie will return from an injury next week and is expected to be in the mix.

Defensive end and edge

Redshirt junior edge rusher Jayden Virgin-Morgan returns as the team’s sack leader, racking up 10 sacks last season. The competition comes on the other side of the defensive line in replacing defensive end Ahmed Hassanein, who was drafted by the Detroit Lions.

Junior Max Stege seems to be the easy choice, having played in all 14 games last season as Hassanein’s backup. Danielson said in late July that Stege has “taken the torch” from Hassanein at the defensive end position.

Two transfers will also have the chance to back up Jayden Virgin-Morgan at edge — redshirt junior Sterling Lane II (Arizona) and redshirt senior Malakai Williams (Idaho).

Linebackers

Redshirt senior captain Marco Notarainni will retain his spot as the starting middle linebacker, but with the transfer of Andrew Simpson to North Carolina, the spot next to him is wide open.

Danielson said ahead of fall camp that there will be “rotation” at the position. He said that redshirt junior Jake Ripp has “worked his tail off” and is ready to start — Ripp was briefly training as an edge rusher last season but has switched back to linebacker with the departure of Simpson. He had a game-high two sacks for nine yards in the spring game, playing both positions.

Sophomore Clay Martineu and junior Chase Martin are in the mix, too. However, Danielson mentioned that redshirt sophomore Boen Phelps moved from safety to linebacker in the spring and has had an excellent fall camp, with Danielson mentioning he’s playing “really fast.”

The competition to start alongside Notarainni will likely go all the way up to the opener.

Secondary

The Broncos return a lot of experience in their secondary, led by junior safety Ty Benefield, senior corner Jeramiah Earby, redshirt senior safety Zion Washington and redshirt senior corner A’Marion McCoy.

So much returning talent is pushing the Broncos to play more nickel defense in 2025, with redshirt senior Davon Banks and redshirt junior Jaden Mickey, a transfer from Notre Dame, competing to start at nickel.

Mickey has been taking most of his snaps in camp at nickel, defensive coordinator Erik Chinander said, while Banks had a sack blitzing out of nickel in the fall scrimmage. Redshirt sophomore Derek Ganter, a transfer from Eastern Washington, has also impressed playing boundary safety. He hauled in the only interception of Thursday’s scrimmage.

Special teams

There’ll be some new faces on special teams in 2025 following the transfer of punter James Ferguson-Reynolds and the graduation of kicker Jonah Dalmas.

Junior Oscar Doyle, a transfer from Weber State, is the only punter listed on the roster, giving the coaching staff an easy decision. However, the competition at kicker is still open — redshirt junior transfer Colton Boomer (UCF) was the presumptive replacement for Dalmas, but special teams coach Stacy Collins said last week that redshirt junior Jarrett Reeser has “worked his tail off,” and with a slight injury to Boomer this fall, there’s still “good competition.”

Elsewhere, Danielson and Collins have repeatedly said that redshirt senior Mason Hutton has the potential to be one of the best long snappers in the country.

Redshirt sophomore defensive back Cole Miller has been practicing as the holder.

The Broncos’ returner could go several ways. Sixth-year wide receiver Latrell Caples and sophomore running back Dylan Riley split much of the returns in 2024, with Caples ending the season as the primary returner. However, sixth-year transfer running back Malik Sherrod was initially brought in to be the returner on special teams — he had a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against Boise State in 2023 — and could find himself returning for the Broncos in 2025.