Boise State’s offensive line ‘exceeded expectations’ in first two games

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — It’s a yearly tradition involving nearly every college football team across the country, when experts and armchair analysts spend time scrutinizing the roster, position group by position group. Boise State is no different.

Wide receivers? Young and exciting. Running backs? A bunch of returning production. Offensive line? … Ehhh, well, let’s see.

The Broncos’ offensive line heading into the 2026 season was composed of one long-term starter, a second-year starter coming off of a season-ending injury, and three players who had not held a starting role at the Division I level.

There were a lot of questions. The left side of the line had to be replaced — including left tackle Kage Casey, drafted in the 4th round of the 2026 NFL Draft — and Mason Randolph, a longtime starter at center, had graduated. Expectations were tempered for the group.

But through two games, the Boise State O-line has been impressive.

“As a group, they’re starting to set a certain standard for themselves,” offensive coordinator Nate Potter said Monday. “They’re starting to build cohesion, a chemistry that’s important at the offensive line position.”

The line has gone up against one of the largest defensive lines in the country at Oregon, and then faced at home a Memphis defense that put huge pressure on opposing QBs through its first two games.

Despite that, the Broncos have allowed only three sacks for a total of 15 yards. Meanwhile, they have opened up huge holes for the rushing attack, which has 450 yards and three touchdowns.

The group is led by fifth-year senior and team captain Roger Carreon, who is leading at a “very, very high level,” head coach Spencer Danielson said. Carreon has played in 37 games since his freshman year in 2022, starting 29 of those.

“It’s been awesome just to see those guys step into those roles and kind of exceeded expectations,” Carreon told the media Tuesday. “I’m proud of the way this group worked in the offseason, and it’s paying off, and it’s all coming to fruition.”

Fifth-year right tackle Daylon Metoyer was the only other returning starter on the O-line heading into 2026, and he came in facing scrutiny. Metoyer suffered an injury in the Mountain West championship game last season and missed the entirety of spring practices as a result. And injury aside, Metoyer faced pressure to clean up his 10 penalties from last season (second-most on the team) and a team-worst 37 pressures allowed.

He was responsible for a false start penalty in the season opener against Oregon, but has otherwise looked sharp and improved.

“Been super proud of the offseason he had,” offensive line coach Tim Keane said on Thursday. “He wasn’t even worried about people complaining about how he’s playing or false starts because he’s like, I’m just not playing at all. … It’s kind of helped him seeing it from that perspective. Now he can be his best.”

There’s also been a lot of praise around sophomore Stewart Taufa, who emerged as the surprise winner of the starting role at center. Pro Football Network graded him as one of the highest-performing centers of Week 2 in Boise State’s 38-20 win over Memphis.

“He’s kind of one of those guys that has that grit about him,” Keane said. “He doesn’t care how tall he is, how big he is; that doesn’t affect him at all. He’s not worried about that. He’s just going every single play and trying to dominate.”