Boise State football returns this week. These 5 players set to impress in spring

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — For many Boise State football fans, it may feel like the 2025 season just finished a few weeks ago, but blink and you’ll miss it — college football is back underway in Boise.

Boise State begins its spring practices on Thursday, kicking off a five-week camp that will conclude with the spring game on April 25 and signals the start of preparations for the 2026 season.

The Broncos finished the 2025 regular season with an 8-4 record before going on to win a third straight Mountain West Championship and then losing to Washington in the LA Bowl.

After an up-and-down year, head coach Spencer Danielson is looking to stabilize the ship as Boise State heads into its first season in the newly revived Pac-12 Conference.

Boise State has 33 new faces on its 2026 squad — 17 incoming freshmen and 16 college transfers. But if the Broncos are to enjoy continued success in 2026, they’ll be leaning on a group of familiar faces.

As the Broncos head into their first football practices since mid-December, here are the five players who look to make big strides this spring, as well as what Danielson, who met with the media on Monday, has seen from those players in recent months.

Maddux Madsen: Redshirt senior quarterback

Madsen is entering his third and final season as Boise State’s starting quarterback, and while fan opinion surrounding the 5-foot-10 QB is mixed, Danielson described him as a “man on a mission.” Danielson also added that Madsen is back to full health after an ankle injury forced him to miss three games down the stretch last season and to exit early in the LA Bowl.

“I’ve had some coaches come to practice and watch, and they’re like, ‘That dude’s different’ in how he’s training, how he’s moving,” Danielson said Monday.

Madsen’s primary struggles last season came when the offensive line was overwhelmed against a dominant pass rush, often causing him to scramble out of the pocket quickly.

Just two starters return to the offensive line next season — right guard Roger Carreon and right tackle Daylon Metoyer — meaning Madsen and the coaching staff will have to get to work quickly to secure him more time in the pocket and get receivers open downfield.

Luckily for Madsen, for the first time in his college career, both his offensive coordinator (Nate Potter) and quarterback coach (Zak Hill) are returning for a second-straight season.

“It’s huge having (Madsen’s) quarterback and play caller coordinator back,” Danielson said. “Because they’ve already been able to have really good conversations about where they’re going to be able to grow to.”

Sire Gaines: Redshirt sophomore running back

Gaines and junior Dylan Riley are expected to be the Broncos’ two-headed monster at running back in 2026, with Danielson saying on Monday he plans to split RB1 reps 50/50 between the pair during spring practices.

Riley led the running back room with 1,274 total yards and 12 touchdowns last season, but Gaines was just behind him with 883 total yards and nine touchdowns.

While both are sure to play a big part next season, Gaines is entering his third season as a contributor, and Danielson named him as one of the guys who’s stepped into a leadership role in recent months.

“(Gaines) needs to continue to grow, but I’ve really seen the edge he trains with,” Danielson said.

Gaines has the potential to be a regular 100-yard rushing contributor, but he managed it just once last season (149 yards vs. Colorado State), as he often struggled to find gaps and make big plays. But if the coaching staff wants to take some of the pressure off Madsen next season, they’ll need Gaines to offer the type of explosive threat that’ll keep defenses guessing.

Cameron Bates: Junior wide receiver

Bates is set for a breakout year in 2026 as he steps into an upperclassman role among a wide-receiver room that’s primarily composed of transfers and underclassmen.

Bates had the second-most receiving yards (301) among returning receivers from last season and is beaten only by sixth-year wide receiver Ben Ford (325 yards), who is continuing to recover from a torn ACL.

While a total of just 301 yards may not seem like a lot, Bates showed top-level route-running talent down the stretch last season as well as an electric speed that let him capitalize on multiple jet sweeps and end-around handoffs.

“He is a no-bad-days, anything for the team guy,” Danielson said. “… when we do our winter conditioning, we have drills, and everything’s graded. I think he won almost every rep he did. He’s moving at an explosive rate.”

The Broncos’ wide-receiver room is bolstered with upperclassmen transfers such as senior Akeem Wright (De Anza College) and redshirt senior Darren Morris (Southern University), but expect Madsen to form a familial connection with Bates early on.

Jaden Mickey: Redshirt senior defensive back

Mickey is entering just his second season with the Broncos, having transferred to Boise State from Notre Dame ahead of the 2025 season, but he’s already worked himself into a standout leader position among the secondary.

“I’m seeing (Mickey) with some of our younger guys and new players, pulling them higher,” Danielson said.

Boise State lost a lot of experience in its secondary following the 2025 season, but Mickey looks set to thrive in his final year at the college level. New Boise State defensive backs coach Terrence Brown cited flexibility and versatility as two of the most valuable aspects in a player, and Mickey can slot in at both nickel and field corner.

“He’s one of the best cover guys on the West Coast,” Danielson said. “Jaden Mickey can flat out cover, so we’re going to move him around.”

His 38 total tackles rank him first among returning secondary players, and with no other starters returning to the secondary in 2026, fans will be hearing Mickey’s name a lot more in the coming months.

Boen Phelps: Redshirt junior linebacker

Danielson said on Monday that he needs his linebacker group to improve in 2026 — the unit was often at fault in 2025 for allowing opposing players to break the second, and sometimes third, tackles in the defensive backfield.

Phelps was certainly part of that problem, but Danielson has regularly said that the 215-pound linebacker could be “one of the better linebackers we’ve had here.”

On Monday afternoon, Phelps was the only linebacker that Danielson seemed confident about starting. Phelps will likely slot in at weakside linebacker alongside either sophomore Syncere Brackett-Lambey or junior Logan Brantley, a transfer from Kansas. But as the one player among that group with 14 games under his belt for the Broncos, Phelps looks set to take a big step forward in 2026.

While his lighter frame than that of your average linebacker may cause some concern among fans, Danielson is pleased with the speed and area that Phelps can cover, which he says is becoming a bigger point of emphasis for linebackers in the college game.

“At some point, you have to have the physical to be able to get off blocks and make the physical tackles,” Danielson said. “We need to grow that, but I’ve got to make sure that our linebackers can run and make plays in space.”