3 Boise State football players under the most pressure entering fall camp

Broncos going for fourth straight conference title in Year 1 of reborn Pac-12

Maddux Madsen | Boise State Athletics

Boise State’s quest for a fourth straight conference title will officially begin on Monday with the opening of fall camp. 

The Broncos, who officially joined the Pac-12 on July 1 alongside fellow Mountain West alumni Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State, closed their MWC run with a three-peat. Boise State reached the College Football Playoff in 2024 and finished 9-5 overall last year after falling to Washington in the LA Bowl. 

Here are the three Broncos under the most pressure to perform in 2026 heading into fall camp. 

Quarterback Maddux Madsen

There’s not a lot left to say about Madsen, a returning two-year starter who has won plenty of games through up-and-down performances. 

Madsen, an undersized quarterback at 5-foot-10 and 207 pounds, enters his final college season with a 20-6 overall record as a starter. For his career, Madsen is 507 of 834 passing (61 percent) for 6,586 yards with 61 total touchdowns—50 passing, 11 rushing—and 18 interceptions.

Madsen missed three full games and large portions of two others due to injury as a junior and finished the year 176 of 302 (58 percent) for 2,334 yards with 18 TDs and nine picks. 

The Broncos are counting on Madsen to stay healthy and be more consistent this fall to supplement the team’s dominant running game. 

Offensive tackle Daylon Metoyer

A part-time player during Boise State’s CFP run in 2024, Metoyer won the starting right tackle job in fall camp last year and made 13 starts. He had a rough opening game at South Florida with two penalties and seven pressures allowed that set the tone for his junior season.

Metoyer led the team with 37 pressures allowed and ranked second with 10 penalties committed. His overall Pro Football Focus grade of 44.5 was the worst among Boise State’s regular players. 

Simply put, the 6-foot-4, 321-pound Metoyer must be a significantly improved player as a senior.

Defensive lineman Max Stege

In his first year as a starter along Boise State’s defensive line, the 6-foot-4, 269-pound Stege didn’t make a huge impact. Stege recorded 27 total tackles (seven for loss) with half a sack last fall while ranking fourth on the team with 28 quarterback pressures. 

While interior defensive line play remains a concern, the Broncos should be strong on the edges with Jayden Virgin-Morgan, Roman Caywood and Stege applying pressure. 

Boise State needs Stege to emerge as a true pass rush weapon to take some pressure off Virgin-Morgan, a potential Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year candidate.