Boise State spring football preview: A deeper, stronger running back room in 2026

Coming off three straight Mountain West championships, Boise State football is about to enter a new era.

Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, Utah State and the Broncos are all leaving the MWC for the Pac-12 this summer. The rebuilt eight-team football conference aims to be an annual College Football Playoff participant with the five MWC schools, current members Oregon State and Washington State and fellow newcomer Texas State of the Sun Belt.

Boise State returns multiple impact players on both sides of the ball and expects to compete for a Pac-12 title in Year 1.

With spring football just around the corner, Boise State Broncos on SI is taking a position-by-position look at head coach Spencer Danielson’s roster heading into the 2026 season.

We kicked off the series with a look at the quarterback room and will now move on to the running backs.

Running backs

In what was a mild surprise, Danielson managed to keep the transfer portal vultures away from Dylan Riley and Sire Gaines, the Broncos’ one-two punch at running back last season.

Riley, a home-run threat, exploded as a sophomore with 195 carries for 1,125 yards and 12 total touchdowns. Gaines served as the power back during his redshirt freshman season and finished with 811 yards on 161 carries with nine total TDs.

Riley topped the 100-yard mark five times last season and had 15 or more touches in eight of Boise State’s 14 games.

“If he doesn’t get enough touches, it’s my fault,” offensive coordinator Nate Potter said of Riley. “And he has too, because he’s one of our most explosive players.”

Gaines ran for a career-high 149 yards and two touchdowns in a November victory over Colorado State. It was his lone 100-yard game of the season.

“He’s a big-time running back,” Danielson said of Gaines. “He’s a hard young man to take down when he’s operating the way he needs to.”

Third-string running back Malik Sherrod (85 carries, 418 yards, six total touchdowns) is off to the NFL. The Broncos also lost running backs Breezy Dubar and Greg Ard to the transfer portal.

To add some depth behind Gaines and Riley, Boise State landed a pair of Power Four running backs from the portal in sophomores-to-be Juelz Goff (Pittsburgh) and Harry Stewart III (Kansas). Goff ran for 270 yards and five touchdowns last season while Stewart III had 98 yards and a TD.

Danielson said the Broncos will remain a run-first team in 2026.

“We are going to be a team that is balanced,” Danielson said. “We are going to run the football, and off of your runs there is play actions and there’s boots. … That’s really, really successful when it’s executed the right way.”