Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson breaks down final scrimmage of fall camp

‘Our guys have battled,’ Danielson said

Boise State Broncos head coach Spencer Danielson. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Boise State ended the fall camp portion of its 2026 preseason on Saturday with another scrimmage. 

Head coach Spencer Danielson will treat next week as a bonus week of preparation for the team’s Saturday, Sept. 5 opener at second-ranked Oregon. 

“We just finished, really, fall camp. Fall camp scrimmage No. 2 just happened, we had some really good competition,” Danielson said in his post-scrimmage press conference. 

“Our guys have battled, man. We’ve turned the heat up on them this camp—from playing fast, playing smart, playing together, how we tackle, the physicality work in the fronts—and it’s been good. We’ve grown. We’ve still got a lot of things to clean up, there was some sloppiness today in the scrimmage that needs to get fixed. But overall, there was some really good execution.”

Danielson said the offense and defense traded blows throughout the scrimmage. Several offensive players shined in the scrimmage while Roman Tillmon and Jacob Arbuckle II recorded massive interceptions. Arbuckle II, a true freshman, took his pick to the end zone. 

Here are the highlights from Danielson’s press conference. 

On offensive scrimmage stars 

Rasean Jones had a big-time catch for a touchdown. (Quarterback Maddux Madsen) had some big-time throws. He’s been playing at a high level, as he needs to, as we’ve talked about. Dylan Riley had some good runs. Sire Gaines had some good, physical runs down there, especially in the goal line area. Matt Wagner had a big-time catch on third down. Akeem Wright had a big-time catch on the sideline in a scramble drill situation. … Keawe Browne is going to be a really good football player here. I mean, he’s going to play a lot as a true freshman. He had a big catch today, he’s going to make big-time catches. 

On Ben Ford’s availability for Week 1

“I feel really confident that he will be (available). I cannot say 100 percent. I’m confident that it’s going to be really close, but he played in a live practice the other day. We were smart with him today in the scrimmage. As of right now, I feel really confident he’s going to be ready for Oregon. There’s some stuff we still have to work through, though.” 

On biggest changes for fall camp

“There’s a lot of things we made changes to this fall camp to elevate our program, and I’m excited where we’re heading to. … One, the tackling piece. We did a lot of live tackling this camp. … We’re veteran at some positions, but overall we’re a younger team. Me and (athletic director Jeramiah Dickey) have talked, a year from now, we’re going to have 17ish starters back, right? I understand the landscape, but just in regards to where we’re at. So we need to tackle, we need to break tackles. We need to see who can do that. We need more of those. 

“We don’t have a lot of players on our team where ‘Oh, that guy’s had 1,000 reps of college football.’ We don’t have that, and that’s OK. This team is hungry, man. … There’s an urgency and edge about this group that I love, and I’m proud of them. We’ve played a lot of live football this camp, and it’s helped us.”