Boise State lands potential replacement for SEC-bound safety in transfer portal

Boise State has been active during the 2026 college football offseason, adding 18 transfers from the Division I, Division II and junior college ranks.

With spring practice set to begin next month, Boise State Broncos on SI is taking a look at the five transfer portal additions who are most likely to make an immediate impact as the Broncos transition from the Mountain West to the Pac-12.

The reborn Pac-12, which released its 2026 football schedule earlier this month, will be comprised of current members Oregon State and Washington State, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State of the MWC and Texas State of the Sun Belt. West Coast Conference power Gonzaga is also joining as a non-football member.

We have already covered running back Juelz Goff, wide receiver Akeem Wright, safety Kyle Hall and offensive lineman Tyler Ethridge during our instant-impact transfer series. We will wrap things up with a breakdown of another potential starter in the secondary.

Roman Tillmon, safety (South Dakota)

As previously covered in the Kyle Hall feature, Boise State has several holes to fill in the secondary heading into the 2026 season.

Multi-year starting cornerbacks A’Marion McCoy and Jeremiah Earby and safety Zion Washington are all out of eligibility. Leading tackler Ty Benefield—another starting safety—transferred to LSU, leaving the Broncos with four starting spots to fill in the back end.

With two openings at safety, the Broncos hit the transfer market to land Hall and South Dakota’s Roman Tillmon.

The 5-foot-11, 185-pound Tillmon was a breakout performer for the Coyotes last season, ranking second on the team with 94 total tackles. His 45 solo tackles shared for the team lead.

Tillmon also notched 2.5 tackles for loss, six pass breakups and a forced fumble during his redshirt sophomore season.

An unheralded two-star prospect coming out of Missouri’s Fort Osage High School, Tillmon made six appearances as a true freshman in 2023—including two FCS playoff games—and redshirted.

Tillmon played in all 14 games with three starts the following year before blossoming into one of South Dakota’s top defensive players.

247Sports lists Tillmon as the No. 738 overall player in the transfer portal and the No. 71 safety. He is rated a three-star portal prospect.

With three seasons of experience at the FCS level, Tillmon projects as a plug-and-play starter in a Boise State secondary that returns just one starter from last season: nickelback Jaden Mickey.