Boise State spring football preview: Broncos have question marks in defensive backfield

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 have already broken down the quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, tight ends, offensive line, defensive line and linebackers and will now move on to the defensive back room.

Defensive backs

Boise State’s secondary play took a big step forward during the 2025 season.

After ranking 106th out of 133 FBS teams in 2024 at 241.4 passing yards allowed per game, the Broncos jumped all the way up to No. 15 nationally last year at 175.6 yards allowed.

The Boise State secondary will look quite a bit different next fall as starting cornerbacks A’Marion McCoy and Jeremiah Earby and safety Zion Washington are all out of eligibility. Fellow safety Ty Benefield—the Broncos’ leading tackler last year—transferred to LSU, leaving Boise State with four starting slots to fill in the back end.

Senior-to-be Jaden Mickey is a returning starter at nickelback. Mickey transferred in from Notre Dame last offseason and made 11 starts as a junior, finishing with 38 total tackles (seven for loss).

“I like his mentality,” Danielson said of Mickey. “I like how he comes to work every day. I like how he preps. Very, very smart football player. He understands defensive play, he understands adjustments, and he understands leverage.”

Returning cornerbacks Demetrius Freeney Jr. and Sherrod Smith both made two starts apiece last year after McCoy underwent season-ending knee surgery. JeRico Washington Jr., a transfer from Kennesaw State, was an all-Conference USA performer who could also push for playing time.

Derek Ganter Jr. was a key reserve last year who is expected to slide into a starting role at safety. Ganter Jr. earned FCS freshman all-America honors during the 2024 season while playing for Eastern Washington.

Roman Tillmon, a transfer from South Dakota, is a top candidate to take over for Benefield.

The Broncos also have a new defensive backs coach in Terrence Brown, who was previously at California. Boise State lost cornerbacks coach Demario Warren (BYU) and safeties coach Tyler Stockton (Michigan) last month.