Boise State spring football preview: Former walk-on emerges as key linebacker

Phelps made nine starts at linebacker last year

Boise State linebacker Boen Phelps (left). | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

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 and defensive line and will now move on to the linebacker room. 

Linebackers 

Boise State has a Marco Notarainni-sized hole to fill in the middle of its defense.

Notarainni, a first-team all-Mountain West selection in 2024, started all 14 games for the Broncos last season and finished with 77 total tackles—second on the team behind safety Ty Benefield—and 2.5 sacks. The 6-foot-3, 240-pound Notarainni could be selected in the 2026 NFL Draft. 

Senior-to-be Jake Ripp is the top candidate to replace Notarainni at middle linebacker. Ripp appeared in all 14 games with six starts last year and recorded 43 total tackles (three for loss). 

Former walk-on Boen Phelps earned the starting role at weakside linebacker during his sophomore season. Phelps finished last year with 66 total tackles (four for loss) while also playing a team-high 233 snaps on special teams. 

“He’s had a huge impact on this team,” Danielson said of Phelps. “Defensively, special teams, every week in and week out, he’s one of our best practice players. There’s no mystical formula to why he’s playing at the high level, he’s playing at a high level because he practices that way.”

Logan Brantley, a transfer from Kansas, could also be in the linebacker rotation next year. 

While Notarainni, Phelps and Ripp all had solid seasons in 2025, tackling remained an issue for the linebacker room—and the entire defense. 

“First and foremost, we’re going to continue to research tackling and figure out are we over-teaching it, are we over-repping it?,” Danielson said. “We’re going to get with some NFL guys and (see) how they teach it in this landscape where you can’t tackle bodies to the ground all the time. We have to find a way to improve that part of it.”