Boise State spring football preview: NFL prospect Jayden Virgin-Morgan leads experienced defensive front

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 and offensive line and will now move on to the defensive line.

Defensive line

The Broncos were relatively green on the defensive line during the 2025 season, but many players who saw significant action are back with the team.

Senior-to-be Jayden Virgin-Morgan projects to be one of the best defensive players in the new Pac-12.

Virgin-Morgan, a two-time all-Mountain West selection, started all 14 games for the Broncos each of the last two seasons. He notched 56 total tackles as a junior while leading the team in tackles for loss (13) and sacks (six).

The 6-foot-3, 260-pound Virgin-Morgan is Boise State’s top NFL Draft prospect.

Defensive end Max Stege, another senior-to-be, also made 14 starts last year. Stege recorded 27 total tackles (seven for loss) during his junior season.

The Broncos must replace star defensive tackle Braxton Fely and depth pieces Dion Washington and Malaki Williams. All three players are out of eligibility.

Junior-to-be Michael Madre could take over for Fely, who had 24 total tackles and 5.5 sacks as a senior. Madre appeared in all 14 games last year and recorded 12 total tackles (1.5 for loss).

David Latu and Lopez Sanusi are both returning players at nose tackle.

Boise State’s next playmaker on the defensive front could be edge rusher Bol Bol, who showed flashes of brilliance as a true freshman. Bol will likely have a bigger role for the Broncos as a sophomore.

Danielson wants to see the Boise State defensive front create more takeaways in 2026.

The Broncos turned the ball over 15 times in their five losses last year while forcing just one.

“Takeaways improved this year, but why did we not create takeaways in our losses?,” Danielson said. “Why are they not coming in some of those games? We’ve got to figure out why.”