Boise State spring football preview: Who will lead the Broncos at wide receiver in 2026?

Broncos lost top three receivers from last year’s team

Boise State Broncos wide receiver Ben Ford. | Michael Caterina-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 taken a look at the quarterbacks and running backs and will now move on to the wide receiver room.  

Wide receivers 

Boise State’s top three wide receivers from last season have all moved on. 

Latrell Caples (51 receptions, 617 yards, three touchdowns) and Chase Penry (30 receptions, 394 yards, one TD) are out of eligibility, while Chris Marshall (30 receptions, 574 yards, two TDs) transferred to Arkansas. 

The Broncos do return sixth-year senior Ben Ford, who caught 21 passes for 325 yards and five touchdowns before suffering a season-ending lower leg injury in a mid-October victory over UNLV. 

Boise State Broncos wide receiver Ben Ford (82). | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Cameron Bates, a junior-to-be, is likely to slide into a starting role alongside Ford. Bates had 17 receptions for 302 yards (averaging nearly 18 yards per catch) and one TD last year. 

Southern University transfer Darren Morris is also a candidate to start at receiver. Morris has one year of eligibility remaining and enters the Boise State program with 77 career receptions for 1,256 yards and nine touchdowns. 

The Broncos also brought in Akeem Wright from De Anza College.

Wright dominated during his two seasons at the junior college level with 112 receptions for 2,137 yards and 25 touchdowns in 22 games. He notched 59 catches for 1,173 yards and 12 touchdowns last season en route to Golden Coast Conference Offensive Player of the Year honors. 

The coaching staff is high on incoming four-star prep recruit Terrious Favors and sophomore-to-be Quinton Brown, who notched six catches for 122 yards and two TDs as a true freshman.  

Head coach Spencer Danielson said the Broncos’ passing game must grow in 2026. 

“There needs to be much more detail in regards to the concepts we run, the reads, how we’re doing it, how we’re attacking it,” Danielson said. “And this is on both sides, players and coaches.”