Can Boise State’s safety room survive losses to NFL, transfer portal?

Boise State position unit grades: Safeties

Boise State safety Ty Benefield transferred to LSU during the offseason. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Next week, Boise State will officially leave the Mountain West for the Pac-12 alongside Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State. 

In the lead-up to the move, Boise State Broncos On SI has given out grades to each position group on offense, defense and special teams. 

We have already awarded grades to the quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, tight ends, offensive line, defensive line, linebackers and cornerbacks and will now move on to the safeties. 

Safeties

Boise State had excellent safety play last season with Ty Benefield and Zion Washington holding down the fort. 

Benefield, a first-team all-MWC selection, led the team with 105 total tackles while also recording three pass breakups, two interceptions, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Washington ranked third on the team with 66 total tackles.

Washington exhausted his eligibility and is now hoping to make an NFL roster while Benefield transferred to LSU, leaving Boise State with two big holes to fill in the back end. 

One of the starting spots is likely to be filled by Derek Ganter Jr., who appeared in all 14 games last season with two starts. Ganter Jr., an FCS All-American two years ago during his time at Eastern Washington,  notched 27 total tackles as a sophomore for the Broncos. 

Ganter Jr. said the rebuilt secondary made significant progress during spring practice under new defensive backs coach Terrence Brown. 

“It’s high intensity,” Ganter Jr. said in his press conference after the spring game. “We are harping on like little things … like it’s a whole new room. So, we get to make our standard. We get to set new goals and we’re going at everything brand new.”

Brown emphasized tackling with the safeties and cornerbacks during spring practice. 

A season ago, four of Boise State’s five secondary starters had a missed tackle rate of 19 percent or above. Ganter Jr. ranked among the team’s best tacklers with a missed tackle rate of 8.8 percent. 

“One of the things that is a consistent theme in terms of missed tackles is you see guys leaving their feet,” Brown told local media during the spring. “We want to make sure we get on contact. We want to really step on the ball carrier’s toes, and we want to continue to drive our feet on contact.”

Sophomore Travis Anderson is the frontrunner to start opposite Ganter Jr. Anderson appeared in all 14 games a season ago in a reserve role. 

Junior Roman Tillmon, a transfer from South Dakota, could be in the mix at safety or function as Boise State’s primary nickelback. 

Final unit grade: B

Closing analysis: Replacing Benefield and Washington will be difficult, but the Broncos are in good shape at safety entering the Pac-12.