Boise State quarterback opens up on hateful social media messages

‘I hope you and your family all die'

Boise State Broncos quarterback Maddux Madsen. | Michael Caterina-Imagn Images

It’s been a topsy-turvy junior season for Boise State quarterback Maddux Madsen. 

Madsen, the 2025 Mountain West Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, played poorly in the Broncos’ (4-2, 2-0) losses to South Florida and Notre Dame. One week before throwing a career-worst four interceptions against the Irish, Madsen passed for a career-high 321 yards and four touchdowns in a victory over Appalachian State. 

Entering Saturday’s matchup with undefeated UNLV (6-0, 2-0), Madsen has completed 122 of 200 passes (61 percent) for 1,570 yards with 11 touchdowns and five interceptions this season. Madsen ranks 80th nationally among qualified passers with a QBR of 55.1, far below his 75.1 QBR as a sophomore. 

During his run of inconsistent play, Madsen has received ample criticism on social media from Boise State fans. Some of the comments and direct messages have been unimaginably cruel, Madsen said on Wednesday. 

“Not death threats … but there’s people that are like ‘I hope you and your family all die,’” Madsen said. “I’m like, don’t bring my family into it. There’s some deep stuff. It’s heartbreaking that someone wants to come at me and say those things, but … it’s not something that I take in and really spend time thinking about.”

Madsen recalled seeing hate messages that previous Boise State quarterbacks Hank Bachmeier and Taylen Green received during his early days with the Broncos. 

“Those guys’ direct messages were brutal, and when I was a little freshman reading them, I was like ‘Oh my goodness, I hope I never have to experience it.’ But here I am, I experience it,” Madsen said. “I get to open my phone to 50-some odd messages of how bad of a football player I am, but the week before it’s the same people that tell me how good I was. 

Sep 20, 2025; Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA; Boise State Broncos quarterback Maddux Madsen (4) before the game against the Air Force Falcons at Falcon Stadium. | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

“That’s just the joyous part of playing the position. Honestly, my mom, she’s a savior when it comes to that stuff. She completely gets off social media because it breaks her heart reading stuff, but she’s the first one to tell me and grab my phone and delete stuff just so I don’t have the opportunity to read it.”

Hate messages aside, Madsen understands that quarterbacks will always receive more than their fair share of criticism. 

“You win, it’s on you. If you lose, it’s on you. And that’s the best part about it,” Madsen said. “As a person, I feel like I’m very good at not letting that stuff get to me.”

Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson has regularly defended Madsen over the last two seasons. 

“However a game goes, the first finger gets pointed at the head coach — as it should — and then usually people try to nitpick the starting quarterback,” Danielson said after the Notre Dame game. “I don’t care where you’re at, who you are, that’s football in general. 

“Maddux Madsen is a warrior. I will go to war with Maddux Madsen any day of the week. There’s not a quarterback in the country that I would like to be the quarterback of our team (more) than Maddux Madsen. Period, end of story.”