What Spencer Danielson said about Boise State’s first spring scrimmage, offensive and defensive standouts

Throughout spring practice, Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson has placed a heightened emphasis on three things: play fast, play smart and play together.

“Because I know if we can play faster, smarter and more together than every team we play, we’re going to win every single game we do that in,” Danielson said on Saturday following Boise State’s first spring practice scrimmage. The Broncos will hold their annual spring game on Saturday, April 25 at Albertsons Stadium.

“Are there going to be intricacies? Stopping the run, running the football, red zone touchdowns … absolutely. But I’m making sure that the mentality that we play with is there, because I learned that you can’t fix that later on. We’ve got to get that right now, and that’s what I’m really proud of.”

Here are the highlights from Danielson’s post-scrimmage comments.

On defensive line scrimmage standouts

“I think (edge rusher) Jayden-Virgin Morgan has had a really good spring. How he’s trained through January, February, early March, how he’s playing. He’s playing at a high level. It’s cool to see his leadership, but he’s just playing really, really hard. Him and (tight end) Matt Wagner going at it every day in practice—Matt Wagner is having a great spring—having that battle, I mean that’s one of the best battles you’re going to have on the West Coast. That’s going to make them better, that’s going to make our whole team better.

“(Defensive tackle) David Latu is healthy, having a really good spring. Mikaio (Edward), a Central Washington transfer, he is one of the most explosive players on our entire team. He is a football guy and he is going to have a huge role in what we do defensively here. And Michael Madrie has continued to grow and step up. His consistency is growing, which is the biggest thing for him.”

On offensive line standouts

“Tyler Ethridge, our left tackle who transferred in from (Colorado State-Pueblo), has immersed himself in our culture, and he’s done a really good job. He’s getting the (first-team) left tackle reps for us, and that battle with him, Jayden Virgin-Morgan, Bol Bol, there are some really good matchups there on the edges, and he’s done a really good job.

“Zander Esty is another new player to our team, an interior offensive lineman, who has done a really good job. Stewart Taufa, our center … he is a really, really good football player. …Our offensive line is getting a ton of reps right now, and they aren’t batting an eye, they are competing. The mentality of our team is going to be in our fronts, and it’s really cool to see the back-and-forth that’s happening there.”

On wide receiver standouts

“(True freshman) Rasean Jones … that dude’s a football guy and his future is extremely bright here on The Blue. He’s a phenomenal young man and he’s going to have a huge role this season, and can’t wait to see him continue to grow.

“Akeem Wright, he came here and his first workout, he could barely even get through, and he continued to stay in it workout after workout after workout. Hasn’t missed anything … and he’s a football guy, too.”

On new-look 2026 team

“Our team is practicing really, really hard. There’s an edge to our team. Are we there yet? Absolutely not. I cannot wait for Monday’s team meeting to continue to clean things up and grow, but we’ve got a great group. The players that we brought in—freshmen, the couple transfers we have—and our returners, I mean this is the closest team that we’ve had. But we still have a long way to go.”