Which Boise State football players could enter the transfer portal if they can’t earn starting jobs in 2026?

Broncos lost multiple key players to the transfer portal last cycle

Boise State's Sire Gaines | Boise State Athletics

Following last weekend’s final scrimmage of fall camp, Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson noted that several starting jobs were still up for grabs entering the Broncos’ Week 1 showdown with No. 2 Oregon. 

Boise State is expected to have multiple transfer portal additions scattered throughout its two-deep. The Broncos added 19 transfers last cycle while losing 18, including Power Four starters Ty Benefield (LSU), Chris Marshall (Arkansas) and Hall Schmidt (UCLA).

Here are three Boise State players who could enter the transfer portal if they are unable to secure starting jobs or major roles this season. 

Cam Bates, junior, wide receiver

The 5-foot-10, 180-pound Bates is one of Boise State’s biggest boom-or-bust candidates for the 2026 season. 

Bates appeared in all 14 games last year with eight starts and largely disappointed, catching 17 passes for 302 yards and one touchdown. He had five total drops with a drop rate of 23 percent, one of the worst percentages in the country. 

Head coach Spencer Danielson has praised Bates’ leadership following the 2025 season, but the third-year junior speedster is fighting for playing time in a crowded wide receiver room. 

If Bates is unable to finally break through this fall, he could hit the transfer portal in search of a new home. 

Syncere Brackett-Lambey, sophomore, linebacker 

A lightly recruited linebacker from California powerhouse Corona Centennial High School, Brackett-Lambey became a special teams stalwart for Boise State as a true freshman last season. Brackett-Lambey played 89 special teams snaps and recorded two total tackles. 

The 6-foot-2, 232-pound Brackett-Lambey, arguably the most athletic linebacker on the roster, entered spring practice as a potential starter alongside Boen Phelps. But Brackett-Lambey has been passed on the depth chart by Kansas transfer Logan Brantley and fellow sophomore Mana Tuioti. 

Brackett-Lambey could choose to look elsewhere if he is unable to secure a defensive role in 2026. 

Sire Gaines, sophomore, running back 

This one is a bit trickier as Gaines and fellow returnee Dylan Riley are expected to share the load again this season. Gaines had 161 carries for 811 yards and nine total touchdowns last year while Riley topped the 1,000-yard mark with 12 total scores. 

Gaines has spoken positively of the two-headed monster approach and predicted a 1,000-yard season for both backs during spring practice. 

But if Gaines decides he wants to be the clear No. 1 running back as a redshirt junior, many Power Four programs would throw big money at the powerful 6-foot, 220-pound bruiser.