Turnover. That’s the word of Spring Camp for Boise State’s defense. It’s a double entendre, the coaching staff has emphasized wanting to force more turnovers, but will have to find turnovers with a litany of new faces on the defense. The Broncos had 16 players play 200 or more snaps last season, 9 of them are no longer with the program. In total, they will need to replace 4,945 snaps from last season: about 48% of all snaps.
The turnover is at all three levels, on the defensive line only Jayden Virgin-Morgan returns amongst the 200+ snap club. The top-four at defensive tackle, and soon-to-be NFL draft pick Ahmed Hassanein, are gone. A host of transfers and unproven returnees are set to play alongside JVM on the defensive line, but the question remains whom? At defensive end, junior Max Stege played 193 snaps and recorded 11 pressures last season for the Broncos and seems to be the favorite for the job. The interior is much murkier. Michael Madrie and Lopez Sanusi were on the roster last season and have been praised by the staff, and transfers Dion Washington (Hawaii), David Latu (BYU) and Keanu Mailoto (Arizona) will be in the mix as well.
Linebacker was supposed to be a spot of continuity before Andrew Simpson announced his intention to enter the transfer portal at the start of Spring Camp. The Broncos played dime over 85% of the time last season, and Marco Notarainni is coming off a first team All-Mountain West season, but the LB2 spot remains wide open. Chase Martin and Clay Martineau were highly touted recruits that have looked capable in limited minutes. Jake Ripp transitioned from linebacker to EDGE this offseason, but I’m sure could get reps at linebacker if the staff wasn’t confident in Martin or Martineau just yet.
The secondary is the most intriguing unit on Saturday. Five returners were a part of last season’s 200-snap club: Ty Benefield, Zion Washington, A’Marion McCoy, Jeremiah Earby and Davon Banks. Despite the experience in that unit, it was the biggest weakness on Boise State’s defense last season. Acknowledging the need for growth, the staff added a multiple of transfers, including Arizona transfer Demetrus Freeny and JUCO transfers Samuel Brooks and Jaylen Webb. Additionally, returning players Boen Phillips and Franklyn Johnson Jr. have gotten praise from the coaching staff and could be in line for bigger roles.
As mentioned earlier, Boise State plays with six defensive backs a large majority of the time. I would expect the five veterans to be amongst the starting unit come Saturday, but there will be a new face in the starting eleven. The staff has spoken plenty about wanting to get their best eleven on the field, that sixth starter in the secondary on Saturday will likely be getting 500+ snaps for the Broncos in the fall.
One wrinkle in particular I’m curious about is the position that Ty Benefield ends up playing. As a freshman, Benefield played 54% of his snaps in the box, but rolled back to free safety as a sophomore and played just under 23% of his snaps in the box. I thought his film as a box safety looked more natural. His size and strength makes him an ideal matchup for tight ends compared to slot receivers, which he struggled to cover in space at times last season. Additionally, Benefield looked more natural tackling in the trenches than trying to make plays in space. Part of the decision to move Benefield back to a free safety role was to maximize Seyi Oladipo and Alexander Teubner’s ability in the box. Those two will need to be replaced and I’m curious if the staff decides to move Benefield back closer to the line of scrimmage, and plays one of the newcomers back at free safety along Zion Washington, or do they continue to play Benefield at deep safety. Saturday will be our first insight there as well.
The whole defense will be a fascinating watch for Bronco Nation. Can the defensive line generate pressure, despite all the turnover? Can the Broncos tighten up in run defense when playing dime? How does the secondary respond after a down season? Despite the concerns, I’ll be closely monitoring who the staff is asking to answer those questions. The fresh faces of Saturday could become the stars of the fall for Boise State.
