In advance of Saturday’s Boise State Spring Game, Bronco Nation News is looking at five storylines for fans to watch. Next up is the search for a backup quarterback:
Yesterday, I detailed about Maddux Madsen’s role within the offense as a passer and as someone who can elevate the team. The looming concern isn’t just how well Madsen does, it’s what the Broncos options are if he can’t.
Madsen is the unquestioned QB1. In part because of his performance last year, but in part because the Broncos didn’t bring in anyone to compete with him. The Broncos didn’t add any scholarship quarterbacks over the winter, leaving the team with just three scholarship quarterbacks currently: Madsen, Max Cutforth and Kaleb Annett.
Cutforth is a redshirt sophomore who was originally a walk-on, but was put on scholarship this past winter. He played against Portland State this past season, going 2/2 for 13 yards. His primary competition for the backup quarterback spot appears to be Kaleb Annett. A former three-star recruit, Annett is a redshirt freshman who has even less experience than Cutforth, yet to play a snap as a Bronco.
Therein lies the intrigue with the backup quarterback battle to me. It’s not just the fact that Boise State didn’t bring in a quarterback to compete with Madsen, or opted not to bring in someone to come in and be a proven backup quarterback. It’s the fact that the players in-house that this coaching staff opted to trust are unproven commodities. As I see it, there are two likely scenarios.
The first scenario: The staff’s plan is to add a quarterback post-spring instead of during the winter. Doing so has two primary benefits, doing so gets Annett and Cutforth extra reps, allowing them further development than if they were splitting backup reps with a third quarterback. The other benefit is that it likely prevents either quarterback from entering the portal mid-Spring. Ensuring that Boise State can add one transfer and maintain four scholarship quarterbacks going into fall.
The second scenario, and admittedly the most likely one: The staff feels confident in Cutforth and Annett. Saturday will be the best look Bronco Nation gets at the duo, and the first chance to build some confidence in Madsen’s future backup. If it’s true that this staff feels confident in Cutforth and Annett, I would expect for them to look the part in the Spring Game.
The backup quarterback spot is especially important with Madsen at the helm. There would need to be a catastrophe for Madsen to get benched for performance, but there is some injury concern with Madsen. In 2023, Madsen tore his MCL upon winning the starting job. Last year, Madsen had a clean bill of health, but he’s shown a willingness to scramble and still needs to work on sliding and avoiding contact.
Plan A is for Madsen to stay healthy all season, but Plan B remains a major question mark. Recent Boise State seasons have often been supported by capable backup quarterback play. Whether it was Montell Cozart, Chase Cord, Jaylon Henderson or Taylen Green, a backup quarterback who is capable of winning a game has been essential to multiple Boise State seasons in recent memory. As of now, that man would be Cutforth or Annett. We’ll get to see on Saturday how those two perform.
