In the midst of spring practices, Boise State will be losing one of their defensive stars and leaders. Andrew Simpson has entered the transfer portal and will be spending his final year of eligibility somewhere else. Welcome to college football in 2025.
Simpson has been a key member of the Broncos defense over the past three seasons. He’s totaled 140 career tackles, 12.5 sacks 5 forced fumbles and 3 interceptions during his time as a Bronco. Boise State had managed to avoid the portal exodus that has plagued the Mountain West, returning every eligible starter from last year’s CFP Quarterfinal squad. Until now. Simpson becomes the first starter from last year’s team to leave the program. Simpson, who was second team All-Mountain West in 2023, is poised to have a big pay day wherever he ends up. It’s nearly impossible to find veteran linebackers who can stop the run, drop into coverage or rush the passer.
Spencer Danielson and his staff. are now tasked with finding his replacement. It’s the reality of being a G5 football coach these days, when your best players leave there’s no time to wallow. It’s next man up. The good news for them? I think Simpson’s loss can be handled without needing to spend big in the portal.
The first answer is a schematic one. Boise State doesn’t run their base sets with three linebackers, opting for a 4-2-5 base look, and regularly running dime personnel with six defensive backs. When the Broncos were in dime last year, Simpson split reps with Marco Notarainni. The two had similar snap counts last season, with Simpson playing 42 snaps per game and Notarainni playing 34 snaps per game (this includes the fact Simpson missed two games). When Boise State goes to their dime looks, Notarainni will be the lone linebacker now. This isn’t a major adjustment for Boise’s defense. Notarainni is a proven player, finishing first team All-Mountain West last season, and was already due for a large role within the defense.
When the Broncos play two linebackers will be a larger adjustment. Last year it was almost exclusively Notarainni and Simpson together in those looks, there were just 36 snaps with a different linebacker on the field. Simpson’s departure opens opportunity for someone to step into a larger role. The two likeliest options are Chase Martin and Clay Martineau. Both were special teams regulars last season, both playing over 110 special teams snaps, but neither has had a large role on the defense. Martin is a junior with 54 defensive snaps in his career, including a start in 2023 against New Mexico. On small sample size, Martin has graded out well as a run defender (per PFF) and the staff has had positive things to say about him in interviews. Martineau is a true sophomore with just 7 snaps at linebacker last season but offers intriguing potential. He was a four-star recruit in the class of 2024 and showed enough as a true freshman to earn special teams reps. It’s rare to find guys that coaches feel are ready for a special teams role as true freshmen. The battle for LB2 instantly becomes one of the most intriguing storylines of spring camp, and Martin and Martineau seem like the two early favorites for the job.
The part of Andrew Simpson’s game that will be hardest to replace is what he brings as a blitzer. Erik Chinander’s defense utilizes a variety of blitzes and stunts that require versatile linebackers who can both drop in coverage and rush the passer. Simpson’s 12.5 career sacks are abnormal for a linebacker, and 24 pressures just last season amplifies that he was Boise State’s premier pass rushing linebacker. It’s possible Jake Ripp, who made the full time switch from linebacker to STUD this offseason, sees some reps back at linebacker on third down to help with Chinander’s blitz packages.
Simpson’s loss is a big one for the Broncos, but I don’t think he’s irreplaceable. Boise State has historically recruited and developed linebacker well, and now it’s time for somebody to step up. Whether or not Simpson is a lone loss to the portal, or the start of a trend of post-spring portal entrants remains to be seen.
