The 2023 Recruiting Road So Far: Boise State

Welcome to the second piece of our twelve-part series that hopefully makes the dead period go by a bit quicker. These articles aim to provide a detailed look at what each team has done thus far on the recruiting trail and what work still needs to be put in before NLI day in February. One team a day will be featured this year in alphabetical order. Today will look at Boise State.

Boise State:

The 2022 season was a wild ride for the Broncos. They suffered an embarrassing loss to open the year and were 2-2 through four games after being upset by UTEP, hitting rock bottom. Then, a change at Offensive Coordinator and a forced change at Quarterback and the season completely turned around for Boise State. They made it through the toughest part of their schedule unscathed and earned their way into the conference championship game. While they suffered a big letdown, they managed to rebound by winning the bowl game and ending the season on a high now. Through it all, the offense improved from beginning to end, although the defense suffered numerous injuries and lost its effectiveness.

Through it all, the Boise State coaching staff and players never gave up and now are looking to reload in this recruiting class, primarily through high school talent but supplementing that with college transfers. See more below.

The Road So Far:

Overall, this recruiting class is vintage Boise State. It still contains a four-star signee, along with other talented players from top high school programs. Also, in what Coach Avalos is becoming known for in recruiting, this class also possesses players who fit a certain skill set or physical prototype at a position. He continues to recruit from a broad range of states (seven plus one player from Germany), although most players still come from California and Texas. Position-wise, they prioritized tight ends on offense and defensive backs on defense, with the latter representing a big need following the departures to many of those starting positions. In fact, the defense figures to get a significant makeover with at least seven starters not returning next season.

Offensively, they added commits at quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight end, and the offensive line. QB CJ Tiller is a talented signal-caller who will be given time to continue to develop. RB Jambres Dubar is the star of this class and should not only play right away but make an immediate impact on the field. The wide receiver room will receive gray-shirt Prince Strachan and the underrated Jackson Grier, both of whom are talented but still developing. They combine with transfer Chase Penry to add a bit more experience. As mentioned above, the Broncos focused on tight end this class, ending up with three. Cayden Dawson is the leader of the group, but Oliver Fisher and Matt Wagner all combine to bring size and ability as they restock the position. On the offensive line, Jason Steele looks like he will slide in well along the interior, while Carson Rasmussen and Kyle Cox look to occupy a tackle spot.

On the defensive side of the ball, they bolstered the secondary, but also added to the defensive line and linebacker units. Michael Madrie and Max Stege both add size to the interior of the D-line, with the former being more polished and the latter considered more raw coming from Germany. On the outside will be Demanual Brown, who is slated to be a pass-rusher. The two linebackers in this class, Wyatt Milkovic, and Chare Martin are fast and were extremely productive in high school. As mentioned above, defensive back was a big area of focus, as they added seven players between the different positions. Franklin Johnson, Nick Hawthorne, and Gabe Tahir figure to be cornerbacks, with junior college player A’marion McCoy providing some experience. At the safety spots, there are three newcomers, with high schoolers Khai Taylor and Ty Benefield and transfer Titus Toler, who will be relied upon immediately.

Number who signed in December: 22

Number who will enroll early: 8

247 Composite Rankings (subject to change):

• Overall: 66th
• Recruiting: 64th
• Transfer: 102nd

The Road Ahead:

Top Targets Remaining: DE, DT

While most of the work is now finished for Boise State, they addressed their most significant needs of improving their pass-rush and speed along the edges as well as potentially shoring up the interior of the defensive line. Adding at least two pass-rushers and perhaps one defensive tackle would make the most sense as the remaining targets.

Edge-rushers was a position the coaching staff focused on last class, and while some players produced, the need is there again this year. Boise State has already made offers to a few transfer portal players for this position, and January visits after the dead period will give a better indication of who they are seriously pursuing.

It would be surprising if they signed any more high school players, although if a talented player at a position of need didn’t sign in December, they would certainly pay attention. Regardless, the heavy lifting in this class is now in hand, and with quite a few players enrolling for the spring semester, the work can begin right away.

Previous Posts: Air Force

Coming Monday: Colorado State