Boise State Football Defense Preview 2025: The Bronco Pass Rush Will Keep Dominating

Originally posted on College Football News
By Pete Fiutak | Last updated Jul 10, 2025 11:10 PM ET

The defense didn’t have to stress too much.

It wasn’t bad against Oregon and Penn State, but it gave up a bunch of yards at some odd times. It did a lot of bending without a ton of breaking, but it did its job considering the offense controlled the narrative time after time.

What the Broncos did do at the highest of levels was get into the backfield. They finished fifth in the nation in tackles for loss, and only Ole Miss came up with more sacks. Don’t expect that to slow down, because …

Boise State Broncos Preview 2025: Defense

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2025 Boise State Preview
Boise State Offense Breakdown
Season Prediction, Win Total, Keys to Season

- The pass rush will keep coming from several different spots. Ahmed Hassanein is gone to the Detroit Lions, but All-Mountain West star Jayden Virgin-Morgan is back at one edge job after leading the way with ten sacks with 15.5 tackles for loss.

There isn’t another Hassnein, but Max Stege is a big new starter who made three sacks in the rotation and should crank up the production. Also entering the fun is Sterling Lane II from Arizona, with all the talent to quickly carve out a role.

Braxton Fely is an all-conference interior presence who doesn’t have a ton of size, but he’s ultra-quick, coming off a 5.5 sack season with nine tackles for loss. He’ll have all the heat taken off of him with the addition of Dion Washington (Hawaii) and David Latu (BYU) bringing in the bulk and toughness on the nose.

- Leading tackler Ty Benefield is back at one safety spot. A bit unsung, he made 82 tackles with five tackles for loss and two picks - the all-star recognition will be there this time around.

He’s not alone with third-leading tackle Zion Washington back at strong safety - he made 67 tackles with six broken up passes. Davon Banks can take a corner spot, but he’ll most likely work at the nickel after a strong 35-tackle season highlighted by a big pick-six against San Jose State.

The corners are easily the best in the Mountain West, with the tandem of Jeremiah Earby and A’Marion McCoy back after combining for 94 tackles, two picks, and 21 broken-up passes.

- Marco Notarainni is a 238-pound wall in the middle of the linebacking corps. His job is to stuff the run, but he’s great at getting behind the line with 3.5 sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss last season. Andrew Simpson is gone to North Carolina, but his understudy, Chase Martin, has the wheels to rise up fast with the starting gig on the weakside.

Season Prediction, Win Total, Keys to Season
2025 Boise State Preview
Boise State Offense Breakdown

This article first appeared on College Football News and was syndicated with permission.

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