‘I love where we’re heading to;’ What Boise State’s Spencer Danielson said after latest spring scrimmage

Boise State has one week of practice remaining until next weekend’s spring game. 

“I love this team, I love where we’re heading to,” Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson said after Saturday’s scrimmage. “Obviously … it’s April, and we’ve still got a lot of things we’ve got to get fixed.”

The Boise State spring game will begin at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, April 19 at Albertsons Stadium.

Here are the highlights from Danielson’s press conference.

On the scrimmage

“We had a really good week of practice. Today was a good scrimmage for us, it really went back and forth. Last scrimmage, defense kind of started fast. Today, our offense started fast and was able to be explosive early on in the game, which is huge.

“Our running backs did a really good job today. I think all of them were able to get a touchdown. Maddux (Madsen) was super clean. Matt Lauter had a big catch down the middle of the field in the two-minute drill.”

On Maddux Madsen’s development

“Seeing him, first and foremost, step up into a really big leadership role. Not that he wasn’t (before). Your starting quarterback has to be a leader, that’s a non-negotiable. But right now, even him stepping up more vocally as a leader on our team has been a huge part, and he’s been doing that.

“And just building off last season. I think sometimes when you have a good season and you want to make that jump, you can make it almost too big. And I’ve been through that with some players. … To me, it’s just ‘Is my urgency there every day in the things I need to?’ And as a quarterback, the stress, the outside noise that can be on him is a lot. But he handles it well. He’s an elite competitor. Even seeing him go through spring ball with (quarterbacks coach Zak Hill’s) tutelage, he’s taken a step in his game. The ball is jumping out of his arm, extremely accurate, makes great decisions. He’s becoming more and more a mobile quarterback, which is awesome to see. … I think he’s going to be one of the better quarterbacks in the country.”

On staying active in the transfer portal

“We’re always recruiting the best football players that fit Boise State. We’re not going to fall into the mold of a lot of places where they’re just looking for talent and trying to find a way to get them. Yes, we’re looking for talented football players. But they have to fit here. They have to want to be part of the team, and they have to be bought into what we do here. 

“But we’re going to be actively recruiting a defensive tackle in this portal window. Whether it’s junior college or transfer portal … but it has to be the right fit for us.”