Thirteen Boise State players included on Phil Steele’s preseason all-Mountain West first team

Phil Steele believes Boise State has the most talent in the Mountain West Conference by a significant margin. 

Thirteen of the 29 players listed on Steele’s preseason all-MWC first team will be wearing blue and orange in the fall. The Broncos had seven first team selections on offense, five on defense and long snapper Mason Hutton.

Boise State is coming off a 12-2 season that included a second straight MWC title and the program’s first College Football Playoff appearance. 

Steele put junior quarterback Maddux Madsen, freshman running back Sire Gaines, senior receiver Latrell Caples, junior tight end Matt Lauter, senior center Mason Randolph, junior guard Roger Carreon and junior tackle Kage Casey on his all-MWC first team offense. Steele also had Casey on his preseason All-America fourth team. 

On the defensive side, Steele had senior defensive tackle Braxton Fely, junior defensive end/edge rusher Jayden Virgin-Morgan, senior linebacker Marco Notarainni, cornerback A’Marion McCoy and safety Ty Benefield on the first team. 

Offensive tackle Hall Schmidt made Steele’s second team while wide receiver Chris Marshall, cornerback Jeremiah Earby, punter Oscar Doyle and kick returner Dylan Riley were all on the third team. 

Boise State will open the 2025 season on Aug. 28 at South Florida and return home the following week to take on Eastern Washington (Sept. 5). The Broncos also have non-conference games against Appalachian State (Sept. 27 at Albertsons Stadium) and Notre Dame (Oct. 4 at Notre Dame Stadium).

The Broncos’ MWC home games are against New Mexico (Oct. 11), UNLV (Oct. 18), Fresno State (Nov. 1) and Colorado State (Nov. 22) with road trips to Air Force (Sept. 20), Nevada (Oct. 24), San Diego State (Nov. 15) and Utah State (Nov. 28). 

Here is Steele’s preseason all-MWC first team.

Offense

Quarterback: Maddux Madsen, Boise State

Running back: Scottre Humphrey, New Mexico

Running back: Sire Gaines, Boise State

Wide receiver: Nick Cenacle, Hawaii

Wide receiver: Josiah Freeman, Fresno State

Wide receiver: Latrell Caples, Boise State

Tight end: Matt Lauter, Boise State

Center: Mason Randolph, Boise State

Guard: Caden Barnett, Wyoming

Guard: Roger Carreon, Boise State

Tackle: Peseti Lapuaho, San Jose State

Tackle: Kage Casey, Boise State

Defense

Defensive end: Trey White, San Diego State

Defensive end: Jayden Virgin-Morgan, Boise State

Defensive tackle: Braxton Fely, Boise State

Defensive tackle: Gafa Faga, San Jose State 

Linebacker: Jordan Pollard, San Jose State

Linebacker: Marco Notarainni, Boise State

Linebacker: Tano Letuli, San Diego State

Linebacker: Jadon Pearson, Fresno State 

Cornerback: A’Marion McCoy, Boise State

Cornerback: Chris Johnson, San Diego State

Safety: Ty Benefield, Boise State

Safety: Eric Butler, San Diego State

Special teams

Kicker: Gabriel Plascencia, San Diego State

Punter: Luke Freer, Air Force

Kick returner: Abraham Williams, New Mexico 

Punt returner: Kahanu Davis, Utah State

Long snapper: Mason Hutton, Boise State