When Boise State lines up on offense Saturday against Georgia Southern the Broncos will have what many believe could be the best running back in the country in tailback Ashton Jeanty.
As good as the 5-9, 210-pound Jeanty is — he ran for 1,347 yards and 14 touchdowns in only nine games last year while also catching 43 passes for 569 yards and five scores — Coach Spencer Danielson believes quarterback Maddux Madsen could be the most important man in the Broncos lineup.
Madsen played in nine games last year behind departed starter Taylen Green as Boise went 8-6 and won three of its last four games including the Mountain West Conference championship game.
With Jeanty returning behind a veteran offensive line and a defense which returns 10 starters the Broncos are one of the favorites to claim the Group of 5 guaranteed spot in the expanded 12-team college football playoffs.
The highest ranked Group of 5 conference champion will get a berth along with the champions of the SEC, ACC, Big 10 and Big 12.
Danielson, who took over the Boise program on an interim basis with two games remaining in the regular season, named Madsen the starter after what he said was a strong fall camp competition.
“Game one is pivotal for every team across the country,” Danielson said. “Maddux gives us the best opportunity to win game number one.
“He’s a calm, cool, collected young man,” Danielson said. “He never gets too high, he never gets too low. He’s a consistent competitor. You know what you are going to get from Maddux every single day.”
The Broncos were one of the balanced teams offensively in the country last year as they rushed for 3,098 yards and passed for 3,005.
Madsen accounted 1,191 yards for nine touchdowns in nine games as he completed 81 of 132 passes while being picked off three times
Danielson accomplished an NCAA first last year as he became the first interim coach to win a conference championship when the Broncos won the MWC title game. Ironically the only other coach to have such an opportunity was current Georgia Southern coach Clay Helton who led Southern Cal to the PAC-12 championship game in 2020 where the Trojans lost to Oregon.
“Maddux is a master of our offense,” Danielson said. “He understands how to run it, he understands how to get the ball in the playmakers’ hands. He’s going to prep his tail off and fight and lead our team.
“I tell him he doesn’t have to be perfect, don’t fear failure but attack success. He’s ready for this moment.”
Danielson said the Broncos had three issues to address in the off-season: pass defense, third down efficiency and tackling.
“We can’t afford to give up explosive plays, we have to get off the field on third down and we had to get better tackling,” Danielson said. “I think we have but we’ll find out against Georgia Southern. They’ll test us.
“I’m proud of how hard we’ve worked and how we’ve gotten better at the little things. We haven’t won game one in a while and won on the road in a while. We’ve gotten a lot of hype but we’ve earned it. At Boise State you have to embrace it.”
