Boise State adds hard-hitting, versatile athlete from California to 2025 recruiting class

The second player to verbally commit to Boise State’s 2025 football recruiting class is a three-star athlete from Pittsburg, California.

Dominik Calhoun announced his commitment on Saturday afternoon. He played wide receiver, safety and linebacker at Pittsburg High, and said he’s joining the Broncos as a safety. He follows wide receiver Quinton Brown, who was the first player to join Boise State’s 2025 class when he committed on April 7.

Calhoun, a 6-foot-1, 191-pound California native, said he was always high on the Broncos because they were the first program to offer him a scholarship back in March. He said a 10-minute phone call with Boise State coach Spencer Danielson sealed the deal.

“We were talking about football and chopping it up, and then during the rest of that phone call, we talked about our relationship with God,” Calhoun told the Statesman on Saturday. “His passion for his players and staff is real. They’re not just individuals. They’re all one.”

Calhoun said he also developed close relationships with Boise State safeties coach Tyler Stockton and cornerbacks coach Demario Warren during the recruiting process. He said he and Stockton connected because of their shared faith in God, too.

“With coach Stockton, I see it as a lifelong relationship that goes beyond football,” Calhoun said. “We talked a lot about our faith. He would wake up early in the morning and beat me to the scriptures. He was just really genuine and that meant a lot to me.”

Calhoun chose Boise State over scholarship offers from Washington State, San Jose State and Northern Arizona, according to 247Sports. He made an unofficial visit to Boise State in April.

He hasn’t locked in an official visit yet but said he’s targeting Sept. 28, which is the day the Broncos are scheduled to host Washington State. That would be poetic because Calhoun said the Cougars joined the Broncos as his top two programs.

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Calhoun said Boise State’s facilities really impressed him during his visit, but it was the coaching staff’s commitment to developing him as a man and a football player that sold him on the program.

“I kept hearing ‘built different,’ and I feel like I’m built different so why not join the program?” Calhoun said, referencing a hash tag Boise State’s coaches have adopted this year. “The difference between them and a lot of other schools is it wasn’t just about football. Coach Danielson’s staff opened a whole new lens for me. They said ‘when you go back to the Bay arena, you’re not going to be the same Dominik Calhoun,’ and I loved it.”

Calhoun met with Boise State safety Ty Benefield during his visit and said Benefield echoed everything the coaches were telling him, which he said drove home the fact that he made the right decision.

“Everybody there treated me like family,” Calhoun said. “(Benefield) spoke with so much passion, and he’s so confident in school and around the coaches. His story really motivated me.”

Calhoun played mostly safety and linebacker last season, which was his first at Pittsburg after transferring from El Cerrito High. He said he finished with about 60 tackles and caught one touchdown pass as a wide receiver. He didn’t snag any interceptions last fall but said he’s focused on creating more turnovers and developing a better understanding of the defense as a whole this year.

“I want to know what the guys next to me, in front of me and behind me are doing,” he said. “I want to be a communicator, and I want to be the leader the team needs.”

He certainly hasn’t struggled with the physical side of the game. Calhoun said he loves delivering bone-jarring hits, which is part of the reason he saw time at linebacker last year and could again this season.

“I’ve never been shy about coming down and laying a hit on a guy,” he said. “I’m a team guy, so I’m going to do whatever the coaches need me to do.”

Boise State’s 2025 recruiting class

WR Quinton Brown, 5-8, 155, Liberty Christian High, Argyle, Texas

S Dominik Calhoun, 6-1, 191, Pittsburg (California) High