Boise State’s Danielson calls out rival coaches for tampering, updates quarterback battle
The latest transfer portal window closed last week without the Boise State football team losing a starter, despite what head coach Spencer Danielson described as a concerted effort by other programs to recruit players on his roster.
Danielson said Wednesday that at least 12 Boise State players have recently been contacted through means that violate NCAA rules. He stopped short of naming the programs that reached out to his players, but he said he personally called coaches to tell them to stop tampering with his roster.
Tampering is nothing new in college football. Industrious coaches and boosters have found ways to entice players to transfer for years, but it has become more prevalent in the Name, Image and Likeness era, according to Mountain West coaches.
“Programs in the Mountain West do a great job of developing football players,” San Diego State coach Brady Hoke said at Mountain West media days last July. “Recruiting has always been part of the job, but these days we have to do a great job recruiting new guys and the guys already on our team.”
Danielson praised his players and their families for not taking the bait.
“They know that we are different here and how we’re going to develop them is different,” Danielson said. “I’m involved in these kids’ lives because I love them. If someone was here just for the money, it’s not going to be a fit.”
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Danielson did mention that one player got the bulk of the attention from other programs. He said running back Ashton Jeanty got all kinds of offers to jump into the transfer portal, but the defending Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year rebuffed them to return for his third season with the Broncos.
Jeanty led the Broncos with 1,347 rushing yards and ranked No. 2 in the Mountain West with 19 total touchdowns last season.
“Even with the amount of tampering and stuff thrown at him and his family, he consistently says, ‘I want to be a Bronco,’ ” Danielson said. “It was probably way more than people know.”
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QB battle continues
Danielson reiterated Wednesday that the race to replace former starting quarterback Taylen Green will continue into the summer and fall. Green transferred to Arkansas in December and has already won the starting job, Razorbacks offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino said last month.
Former USC quarterback Malachi Nelson and redshirt sophomore Maddux Madsen are competing to win the Boise State job. Madsen, who played in nine games last season, was limited this spring as he continued to recover from knee surgery he had last November.
Nelson, a former five-star recruit, transferred to Boise State in January after one season at USC. He was on the field during spring practice and he had the best performance of any quarterback on the roster in the spring game, completing 9-of-16 passes for 137 yards and a touchdown.
Danielson said Nelson’s grasp of the offense grew exponentially this spring.
“He’s got a much better grasp of it, and you could see his play throughout spring got exceedingly better,” Danielson said.
Danielson said Wednesday that Madsen will open the summer working with the starters while Nelson takes snaps with the No. 2 offense, but he also said they will alternate. He said he won’t anoint Nelson the starter because of his pedigree.
“Nothing will be given,” he said. “Everything will be earned.”
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The Broncos gained some clarity in the race to replace Green when redshirt freshman quarterback CJ Tiller put his name in the transfer portal last month.
He announced Saturday that he’s transferring to Utah State — a Mountain West rival that the Broncos are scheduled to host Oct. 5.
Danielson said he informed Tiller after spring practice ended that he would be No. 3 on the depth chart heading into summer workouts. He also said he wishes him the best.
“I love that kid and I think the world of him,” Danielson said. “But I’m always going to be open with guys and tell them where they’re at. Sometimes it’s in a good way and sometimes it’s the reality of this is where you are and where you need to grow moving forward.”
Tiller appeared in two games for the Broncos last season. He made his collegiate debut during mop-up duty in a 45-10 win over Utah State and started Boise State’s loss to UCLA in the LA Bowl.
