Boise State football names defensive coordinator. He’s a holdover from Harsin staff
The Boise State football team named Spencer Danielson its defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach on Tuesday.
Danielson will work for new coach Andy Avalos, who was the defensive coordinator when the Broncos first hired Danielson and worked with him for two years.
Danielson joined the Broncos’ staff in 2017 as a graduate assistant. He became the STUDs coach in 2018 and the co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach for 2019-20 under coach Bryan Harsin. Danielson’s promotion to co-defensive coordinator came after Avalos left to become the coordinator at Oregon.
“I am so fired up to continue to be part of this brotherhood, and to work directly with Andy Avalos, someone who has taught me so much and been one of my greatest mentors, and someone that I look up to as a leader of young men,” Danielson said in a press release.
Boise State ranked No. 6 in the Mountain West in scoring defense last season, surrendering 27.1 points a game. The Broncos were No. 6 in the conference in total defense (373.3 ypg) and No. 7 in rushing defense (163.7 ypg).
The Broncos also struggled to force turnovers for the second season in a row, creating just three takeaways in seven games. In 2019, they forced just 19 in 14 games.
“When Boise State has been at its best, we’ve had dominant defenses, and I can’t wait to continue building on past successes toward a bright future,” Danielson said.
Danielson, 32, served as the Broncos interim head coach after Harsin left Dec. 22 for Auburn. He’s popular with recruits and with the players he has coached.
“He’s just a loving dude with a bunch of energy,” Boise State defensive lineman Divine Obichere told reporters on Nov. 19. “He’s like one of those fun uncles who really cares about you.”
Danielson is the first holdover from Harsin’s staff that Avalos has announced he will keep. The duo met on the recruiting trail, and Avalos told the Statesman in 2018 that he saw something in the young coach.
“Spencer is a man of faith, he is one of the best leaders Boise State has been fortunate to have and his engagement and impact with our student-athletes stretches beyond the university and into the community,” Avalos said in a press release. “He is someone I’ve watched grow in this profession — both from afar and up close — and I know he is more than ready for this opportunity. We are excited to see our innovating and relentless defense.”
Boise State also announced Tuesday that is has hired former UC Davis offensive coordinator Tim Plough to run its offense.
He has spent the past four years running the Aggies’ offense under former Boise State coach Dan Hawkins.
The Aggies led the Big Sky Conference in 2017 with 484.7 yards of offense and 384.3 passing yards a game and set more than 20 program records on offense. They led the conference with 322.8 passing yards a game in 2018, and ranked No. 3 in 2019 with 309.2.
This story was originally published January 12, 2021 at 3:53 PM.
