With opener 2 weeks away, Boise State has made its starting quarterback decision
When Boise State’s offense lines up for its first drive against Georgia Southern later this month, it will be redshirt sophomore quarterback Maddux Madsen under center.
Head coach Spencer Danielson made the decision this weekend that Madsen will open the season as the Broncos’ starting quarterback — not long after Saturday’s scrimmage, the second of fall camp.
“At all positions, especially at quarterback, we made the quarterbacks live, and you get an idea of what someone’s going to be like in stressful situations,” Danielson told reporters Sunday in announcing the move. “Going through all of this information on face value throughout fall camp, Maddux gives us the best opportunity to win game one, and so that’s what we have to do.”
Madsen, a 5-foot-10, 200-pound QB from American Fork, Utah, was competing for the starting job with redshirt freshman Malachi Nelson, a former five-star recruit who transferred to Boise State from USC. Both played in both scrimmages this fall.
“I wanted to use the whole body of work, the whole fall camp, everything we do ... and the whole focus is who is going to help us win game one,” Danielson told reporters after Saturday’s scrimmage.
Madsen made nine appearances for Boise State in 2023 and made his first start against New Mexico in November — the game that happened to be former head coach Andy Avalos’ last in charge before he was fired a day later. Danielson, the defensive coordinator, stepped in as interim coach before earning the job full time.
It also was Madsen’s final game of the year.
The Broncos won 42-14, with Madsen throwing for 202 yards and two touchdowns. But he suffered a knee injury late in the second quarter that would require surgery. He also essentially missed spring practice while recovering.
Over his nine appearances in 2023, Madsen completed 81-for-131 passes for 1,191 yards and nine touchdowns, with three interceptions. He also rushed for 120 yards and two touchdowns.
“Maddux has a great handle on our offense,” Danielson said Sunday. “Very little to no mental errors; he makes great decisions with the football. He did have some interceptions in fall camp, but when our offense was in there he had a good completion percentage, and we had a bunch of explosive pass plays.”
The coach noted that he wants his quarterback to run the offense efficiently, which means knowing shifts and motions, and going through the correct progressions while reading the defense.
“When I say who can give the best opportunity in week one, it’s who can operate our offense at a higher level,” Danielson said. “Right now, Maddux can operate our offense at a higher level than Malachi can.”
Nelson arrived at USC in 2023 as the No. 1 recruit in the country, according to ESPN. He was the No. 5-ranked quarterback and No. 13 overall recruit in the 2023 class by 247Sports. But he made just one appearance for USC last season, going 1-for-3 passing.
He had scholarship offers out of high school from some of the biggest names in college football, including Michigan, Alabama, Oklahoma, Georgia, Ohio State and Oregon. Nelson threw for 7,984 passing yards and 105 touchdowns in four seasons at Los Alamitos High School, according to previous Statesman reporting.
Nelson, listed at 6-3 and 190 pounds, impressed in Boise State’s spring game in April, leading the quarterbacks by completing 9-of-16 passes for 137 yards and a touchdown.
“Malachi did a really good job through fall camp, too,” Danielson said. “Malachi’s extremely talented, and he’s going to continue to prep and get himself ready, because we all know how this goes. Injuries happen, and if Maddux does not play well or struggles, Malachi has to be ready. That’s the reality of every quarterback in the country.”
Boise State opens the season with two road games: at Georgia Southern at 2 p.m. Mountain time on Aug. 31 in Statesboro, and at No. 3 Oregon at 8 p.m. MT on Sept. 7.
This story was originally published August 18, 2024 at 5:25 PM.
