Boise State sees defensive secondary improving, and this cornerback exemplifies that
Cornerbacks coach Demario Warren may be in only his third year at Boise State, but he knows what makes a defensive back tick.
“People come here because they want to play man-to-man versus very good receivers,” Warren said Wednesday. “You don’t come here because you want to play Cover 2. You come here because you want to guard the best receivers.”
He pointed to recent NFL draft picks from Boise State, such as 2023 sixth-round pick JL Skinner (Denver Broncos), 2021 fifth-round pick Avery Williams (Atlanta Falcons, now an offensive player) and 2013 second-round pick Jamar Taylor (Miami Dolphins).
The Boise State secondary had a tough start to the 2024 season. Three of the Broncos’ first five opponents had 300-yard passers and struck for several big plays, an issue that plagued the defense last season, when it allowed 258.7 passing yards per game, ranking 116th in the nation, and a wealth of long completions.
Through seven games this season, the Broncos are giving up what would appear to be an alarming 284.5 passing yards per game, which ranks 125th in the nation. But that doesn’t tell the whole story. Boise State is giving up 25.9 ppg and leads the nation in sacks (35), and it has led in every game, forcing opponents to throw more.
“Negative plays stop drives,” Warren said. “And so as long as we can do that and try to limit those explosives, and at the end of the day, points are the biggest thing. (We’re) trying to keep those numbers down as much as we can.”
Senior cornerback A’Marion McCoy is the latest example of a player benefiting from Boise State’s man-to-man coaching. McCoy transferred to Boise State ahead of his junior year from Laney College in Oakland, California, and he had a team-best three interceptions last season, along with 31 tackles and five pass breakups.
He’s made a step up this season, and the coaching staff has noticed. He’s got 23 tackles and seven pass breakups in seven games, and this week head coach Spencer Danielson said McCoy enjoyed his best game of the year in the 29-24 victory over UNLV last week.
“(McCoy) followed (UNLV receiver) Ricky White around, and he played his best game,” Danielson said. “Still a lot on there, missed a couple of tackles, there’s still a lot of things that A’Marion needs to grow. But he played his best game. He’s also been having his best practices as a Bronco the past month.”
McCoy was tasked with keeping UNLV senior Ricky White III in check. White entered the game with 614 yards and nine touchdowns, but he had just 57 yards against Boise State and didn’t sniff the end zone.
“It feels great just knowing (the coaches) have the confidence in me to go follow a guy and shut him out for the game,” McCoy said Tuesday. “I feel like if I could do that many more games, then I feel like we’re going to win more games.”
The secondary has had several challenges this season. Oregon senior receiver Tez Johnson and Utah State senior Jalen Royals are among the nation’s best. Royals ranks No. 7 with 834 yards receiving, and Johnson ranks 27th with 638 yards. Johnson has eight TDs and Royals six.
Royals enjoyed a monster game against Boise State, with 211 yards and two scores, but the Broncos shut down Johnson, holding him to three catches for a loss of a yard.
McCoy said he and the defensive backs enjoy the challenges because they help the group get better.
“Going up against those guys just helps us as a back end,” McCoy said. “And it helps me as well, as a player, to figure out what things I could work on and how I could become better in different ways in my game.”
Junior Jeremiah Earby and redshirt junior Davon Banks also put in heavy shifts at corner. Warren believes the unit as a whole had its best two games in its two most recent contests, wins over Hawaii and UNLV.
The Broncos allowed 264 passing yards to Hawaii, with over 100 of those coming in the fourth quarter, when the Rainbow Warriors were throwing nearly every down. Meanwhile, UNLV managed just 179 yards through the air.
“(Earby) had one of his two best games on Friday night,” Danielson added. “And he’s a guy that just continually works. There were some plays throughout this season that he missed that we needed him to make either tackles or coverage, and he made them on Friday night. ... I think Devon Banks is also playing at a much higher level; our corners are improving a lot.”
