Youth impresses at Boise State scrimmage, possible two-way player for Broncos?
Boise State football held its second and final closed spring scrimmage Saturday morning at Albertsons Stadium.
Several key players participated in the scrimmage after missing last week’s, as the Broncos gear up for their spring game next Saturday.
With just one week left of spring practices, here are some notes from the past week and what happened in Saturday’s scrimmage.
Ty Benefield … receiver?
Junior safety Ty Benefield is expected to be one of the leaders on defense for Boise State in 2025, but he was given some reps as a receiver during practice this week.
Several receivers are still out injured for the Broncos this spring, including redshirt junior Chris Marshall and sixth-year Latrell Caples. So Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson called Benefield on Sunday to gauge his interest in playing some receiver.
“I watched him in high school do it, and spring ball is the time to kind of put guys in those situations, see what they can do,” Danielson said Saturday after the scrimmage. “And he had a big-time catch on Thursday’s practice.”
Will we see Benefield as a two-way player in 2025? Perhaps don’t bet your house on it, but it’s certainly not out of the question.
“We’ll see,” Danielson said. “We’re gonna keep going through it.”
Running backs returning from injury
Two of Boise State’s expected main contributors in running the football, redshirt freshman Sire Gaines and junior Jambres Dubar, didn’t participate in last week’s scrimmage.
Dubar returned to the field this week and scored a touchdown in Saturday’s scrimmage. He was one of three running backs with a TD, alongside sixth-year Malik Sherrod and sophomore Dylan Riley.
Gaines picked up an injury in the third game of the 2024 season and hasn’t featured for the Broncos since. The coaching staff hoped he’d be healthy for the Fiesta Bowl in late December, but Danielson said Gaines wasn’t where he needed to be from a health standpoint, even during winter conditioning in January.
“I know it’s frustrating for (Gaines), and we obviously want him out there,” Danielson said. “But we are going to be smart with him to make sure when he is full go, he is ready for that with his leg.”
Danielson said he expects Gaines to be fully healthy by June.
Potential defensive line transfers
Redshirt freshman defensive tackle Lopez Sanusi has been a bright spot throughout spring practice. He impressed yet again Saturday with a fumble recovery.
But despite Sanusi’s big spring, the Broncos lost some experienced defensive line pieces this offseason, including Ahmed Hassanein to graduation and Braxton Fely to the transfer portal. Because of the lack of experience, Danielson said his staff will be looking to bring in defensive linemen through the spring transfer portal, which opens Wednesday.
“We’ve got a really good group (but) obviously, a group that has not played a lot for us,” Danielson said.
The most experienced player on the Broncos’ defensive line currently is redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Michael Madrie, who has played in just six games.
Cam Bates earning his stripes
Sophomore wide receiver Cam Bates appeared in 13 games last season and caught the sole touchdown of his collegiate career against Portland State.
But after an impressive spring, Danielson expects him to have a much more significant role in 2025. In Thursday’s practice, Danielson said Bates recorded the most total yards that he’s ever seen during a practice.
He added that Bates’ game reps as a freshman have allowed him to enter spring ball with more confidence and experience.
“(Bates) does it all,” Danielson said. “I mean, he’s going to be doing kickoff return. He’s doing everything on offense. … He’s going to have a much bigger role this year, and he’s earned it.”
This story was originally published April 12, 2025 at 5:03 PM.
