Preseason Mountain West honors are out. Boise State, as usual, is dominant

Boise State football was announced as the Mountain West preseason favorite on Wednesday morning, marking the 15th straight season the Broncos have led the preseason poll.

The Broncos earned 464 points and 35 of the 39 first-place votes, ranking ahead of UNLV, which received 415 points and the other four first-place votes. Boise State beat UNLV in the 2024 Mountain West championship game last year at Albertsons Stadium.

San Jose State rounded out the top three with 359 points.

If Boise State is to follow through on its preseason hype, it will be behind the Preseason Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year: redshirt junior quarterback Maddux Madsen.

Madsen earned the honor after leading the league in 2024 in passing yards (3,018) and passing touchdowns (23), as well as finishing second in passing efficiency (142.5).

And he’s not the only Bronco expected to do big things in 2024. Ten Boise State players were selected to the preseason all-conference team — five on offense and five on defense.

Madsen was picked at quarterback and joined on offense by wide receiver Latrell Caples, tight end Matt Lauter, and offensive linemen Kage Casey and Mason Randolph.

The five Broncos picked on defense were linemen Braxton Fely and Jayden Virgin-Morgan, linebacker Marco Notarainni, and defensive backs Ty Benefield and A’Marion McCoy.

Here is the full preseason media poll and all-conference team selections.

Mountain West Preseason Poll

1. Boise State (35 first-place votes) - 464 points

2. UNLV (4) - 415

3. San Jose State - 359

4. Colorado State - 326

5. Fresno State - 301

6. Air Force - 280

7. Hawai’i - 280

8. San Diego State - 202

9. Utah State - 165

10. Wyoming - 150

11. New Mexico - 84

12. Nevada - 83

Mountain West Preseason All-Conference team

Offense

QB Maddux Madsen - Boise State

WR Latrell Caples - Boise State

WR Pofele Ashlock - Hawai’i

WR Nick Cenacle - Hawai’i

RB Scottre Humphrey - New Mexico

RB Jai’Den Thomas - UNLV

OL Kage Casey - Boise State

OL Mason Randolph - Boise State

OL Peseti Lapuaho - San Jose State

OL Caden Barnett - Wyoming

OL Jack Walsh - Wyoming

TE Matt Lauter - Boise State

Defense

DL Braxton Fely - Boise State

DL Jayden Virgin-Morgan - Boise State

DL Trey White - San Diego State

DL Gafa Faga - San Jose State

LB Marco Notarainni - Boise State

LB Tano Letuli - San Diego State

LB Jordan Pollard - San Jose State

LB Marsel McDuffie - UNLV

DB Ty Benefield - Boise State

DB A’Marion McCoy - Boise State

DB Al’zillion Hamilton - Fresno State

DB Ike Larsen - Utah State

Specialists

P Luke Freer - Air Force

PK Gabe Plascencia - San Diego State

PR Marcus Bellon - Nevada

KR Abraham Williams - New Mexico

This story was originally published July 16, 2025 at 11:04 AM.

Shaun Goodwin

Idaho Statesman

(208) 377-6237

Shaun Goodwin is the Boise State Athletics reporter for the Idaho Statesman, covering Broncos football, basketball and more. If you like stories like this, please consider supporting our work with a digital subscription. Support my work with a digital subscription