For Boise State lineman, NFL sky is the limit. So he works on staying grounded
Kage Casey’s parents are his biggest hype people.
Boise State’s 6-foot-5, 316-pound left tackle will be a redshirt junior in 2025, but there’s a good chance it will be his last season in a BSU uniform.
Not because of a potential transfer — lured away by a Power Four program or NIL money — but because he’s tabbed as a possible 2026 NFL Draft first-round pick.
And his parents enjoy reminding him of it.
“I’ll have my mom and my dad texting me screenshots of articles they see,” Casey told the Idaho Statesman on Wednesday at the Mountain West media days in Las Vegas. “They’re always cool to see.”
Casey was named to the Mountain West’s preseason all-conference team Wednesday, along with nine other Broncos.
But he said he’s not letting all of the chatter go to his head.
“As of now, those are guesses,” Casey said. “... No one would know my name if I don’t show up this year. And so that’s something where all these preseason accolades are not something that I’m gonna hang up on my wall one day, because that’s what they are; they’re just guesses.”
Casey already has actual accolades to his name, of course. He was named a second-team All-American by The Athletic and the Walter Camp Football Foundation in 2024, as well as earning first-team All-Mountain West honors, as the Broncos went undefeated in conference play.
But his goal for 2025 is to play to a level that will help Boise State make history.
If Casey were to be an NFL Draft first-round selection in 2026, it would mean that for two straight years, Boise State had a first-round pick. Running back Ashton Jeanty was taken sixth overall by the Las Vegas Raiders in April.
That’s never happened for the program.
And like most student-athletes at Boise State in recent years, Casey sees Jeanty as a model of success. He highlighted the work ethic that countless others have attributed to Jeanty over the past couple of years — taking the running backs out for extra drills in 100-degree heat, or performing extra stretches and rehab after a weightlifting session.
“This dude is a Hall of Famer as a freshman in college,” Casey said about Jeanty. “Even after his true sophomore year, where he got the all-purpose first-team All-American ... seeing his work ethic after that, he didn’t slow down. I think he actually ramped it up a step higher.”
Jeanty’s 2024 season naturally made the offensive line look good, but he couldn’t have put up such historic numbers without top-tier run blockers like Casey. And even though Jeanty is gone, the Broncos up front who paved the way are back: Four starters return, and redshirt senior Tyler Keinath started eight games last season.
That veteran front is arguably Boise State’s strongest unit in 2025, and will be vital if the Broncos wish to return to the College Football Playoff.
But, once again, Casey isn’t getting ahead of himself. He said it’s been business as usual, just as it was when he arrived at Boise State in 2022 as a three-star recruit.
“I don’t think I’d looked that far in the future (to the NFL Draft) when I first came to Boise. I was just looking at the blue field when I first came here, and I was like, ‘Whoa, so cool,’” Casey laughed. “But now that it’s happening, I’m insanely grateful, and I’m just so happy for everyone in my corner.”
This story was originally published July 16, 2025 at 3:54 PM.
