Braxton Fely will lead Boise State’s D-line. He almost wasn’t part of the team
As Boise State football’s fall camp kicked off earlier this week, a familiar sight could be seen:
The hulking body wearing the No. 90 jersey lining up in the middle of the line of scrimmage on defense.
Senior defensive tackle Braxton Fely is expected to anchor a Boise State defensive front in 2025 that lost a lot of experience from last season. The chance to lead could have been considered a positive for many players, but for a while, it’s actually what drove Fely away.
Fely entered the transfer portal in early April, thinking he’d head somewhere else to play, but reversed course less than a month later, opting to remain at Boise State. Upon returning, he cited Boise State’s “culture and values” as the reason for coming back, and on Tuesday, he talked about why entered the portal at all — something head coach Spencer Danielson said at the time was a mistake.
“In our room, we had well over 1,000 snaps combined with the four of us (last season), and me being the only one returning with a young group of guys, was something that kind of hit my mind,” Fely said.
Boise State lost Herbert Gums, Ahmed Hassanein and Michael Callahan to graduation following the 2024 season, but the cupboard wasn’t bare.
Multiple players are vying to fill in spots alongside Fely now, including junior defensive end Max Stege, redshirt sophomore tackle Michael Madrie and redshirt senior transfer tackle Dion Washington, who brings a wealth of experience from playing at Hawaii and Nevada.
“Now that I’m back, I can see that this group that we have is going to be great, even if they haven’t played at all,” Fely said. “So I’m excited.”
Stege did register three sacks last season for the Broncos in his playing time.
Fely said his decision to enter the portal wasn’t influenced by money or other coaches reaching out, but rather that desire to play with a more experienced line for his final year. He visited with Cal and Miami before announcing his return to Boise State.
Boise State GM Brandon Jones and defensive coordinator Erik Chinander were the first two to reach out to Fely, he said, letting Fely know that they were always there for him. He said those calls “sparked inside of me,” leading him to call Danielson to ask whether a return was possible.
“I called him and I put my heart out to him,” Fely said. “He did marry me and my wife, so he is like a father figure to me. So I let him know how I was feeling, and those emotions poured out.”
Shortly after Fely entered the portal, Danielson said, “all my heart hurts that (Fely) left.” The coach said he did not “believe that’s the best thing for his life.”
Since returning, Fely has been working on gaining back the trust of his teammates. On the first day of summer workouts, Fely spoke to the entire team about his decision to enter the portal and why he returned.
He said he knows the work he has to do to be considered a leader again for the defensive line.
Danielson said last week that he believes Fely has earned back the trust of teammates and coaches.
“He’s out there leading on the field and we need him to,” Danielson said. “He’s a senior defensive lineman who’s played a lot of football, had a lot of success for us, and I believe Braxton is going to have a really, really good senior year.”
