Now healthy, ‘very dangerous’ Boise State receiver ‘hungry’ for a big 2025
The 2024 season was one of the most exciting in recent years for Boise State football, but for one guy stuck on the sidelines, the word of the year would be “frustrating.”
Redshirt junior wide receiver Chris Marshall arrived in Southwest Idaho in 2024 with high hopes. A former four-star recruit, Marshall began his career at Texas A&M in 2022 and showed flashes of promise, including a 40-yard receiving game against Alabama.
After brief stints at Ole Miss and Kilgore Community College, Marshall found his way to Boise State with hopes of competing for the top receiver spot with the Broncos. Instead, he made just three catches for 13 yards in 2024 — a result of spending nearly the entire season injured.
“It was frustrating. Personally, it was disappointing just not being able to be on the field,” Marshall told reporters Tuesday. “But it comes with it, going through injuries in football and having to work through that.”
Marshall initially suffered a severe twisted ankle in Boise State’s second game of the season against Oregon. He returned briefly in October but recorded no stats, and missed the rest of the season and spring practice with soft-tissue muscle problems.
But after a strong start to fall camp, Marshall is “very hungry” to prove himself in 2025. The 6-foot-3 receiver has looked imperious during one-on-one action and team drills, running fluid routes and using his size to win contested catches.
“A healthy Chris Marshall can be very, very, very dangerous,” redshirt junior quarterback Maddux Madsen said Monday. “Talent-wise, he’s one of the best I’ve ever been around. He can do a lot of things that most people can’t.”
It’s not just Marshall’s playmaking ability that’s impressed Madsen, but how he’s grown during his time at Boise State to understand that the ball isn’t always going to come his way. Madsen said there have been several times in practice that Marshall has been open, but Madsen threw elsewhere, and he hasn’t once heard a complaint from the big receiver.
“As a receiver, we want the ball every play, but it’s not going to come every play,” Marshall said. “And we have other talented receivers, other playmakers on the field, so me just consistently staying open and putting it on film, I feel like that’s good for me. That’s just showing (Madsen) can trust me.”
But for all the talent that Marshall has, the No. 1 priority right now is staying healthy and stringing together a run of good practices. He said he’s been spending a lot more time in the treatment room for rehab, and making sure he’s following a good diet.
Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson said last week that Marshall has “stood out” this summer. He noted that Marshall got even bigger and stronger, allowing for more explosiveness — improvements that have been visible.
Danielson also echoed what everyone says about Marshall, which is that it will come down to staying healthy.
Marshall is ready to start the season aggressively.
“I will have a monster year just by being on the field,” Marshall said. “And I’ll be on the field. You’ll see me a lot this year.”
