Boise State football’s ‘monster hire’ aiming to build the ‘most physical group’
The final game of Boise State football’s 2025 season left a sour taste in Frank Maile’s mouth.
Serving as a defensive analyst, Maile watched helplessly as the Broncos gave up big plays to Washington in the LA Bowl. In a game that gave Boise State a chance to get back on the map as “giant killers,” the defense gave up 355 yards and five touchdowns en route to a 38-10 defeat.
Maile was specifically concerned with the defensive line, a position group he’s coached at multiple schools over the years, including at Boise State in 2021-22. The line didn’t produce a single one of Boise State’s five sacks in the game.
Heading into 2026, Maile is determined to make sure that doesn’t happen again, and he’ll have a lot more control this time around. Maile was promoted to defensive line coach in January, giving him a greater on-field presence than last year.
Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson called Maile’s promotion a “monster hire” in the offseason.
“We had a couple of weeks to kind of sit in that (loss) a little bit, which was rough. But I like where their mindset is at,” Maile told reporters Tuesday. “I challenged them in our first meeting that this offseason, this winter training, was going to be about mindset.”
Maile uses that word as he molds a defensive line that lost its 2025 leader, Braxton Fely, to graduation.
However, the group returns some upperclassmen who picked up a good number of snaps last season, including redshirt senior David Latu, redshirt junior Michael Madrie and redshirt sophomore Lopez Sanusi.
Maile also highlighted some players who could contribute, including Central Washington redshirt junior transfer Mikaio Edward and incoming freshmen Paz St. John and Rowan Rupp, the latter of whom graduates from Rocky Mountain High School in Meridian this spring.
“We’ve got to be mentally tough,” Maile said. “ ... The beginning of the journey was going to be mindset; that’s happening right now with these guys. And in the end, they’ll gain mentality. When all is said and done, we’ve got to be the most physical group on the football field.”
The true grind for Maile’s group will begin in late March. Boise State announced Wednesday that its spring practices will begin on Thursday, March 26, and run until the spring game on Saturday, April 25, at Albertsons Stadium.
The camp starts after spring break finishes, a departure from the usual, when the Broncos would typically get a week off for spring break before getting back to work.
“I like that there is a grind involved in that deal, which I think tests their mind, their mindset, their mentality,” Maile said. “I’m all about straining these guys as much as possible, and I think now is the time to callous their mentality.”
