Boise State’s edge room looks like one of the cleanest strengths on the roster heading into 2026, and it starts with a familiar name at the top. Senior Jayden Virgin-Morgan is the headliner after earning an 89 overall rating in EA Sports College Football 27, the highest mark on the Broncos. That fits for a player who has already been named All-Mountain West twice and enters the season as one of the team’s unquestioned leaders.
The real story, though, is that Boise State does not stop with its star. The Broncos have a veteran option ready to line up on the other side in senior Max Stege, and he quietly put together a strong 2025 season.
The Cologne, Germany native finished with 27 total tackles, seven tackles for loss and half a sack, showing he can affect the game in more than one way. He has the most game experience in the room outside of Virgin-Morgan, and Boise State is counting on him to keep building after another offseason.
That kind of top-end stability matters because this is a group where rotation should matter. Boise State has enough depth to keep fresh legs coming off the edge, and several younger players have already flashed enough to make the room feel deeper than just its two likely starters.
Roman Caywood is one of the first names that jumps out. He finished last season with a fourth-down tackle against Utah State that helped preserve a Broncos win, and he added a sack in that same game.
Bol Bol also made his mark in Logan, where he picked up the first sack and first tackle for loss of his career. The sophomore from Brooks, Alberta, appeared in 10 games as a true freshman and checks in at 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds, with the kind of physical profile that suggests there’s more to come.
Sterling Lane adds another layer. The redshirt senior transfer from Arizona turned in one of his best outings in a Boise State uniform in the bowl game against Washington, finishing with two sacks.
It was the kind of performance that reminded people why he came in as a four-star recruit out of Oaks Christian High School. Lane had to wait behind Caywood and Bol Bol for snaps last season, but now he enters his final year with a chance to carve out a bigger role.
There’s also future upside tucked into the room. Gustaf Henriks Ras, a native of Stockholm, Sweden, arrived with plenty of attention after Boise State beat out Georgia and Ole Miss for his commitment. He has the tools to become a difference-maker, but with so much veteran depth ahead of him, a redshirt year looks like the most likely path this season.
That depth could matter right away. Boise State is expected to bring an almost entirely new secondary into the Sept. 5 game against Oregon, which puts even more pressure on the front seven to help out. If the edge group can get after the quarterback and speed up decisions, it will make life easier for the defensive backs behind them.
With Virgin-Morgan and Stege leading the way, plus Caywood, Bol Bol, Sterling Lane and Ras all in the mix, Boise State has a strong case to make for one of the deepest and most versatile edge groups in the Pac-12.
In Other News...
Boise State Still Has One Troubling Question In The Passing Game
Boise States passing game has spent the offseason in a state of transition, and the receiver room is the clearest reason why. The Broncos are trying to replace a wave of departures, adjust to coaching turnover and sort through a group that includes returning names like Ben Ford and Matt Wagner along with younger options such as Rasean Jones and Cameron Bates.
What makes the situation tricky is that there still is not an obvious marquee target who has separated himself as the answer for 2026. Wagner has pushed himself into the conversation after a strong spring, Jones brings the kind of upside that can change a room quickly, and Bates has already shown he can build on a productive season, but Boise State is still waiting for one receiver to emerge as the clear lead option. [Read more 🡒]
Boise State Is Already Earning Serious Playoff Respect Again
Boise State is heading into the 2026 season with the kind of preseason buzz that usually belongs to a Power Four program, not a Group of 6 team. With the Broncos now part of the revitalized Pac-12, sportsbooks and multiple preseason polls are lining them up as the top Group of 6 contender, and that matters more than simple bragging rights. Under the current College Football Playoff setup, the highest-ranked Group of 6 team can claim a postseason berth, so every early ranking is carrying a little more weight than usual.
The Broncos are showing up near the top of a wide range of projections, from the mid-20s all the way down into the 50s, but the common thread is hard to miss: Boise State keeps coming out ahead of the rest of its tier. Josh Pate has them in his top 25, CBS Sports and Phil Steele both slot them as the highest Group of 6 program, and ESPN FPI still gives them a respectable profile. The question now is less about whether Boise State belongs in the conversation and more about whether it can turn that preseason respect into the kind of season that keeps the CFP path open. [Read more 🡒]