ESPN’s preseason top 100 included just one Boise State player, and it came with a strong endorsement of what Jayden Virgin-Morgan brings to the Broncos.
Virgin-Morgan, a fifth-year senior edge rusher, landed at No. 61 on the list and was one of only two Group of Six players to crack the rankings. At 6-foot-3 and 257 pounds, the two-time all-Mountain West selection is back for a third season as a Boise State starter.
“The most proven disruptor in the Group of Six, Virgin-Morgan returns for a third season as a Boise State starter. … Virgin-Morgan boasts NFL size and enough speed to occasionally line up at inside linebacker, and in 2026, he could drive another College Football Playoff run for the Broncos,” ESPN’s Bill Connelly wrote of Virgin-Morgan.
Virgin-Morgan has been a fixture in the Broncos’ lineup, starting all 14 games in each of the last two seasons. As a junior, he finished with 56 total tackles while leading Boise State with 13 tackles for loss and six sacks.
The only other Group of Six player in ESPN’s top 100 was New Mexico fourth-year senior linebacker Jaxton Eck, who checked in at No. 100. Eck earned MWC Co-Defensive Player of the Year honors as a junior after piling up 129 total tackles and ranking 10th nationally in tackles per game.
“After an FCS All-America campaign at Idaho, which featured 134 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss, Eck made the jump to FBS and produced almost identical numbers. He made a tackle for every 5.7 snaps, swarming from sideline to sideline and leading a defense that improved from 130th in scoring defense in 2024 to 46th in 2025,” Connelly wrote of Eck.
Virgin-Morgan was also the new Pac-12’s lone player in the top 100. The rebuilt league will include Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Oregon State, San Diego State, Texas State, Utah State and Washington State in 2026.
Oregon, ranked No. 2 in both the preseason Coaches Poll and AP Poll, had the most players on the list with eight. The Ducks’ group was headlined by quarterback Dante Moore at No. 11 and defensive lineman A’Mauri Washington at No. 16.
Boise State opens the 2026 season at Oregon on Saturday, Sept. 5.
For comparison, ESPN listed six Group of Five players in its preseason top 100 ahead of last season: San Diego State edge rusher Trey White at No. 36, Virgin-Morgan at No.
48, Navy quarterback Blake Horvath at No. 50, Old Dominion linebacker Jason Henderson at No.
60, Boise State offensive tackle Kage Casey at No. 63 and Buffalo linebacker Red Murdock at No. 90.
Casey was later selected in the fourth round of the 2026 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos.
The Group of Five expanded to the Group of Six this season with the addition of the Pac-12.
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