Boise State’s running back room is shaping up as the kind of group that can carry real weight in 2026, and the numbers back up the buzz.
The Broncos are bringing back 84.6% of their rushing production, a huge figure for a team that ranks in the top 10 nationally in returning starters and 46th in returning offensive production at 60%. The biggest hit to the offense comes elsewhere, with Boise State losing its top four leading receivers from last season. On the ground, though, the core is intact.
Out of 2,507 rushing yards from last season, 2,120 are back. Juniors Dylan Riley and Sire Gaines did the heavy lifting there, combining for 1,936 yards, with Riley finishing at 1,125 and Gaines at 811.
Boise State also filled the hole left by Malik Sherrod, who rushed for 418 yards after transferring from Fresno State for a one-year stint with the Broncos. The staff answered by bringing in two more backs from power-conference programs: Harry Stewart III from Kansas and Juelz Goff from Pittsburgh.
That mix has coach James Montgomery feeling good about the room heading into 2026.
“From the roof to the floor, this has probably been one of the better rooms that I’ve had, and still I’ve got to keep continuing to get those guys better and better,” Montgomery said Friday. “But I think from top to bottom, this is a really solid room.”
Montgomery has coached Boise State’s backs since 2023, and this is the most experience he has had in the room outside of his first season with the program. He came into a lineup that returned 99.1% of its ground production, with Georga Holani (1,157 yards), Ashton Jeanty (821) and quarterback Taylen Green (586) all back in the fold.
The numbers changed quickly after that. Boise State returned 61.1% of its rushing production heading into 2024, then just 19.6% heading into 2025, largely because Jeanty was such a force. The Heisman Trophy runner-up piled up 2,601 of the team’s 3,365 rushing yards.
Now Montgomery is looking at a group with far more continuity.
The biggest reason he sounds so confident is the growth of Riley and Gaines. He pointed out that both were, in his words, basically true freshmen last season, when they combined for just 42 carries across all of 2024.
That number jumped to 356 combined carries in 2025.
“I think they’ve just grown mentally so much by getting all those game reps last season,” he continued. “... I think with them, it’s just peeling back the layers of the game and making sure their ball knowledge just keeps growing and growing.”
The two brought different styles to the table last season. Riley offered the speed and agility to pop explosive runs, while Gaines supplied the power for short-yardage work and also flashed enough burst to break things open.
Riley has added 11 pounds this offseason, and Montgomery said Gaines has added even more speed and power.
“If we had to run some short-yardage situations with (Riley), I would have no issues with that,” Montgomery said. “I just think holistically, they’re just so much more mentally prepared for each situation. ... We’re gonna game plan some things for them, but we don’t have to worry about who’s in there for specific situations.”
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