Boise State’s margin for error is already thin, and that makes Roger Carreon the linchpin of this season.
The Broncos have spent the offseason trying to regroup after injuries piled up in 2025. Cornerbacks Jeremiah Earby and A’Marion McCoy and wide receiver Ben Ford all went down with season-ending injuries, while quarterback Maddux Madsen and wide receiver Chris Marshall were part of a larger group that missed multiple games. Now, with fall camp open and the Sept. 5 opener at Oregon looming, Boise State has a very clear priority: keep its most important offensive lineman upright.
That matters even more because the line itself is one of the biggest unknowns for Boise State as it enters Year 1 of the reborn Pac-12. Center Mason Randolph is gone after exhausting his eligibility, and left tackle Kage Casey was taken in the fourth round of the NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos. Those two were Boise State’s best offensive linemen last season, which leaves a major hole for the Broncos to fill.
Carreon is the player expected to steady everything. He started 13 games at right guard next to Randolph last season while dealing with nagging injuries for most of the year, still finishing third on the team with 855 offensive snaps and earning all-Mountain West honorable mention. He has appeared in 34 career games with 26 starts, and his experience is exactly what Boise State needs with so many pieces changing around him.
Head coach Spencer Danielson said Monday that Carreon is fully healthy after missing spring practice because of injury.
“Roger has played a ton of football,” Danielson said in his pre-camp press conference. “Roger is the hands-down leader of that offensive line, and Roger is one of the top leaders on our entire team.
You talk with Roger for five minutes, and you’re going to want to put your head through that wall. That’s who Roger is, he loves this team.
But they’re going to need their reps-him and (right tackle Daylon Metoyer)-for missing the spring.”
Carreon’s path to this point has been built on steady, physical football. He was rated a three-star prospect out of Jal High School in New Mexico, played in all 14 games as a redshirt freshman with seven starts, and then fought through a lower leg injury that cost him eight games in 2024 before he returned for the team’s College Football Playoff run.
Last season, he stood out more as a run blocker than in pass protection, ranking No. 4 among Mountain West guards in Pro Football Focus ratings. But he also allowed 14 quarterback pressures, and that’s where Boise State needs the biggest step forward.
If Carreon stays healthy and sharpens his pass protection, he gives the Broncos their most seasoned voice up front and their best chance to settle the offensive line. If he goes down again, the unit loses its leader and most experienced player, and the pressure on Madsen only grows.
In Other News...
Boise States Stadium Debut Comes With A Memphis Threat Fans Should Note
Boise State fans marking the 2026 trip to Albertsons Stadium are getting an early look at a Memphis team that could look very different by the time it arrives in Boise. The Tigers are set to open their season against Oregon before heading west, and first-year coach Charles Huff is rebuilding with major roster movement, including a wave of players and staff from Southern Miss and a broad infusion of transfer additions across the depth chart.
For Boise State, the matchup is less about who Memphis was last season and more about how quickly Huff can get the new pieces to fit. The most important decision still hanging over that transition is at quarterback, where Air Noland and Marcus Stokes are competing for the job as Memphis tries to sharpen both sides of the ball with a new cast. By the time the Tigers reach Albertsons Stadium, the Broncos may be facing a team that is still figuring out its identity. [Read more 🡒]