Maddux Madsen is heading into his third season as Boise State’s full-time starter, and the final year of his Broncos run comes with a familiar question hanging over him: can he push the ball downfield more consistently?
The redshirt senior has already stacked up plenty in Boise. He’s helped deliver a pair of Mountain West championships, reached the College Football Playoff and put together a run that included never losing a home game when he finished it.
But the conversation around Madsen has never been just about production. His size and arm strength have drawn criticism, and so has his tendency at times to keep the offense in the short and intermediate game.
That issue has shown up most when Boise State has been forced to chase. In the 2024 Fiesta Bowl playoff game against Penn State, three of his six interceptions that season came while the Broncos were trying to claw back into the game. The same pattern surfaced last season at Notre Dame, when he threw four picks on the road, and again in the LA Bowl against Washington, where he tossed two interceptions on just 16 pass attempts before leaving early with an injury.
The numbers fit that profile. Madsen’s average depth of target in 2025 was 8.1 yards, according to Pro Football Focus, which lines up more with a short- to intermediate-range manager than a quarterback consistently threatening defenses deep. In a play-action vertical offense, the top college quarterbacks are typically closer to 10 yards on average target depth.
Madsen says he’s working to change that in his final season.
“Sometimes I feel like those wide receivers hate me because I’m like, all right, guys, we’re running the post,” Madsen said at Boise State’s media day on Wednesday. “... With that comes timing and certain things, and it’s been fun to see that (grow).”
The push to stretch the field isn’t on Madsen alone. Boise State’s receiver room has changed, and there are new pieces built to help create a more vertical attack.
Sixth-year Ben Ford is back after an ACL tear, while junior Cam Bates brings speed and experience. Freshmen Rasean Jones and Terrious Favors add quickness, and transfers Akeem Wright and Darren Morris bring more size and length.
“I see us as more vertical and man-beaters,” Bates said Wednesday at the team’s media day. “We’re fast, and then we also have some guys that can go deep in for a jump ball.”
Spencer Danielson pointed to Madsen’s offseason work in the weight room as part of the equation, saying it could help him “attack vertically.” But the Boise State coach also made clear that the deep passing game depends on more than the quarterback and receivers. Protection up front and a productive run game have to come first if the Broncos want to create the play-action chances that open everything else.
“You look at the success Boise State offenses have had in the past. Everything has had an explosive run attack,” Danielson said.
“From there, that then opens up the play-action vertical attack. From there comes the boots.
From there comes the screens. From there comes tempo and different ways to throw a defense off.
“So we are going to be cutting-edge. We’re going to attack defenses, but it starts with our offensive line.”