2025 BOISE STATE SPRING BREAKDOWN PT4 LINEBACKER GROUP
Linebackers
By: Grant Michael
On 3/27/2025 Bronco Nation got some unfortunate news with star linebacker Andrew Simpson leaving for the transfer portal. In this new era of NIL schools like Boise State University have seen an increasing number of players leave for more money. Boise State does not have the resources of big donors like SEC schools and Oregon. Boise State Football has about 2 million dollars in NIL but is competing with schools with up to 20 million dollars. Players like Ashton Jeanty and Tyson Degenhart are a dime a dozen. Ashton Jeanty could have easily left Boise State last year and made 3x the amount he did here. We don’t know any reasons why star linebacker Andrew Simpson hit the transfer portal, but one thing is for sure and that is that he will get a nice payday. Let’s look at how the Boise State linebacker core will look to replace 45 tackles, 3 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, and 1 interception of Andrew Simpson.
Notable Names
Left: Andrew Simpson (Transfer Portal), Jake Ripp (Move to Edge Position),
Returning: Marco Notarainni (R-Sr), Chase Martin (Jr), Clay Martineau (So), Syncere Brackett
(G-Fr)
New: Mana Tuioti (Fr), *most likely one transfer portal addition*
Marco Notarainni has been the backbone of this linebacker core for the last two years. He might not be the flashiest of players, but he is a player who is exceptionally smart on and off the field. Marco is a player who is always a step ahead of the offense and always in a position to make plays or set up the defense pre-snap for success. In the last 2 years, Marco has racked up 113 tackles, 6.5 sacks, and a forced fumble. I see Marco getting an increased number of snaps due to Andrew Simpson’s departure. I expect Marco to take this young group of linebackers under his wing and lead them to success.
A young player that I see making a jump in production is Clay Martineau. Clay was a four-star linebacker out of Oregon City, Oregon in the Boise State 2024 recruiting class. Last year Clay saw little playing time playing behind Andrew Simpson and Marco Notarainni. Clay tallied 2 tackles and 1 sack last year mostly contributing on special teams. Clay would bring some length in this rotation standing at 6’3” 220lbs. I expect Clay to make a bigger impact in the linebacking core this year.
Linebackers are some of the most important and versatile positions on the defensive side of the ball. Typically, Linebackers are the ones who set up the defensive lineman and call out movement or defensive audibles to the rest of the team. It takes brains and guts to play linebacker and it will be interesting to see who will be beside Marco Notarainni on opening day for your Boise State Broncos.
Lastly, I want to thank everyone at Bronco Nation Updates, Chirs Van Sickle, and all of Bronco Nation for all the support I have received from these articles. I am beyond grateful to share some insight and opinion on Boise State sports with this community. If you or anyone you know would like me to write about a certain topic, sport, etc. please reach out to me on any of my socials.
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