TOP 5 UNDER THE RADAR PLAYERS TO WATCH
August 25, 2025
By: Grant Horlocher
Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s officially game week for your Boise State Broncos. The Broncos are flying down to Tampa, Florida, to play the University of South Florida Bulls on August 28, 2025, at 5:30 p.m. EST. Normally, at this point, people would put out a top 5 players list. I want to go down a different route for fans. Let’s take a look at 5 players who you may not know yet but will know by the end of this season.
Chris Marshall (WR) 6’3” 215 lbs.
Though Chris is not new to the Boise State team, last year, he was very limited by a leg injury very early in the season and never got healthy enough to see the field again. Chris Marshall has arguably had one of the strongest off-seasons on this team. Chris Marshall hasn’t missed a single practice this fall camp and has been making the Boise State defenders look silly. Chris Marshall was once a highly touted 5-Star high school recruit. Marshall ran into some off-the-field issues early in his career and is now looking to rebound with the Broncos. Watch for Chris to make a huge impact on this offense this season.
Sire Gaines (HB) 6’0” 217 lbs.
We all know Jeanty has played his last game on the blue. Now we are on to life without Jeanty. From what the staff has told the media and public, the running game is going to be a lot more balanced and ran by committee. Sire Gaines and Malik Sherrod have been named starting running backs. Last year, in his 3 games before hurting his leg, Sire had 20 carries and averaged 7.8 yards per carry. After a grueling rehab offseason, I fully expect Sire to run through some USF defenders with some anger. Sire has something to prove this year in that he can stay healthy this season, and to put up some rushing yards after the Jeanty departure.
Max Stege (DE) 6’4” 269 lbs.
Max Stege, the German native, is looking to replace the great Ahmed Hassanein. Max, in his very limited reps in the 2024 season, had 3 sacks and 14 total tackles. I can already hear the negative nancy’s screaming at their screen about how a guy who had such few stats last year is one of the top 5 players to watch this year. Behind Ahmed last year Max had little to no playing time last year. Ahmed is gone now, and there aren’t a lot of proven vets in Max’s spot. Max has had a strong fall camp, and hopefully the momentum continues into this season.
Jake Ripp (LB) 6’3” 240 lbs.
Another key departure this offseason was defensive leader Andrew Simpson. Simpson departed the Broncos this offseason and committed to the University of North Carolina. Now the Broncos have a void to fill in the linebacker core. Insert Jake Ripp, the Los Gatos, California native, who has had two great offseason camps. After years of Ripp scratching and clawing to find some playing time. His time has come after finally being announced as a starter this season. Be ready for Ripp to prove to the coaches he should’ve been a starter all along. Look for this explosive linebacker to make a huge impact in the pass rush game.
Bol Bol (Edge) 6’4” 240 lbs.
The final player to make this list is very different from the rest of the list. Bol Bol is a true freshman this year. This pick could just be a shot in the dark. Not many people know who Bol Bol was, let alone know that he had a shot at making an impact off the edge this year. I don’t think Bol Bol will have huge playing time due to him playing behind Jayden Virgin-Morgan. But I expect the true Freshman to play a similar role to Max Steige this year. Expect this young buck to play fast and motivated for more playing time.
