Every week in our insider's notebook for CBS Sports, we survey a coach or player we find interesting. This week's subject was Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson, whose team is a darling of sorts after pushing No. 9 Oregon to the brink last Saturday on the backs of superstar running back Ashton Jeanty, who ran for 197 yards and three touchdowns in a 37-34 loss. Danielson is in his first season as head coach after having the interim tag removed following a 2023 season that saw him make history as the first interim coach to take their team to a conference championship.
Danielson, 35, had so much to say we figured it'd be criminal to not include everything, so we've transcribed the full interview here. Our interview with Danielson occurred before the news broke that Boise State is leaving the Mountain West after the 2025 season to join the Pac-12, one of four schools to do so. The Broncos play FCS Portland State on Saturday night.
CBS Sports: What did you learn about your team from the Oregon game?
Danielson: "Going into the game I knew we had a group of guys that weren't afraid of hard work. I think sometimes people want things but are they really willing to put the work in for the things they want? We train our guys hard. They get held to extremely high standards and they met and exceeded those this entire offseason. I knew going into this season I wasn't exactly sure what it'd look like, but I knew our guys weren't afraid of hard work. I'm a firm believer if you perform the way you need to in practice, in games let your players cut loose, don't over coach them.
"Going into a game you feel confident because of the weeks of practice we've had, but seeing them go cut loose on Saturday – obviously a lot to clean up and we had every opportunity to win the game and didn't. As a competitor, there's no moral victories, we lost the game, but I'm proud of how our guys battled, I'm proud of how they cut loose. There's a good confidence…we can go play and beat anyone. We also have to have a realization we can lose to anybody as you can see this weekend. I'm proud of our guys. I'd take our guys over anybody. This is a group of guys that's player led; our best players are our best leaders. [Running back] Ashton Jeanty, [defensive end] Ahmed Hassanein they lead by example every single day. Elite teams are player led. As you go through the battle that we had with Oregon, we're a good football team. We didn't win the game but there's a lot of confidence and it's exciting for me to leave a game and look at what did we learn and what do we need to grow to. No different than when you win. When we beat Georgia Southern it was still what did we learn and what are we growing to? That's the consistent model for me with our team and our staff. Every week you're not going to live on this rollercoaster of we play a good team, we have to rise to the occasion; we play a team that on paper is not as good and take our foot off the gas. That's when i believe you see teams falter.
"I learned a lot about our team. They're not going to run from hard work, the big game is not going to be too big for them and they are going to keep swinging until the end. Losing a game at Boise State is unacceptable and we're going to continue to find ways to grow, but I'm proud of our team and I do have extreme confidence in them that when they practice the way they need to, they can line up against anybody in the country."
CBS Sports: The performance against Oregon seemed to reinforce why Boise State has been such a popular College Football Playoff pick. Do you use those outside expectations as an incentive to motivate the team or not even think about it yet?
Danielson: "I'm more of a process-oriented guy, I believe in process. But I also believe in calling out the elephant in the room. Boise State has been picked to win its conference 17 straight years. Obviously it hasn't always happened. This summertime and in the offseason I'm upfront with our guys that you came to Boise State because of the expectations here. You came here because of two decades of winning seasons, Fiesta Bowl championships, players in the NFL, that's why you came here. You came to be a part of a different program that holds its players to an extremely high standard so let's be open and honest with the expectations. When you go to Boise State, the expectation is to win championships and play in the biggest bowl game possible.
"Now insert college playoff, that's the standard at Boise State. Now if the media think we're going to do it or not, if your parents think we'll do it or not, that's really irrelevant. You came here to win your conference and play in the biggest game possible. That is the expectation when you come here. I tried to call it what it is and haven't talked about it a lot since then. I wanted to be open and honest with our guys because they are being inundated with it everywhere they go in the offseason more than anything. But as we transitioned to fall camp, it's not been something I've talked about one bit. I'm such a firm believer in if you handle your process, the games will take care of themselves. The two things we control are our urgency and you better perform in practice. We put a premium on practice performance here at Boise State. I need to see you perform it in practice. And then let these guys cut loose and don't overthink it. I'm going to have fun with these guys. On Saturday night, go cut loose.
"I don't talk about championships, I don't talk about College Football Playoff games. That's why these kids came to Boise State and they are hearing it every day from outside sources. They don't need to hear it from me. If we look too forward to that, we're never even going to make it."
CBS Sports: When the vultures were circling Ashton Jeanty, what was that like for you and how were you able to keep him at Boise State? There's some buzz Jeanty could be RB1 in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Danielson: "He's a different kid, in a good way. I talk to scouts every single day about him. Ashton Jeanty is a 10/10 on and off the football field. Generationally you don't find many Ashton Jeantys out there anymore. We get done playing the championship game and I get named the head coach the next day. And everybody in the country is trying to get Ashton to leave. I've been open about the illegal recruiting of it so I'm not going to beat a dead horse…but even going through that with him, Ashton comes from a great family. Military background, he's dialed in, yes sir, no sir, he's been on point as a 17-year old when he walked on campus.
"He said 'Coach I've got all these people calling me, calling my family telling me I should leave.' All the negative recruiting and all the money being thrown at him, we had one conversation -- me, him and his dad -- and it was this is where we're at, these are some different things we're going to help you grow in. After that one day, that one conversation, he never talked about it again. He said 'I'm a part of this program, I'm committed to Boise State and I know I'm going to grow and develop to be the best version of myself on and off the football field." And that was it. That's a testament to Ashton and who he is as a person.
"Second transfer portal window comes around in April and I've got media guys calling me and saying 'Hey Spence, they're coming for Ashton again.' Ashton never even brought it up one time. When he says something, he's a man of his word. That's how he was raised and who he is as a person. That is extremely uncommon. He is focused on growing his team, making him the best leader and player he can be. When Ashton, Ahmed, say 'No, screw that, I'm not leaving for more money, I'm committed to this team' I think the rest of our team is like 'Who am I to leave if these guys aren't?' The reason we were able to keep our team intact where some others didn't is because of the player-led leadership on our team."
