BOISE, Idaho — During Mountain West Media Days in Las Vegas, Boise State head coach Andy Avalos announced some notable position changes on defense.
Senior safety Tyreque Jones is moving from safety to the nickel position this fall. In 2021, Jones earned All-Mountain West Honorable Mention after tallying 53 tackles, 2 interceptions and a forced fumble.
The San Bernardino, Calif., native also forced a team-high six pass breakups and started in all 12 games. Avalos said the move will be "tremendous" for the Bronco defense, considering Jones' athleticism and football IQ.
"We've seen how explosive he is, you know, when he gets his opportunities to run an alley and fill a lane. So, now he's going to be a lot closer to the ball to be able to do those things and it's really interchangeable with the position he played last year, you know, those guys interchanged quite a bit to mix up some pre-snap disguises," Avalos said. "The way the game works, a lot of things in the pre-snap work off of the nickel's alignment and where he's at in his spacing of the field and him having the knowledge of the game and knowing, you know, different things of disguise and stuff like that, it's going to be tremendous for us."
Boise State junior Isaiah Bagnah will be moving from EDGE to weak-side linebacker this fall, Avalos said.
Last fall, the Canada native collected 36 tackles, 7 tackles for loss and 6 sacks, the second most on the team.
Defensive lineman and Preseason All-Mountain West first-teamer Scott Matlock said Bagnah's athleticism makes linebacker a "good fit" for the 6-4, 225-pound junior.
"He's very athletic, you know, he has great skillsets and tools as far as like pass rushing from last year - that can be incorporated on blitzes and stuff - so, he has that. He can move, he's athletic, he can drop in coverage," Matlock said. "I think it's gonna be a good fit to have him there. We can mix around and put people in spots where they can excel and help the defense out more."
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