This offseason, Bronco Nation News is counting down the top-26 most important players for Boise State football in 2026. Continuing with #12: Sherrod Smith
One of the themes of the countdown series thus far has been the overhaul of the secondary this offseason. Both Roman Tillmon and Travis Anderson have made appearances on this list, and Sherrod Smith becomes the third member of the secondary to become highlighted.
Last season's cornerback duo was one of the best in recent history for the program. Both A'Marion McCoy and Jeremiah Earby finished with all-conference honors, with McCoy finishing third in the Mountain West in PFF's coverage grade amongst cornerbacks, and Earby finishing third in the conference with 6 pass breakups. Each player had 4 interceptions, which was also third in the conference. Down the stretch, Boise State's cornerbacks were continually asked to play on islands in man coverage, and Earby and McCoy more often than not answered the call.
Replacing that duo will be a challenge, but Sherrod Smith showed at the end of last season that it is doable. A'Marion McCoy, who according to Spencer Danielson had been playing through an injury for most of the back-half of the season, ended up missing the last four games of the season and Smith stepped into a larger role and shined. During that four-game stretch, Smith was targeted 18 times and allowed just 5 catches for 60 yards, and registering 4 pass breakups with a passer rating allowed of 41.0. On the season, Sherrod Smith had the fewest yards allowed per coverage snap in the Mountain West and the lowest catch rate allowed at 33%. In just over 250 snaps, Smith showed flashes of an elite lockdown cornerback last season.
It wasn't as if Smith was beating up on poor pass offenses either. Three of those opponents included Utah State, UNLV and Washington, top-5 passing offenses that the Broncos faced all season. The bowl game against the Huskies was particularly impressive for Smith where he got to match up with 39th overall pick and Cleveland Browns receiver, Denzel Boston (who coincidentally was born in Boise) – when Smith covered Boston that day he was targeted 2 times, giving up 0 catches with a pass breakup. Boston torched the Broncos for 6 catches, 126 yards and a touchdown, yet was completely stifled when Sherrod Smith was on him.
The ceiling for Smith in 2026 is through the roof. If you want to put Sherrod Smith on your preseason All-PAC-12 ballot, I wouldn't blame you. If you wanted to put him on your NFL Draft radars, I wouldn't blame you. We haven't seen much of him, but what we have seen has been elite. Spencer Danielson certainly thinks so as well, predicting that "I think Sherrod Smith is going to be one of the better corners we've ever had here."
One hurdle for Sherrod Smith to overcome this season will be injuries. Smith missed a game with a shoulder injury last season, and missed all of spring camp this year with injury. The expectation is that he will be full-go in time for fall camp, but returning to pre-injury form will be critical for Smith to hit on the upside he flashed last season.
Boise State's cornerback room currently projects as one of the deeper units on the team again this fall. Sherrod Smith and Jaden Mickey seem like locks to start (whether Mickey is at cornerback or nickel remains to be seen), but Kennesaw State transfer JeRico Washington Jr. was an all-conference player in the Conference-USA, and returning players like Demetrius Freeney, Franklyn Johnson Jr., and Trey Tolmaire have shown bright flashes in limited playing time. Sherrod Smith's placement at number-12 in our countdown isn't because it's a position of need for Boise State – it's because Smith has the potential to be one of the defense's most impactful players this fall.
Nathan Carroll is a part-time contributor for Bronco Nation News and host of the TBA Podcast. Nathan has worked for Pro Football Focus as part of their data collection team, specializing in charting player data at the FBS level. Previously, he graduated from Boise State's Honors College with a degree in Quantitative Economics and worked 5 years in Boise State's athletic department. Follow him on X atNathan_26_