This Utah high school talent beat out a former No. 1 recruit for a starting quarterback job

Maddux Madsen is being handed over the reins to the Boise State offense.
The former American Fork High quarterback, who is a redshirt sophomore for the Broncos, will start Boise State’s season opener against Georgia Southern on Aug. 31, ESPN’s Pete Thamel first reported Sunday.
Madsen reportedly beat out Malachi Nelson, rated the nation’s No. 1 recruit in the 2023 class by ESPN. Nelson played one season at USC before transferring to Boise this offseason.
Madsen has been at Boise since 2022. He appeared briefly in one game that year and redshirted that season.
Last year, Madsen played in nine games and started one, when he threw for 202 yards and two touchdowns in a win over New Mexico in mid-November.
As the primary backup to starter Taylen Green, who’s now at Arkansas, Madsen threw for 1,191 yards, nine touchdowns and three interceptions during the 2023 season.
The five-star talent Nelson, meanwhile, played in just one game for USC as a true freshman last year, completing 1 of 3 passes against San Jose State.
Injuries hampered Nelson’s time at USC, as ESPN reported.
“It’s been a year of transition, a year of growth. There’s been a lot of lessons learned this past year,” Nelson’s father, Eric Nelson, told ESPN. “You think you have a plan, whether it was Oklahoma or USC, and then it changes and you have to adapt.”
Boise State coach Spencer Danielson showed a willingness to adjust at quarterback if changes are needed to spark the offense.
“Whoever the starter is as we go through it will be the starter,” he said Saturday, according to the Idaho Statesman, after the Broncos’ second scrimmage. “Now, they don’t play well, they’re making bad decisions, whatever that might be in the game, we’re going to make changes.
“But we’re going to go in with a starter, and then we’ll adapt and adjust from there.”