Boise State Football: Spring Preview for the Defensive Secondary

Returning starting safety Jeremy Ioane is one of the most talented defensive players on Boise State's roster.Brian Losness-USA TODAY Sports

There are fans out there that are very concerned about Boise State's situation at cornerback and for good reason. Jamar Taylor and Jerrell Gavins were both talented players and will be missed this coming season.

In fact, Boise State is in relatively good shape at the safety position. Returning starter Jeremy Ioane was a consistent performer in 2012, finishing second on the team in tackles and tied for third in interceptions with the team's other safety, Darian Thompson.

Thompson, who will be a redshirt sophomore this season, was not exactly expected to do a lot for the Broncos in 2012. But thanks to an increase in playing time due to Lee Hightower's suspension at the end of October, Thompson was named the starter for the remainder of the year.

Both Ioane and Thompson are expected to be top performers on the defense once again, and their presence makes it difficult to make the argument that Boise State's defensive secondary as a whole could be a severe issue in 2013.

As well as being pretty set at the safety position, the Broncos do have several decent options to fill the voids left by Taylor and Gavins.

Junior Bryan Douglas may have actually been the starter over Gavins for the majority of the 2012 season but tore his ACL against Wyoming in October. He'll be back for the beginning of the 2013 season and assuming that he is back to his regular form, will ease some of the worries of the Boise State faithful.

At the other cornerback slot, several players will be vying for the position in the spring and likely well into the summer. Junior Deon'tae Florence, sophomore Donte Deayon and a couple of junior college recruits (Cleshawn Page and Mercy Maston) will all get a chance to prove their worth.

So far, Florence and Deayon appear to have the early lead for the starting position, as both have reportedly looked good in spring practices.

With so much depth at the corner position and Ebo Makinde moving from corner to safety to provide depth there, the Broncos are nowhere near lacking talent in the defensive secondary.

While replacing Taylor and Gavins may appear difficult, the overwhelming feeling should be that the Broncos have players who will be able to step right in and perform equally as well.

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