When a major piece departs, any struggles at that guy’s position are going to be magnified.
Leighton Vander Esch left following his junior season at Boise State and is now excelling with the Dallas Cowboys, so there was no doubt that the Broncos’ linebackers would be analyzed closely in his absence this season.
“A little bit like when you had Kellen Moore here, Jay Ajayi here, Leighton Vander Esch, that’s going to be the standard,” Boise State coach Bryan Harsin said. “Do we have that one guy like Leighton right now? No, we don’t. Do we have multiple players that can go out there, do their job and make plays?