Aug. 8—The new school year for Idaho is a week and a half away, but for the Vandal football team the first exam of the fall is today.
Idaho will hold the first scrimmage of fall camp with the main focus being on the young talent battling it out for spots on the depth chart and playing time.
“I think we’ll probably try to get maybe 25 plays with our first group, 25 with our second, and get a little bit more, maybe 35 plays with our young guys,” coach Jason Eck said.
The team put on full pads for a practice for the first time on Tuesday before a helmet-only session Wednesday. However, this scrimmage will represent the first full-game simulation the Vandals have seen since coming back from summer break.
“It’s gonna be a good feeling, a lot of people flying around. That’s what I’m excited to see, a lot of big hits,” senior defensive lineman Keyshawn James-Newby said. “Hoping everyone stays healthy during that time. But I’m (ready to see) a lot of guys flying around.”
Here are three things to look for during the first scrimmage:
Young receiver corps
Six of the top seven players on the Idaho reception list last season are not going to put on a Vandal uniform in 2024. The lone returner from that list will be absent from the first scrimmage with sophomore Jordan Dwyer being “a little nicked up” and not participating today. Dwyer had 20 receptions for 328 yards and four touchdowns last year.
Redshirt freshman Mark Hamper caught four passes for 26 yards and junior Michael Graves had a single catch for one yard last season. That is it for Vandal wideouts on the 2024 roster with their name on the receiving leaderboard last season.
So who is going to step up? This first scrimmage might go a long way in determining that.
“We’re gonna have a lot of young guys that need to help us this year. Some true freshmen that’ll be ready to go,” receivers coach Matt Linehan said. “I wanna make sure this first scrimmage, we see exactly where they’re at and see their trajectory as to where they’re gonna be this year.”
Earlier this week Linehan was recognized as one of the top young coaches in the country as he was named to the 247sports.com 30-under-30 list on Tuesday.
“It’s great, it’s good to be recognized, it feels very good. But I think without having the staff that I have and the players that I have, that doesn’t come to be,” Linehan said. “So credit to those guys, and I appreciate the honor, but at the end of the day, there’s still a lot of work to do.”
The tight end position has more experience with Jake Cox and Alex Moore returning. The duo combined for 22 receptions and five touchdowns last year.
One name to keep an eye on is late-transfer Mike Martinez from UCLA. Martinez is a 6-foot-7, 265-pound senior that is looking to get some playing time. He is a physical presence that will be hard to ignore.
Depth is key
While many fans are focused on who will replace names like quarterback Gevani McCoy, wide receiver Hayden Hatten and running back Anthony Woods, the Vandals are focused on the entire landscape of their roster.
Injuries are a part of the game that no one wants to talk about, but are always prevalent. It is important to not only get the starters figured out, but find out who will be ready to go at any moment to replace them if something goes wrong. For first-year defensive coordinator Dan Jackson, that is his main focus today.
“Tomorrow’s scrimmage, there’ll be a heavier emphasis on younger players and new players so we can get them experience and see how they react in a game setting,” Jackson said.
The Idaho defense brings back eight starters from last year, but Jackson said that when you play up-tempo teams — especially on the defensive side — he is not focused on the 11 players who will be out there for the first snap, but the 15-18 guys, or even more, he will rotate in during a drive.
“I do believe in subbing. I want every guy in the defense to feel that they have value,” Jackson said. “So to me, a fresh backup is oftentimes a lot better than an exhausted starter.”
Jackson said he was excited to see the guys go out and tackle and get to be more physical than they had been so far in camp. He said the team preaches championship effort. He wants to see his players play hard, but also know their assignment and be ready to do their job. Veteran James-Newby agreed.
“I told them, just do the main fundamentals, do the basics. Show your hands, make sure you’re always using your hands and always moving your feet.,” James-Newby said. “That’s really it, fundamentals and then know the play. It’s really assignment, alignment, then execute it.”
Throughout the early part of camp, Jackson was happy with the jump that senior Syrr Barnes took during the offseason.
Two Idaho products have also caught his eye: freshman safety Matt Irwin from Meridian and sophomore linebacker Cruz Hepburn from Lewiston.
“(Hepburn) came in and he’s really taken a big jump from the spring. So excited about him,” Jackson said.”He was banged up a little bit in the spring, so tomorrow’s really, really big for him.”
Iron sharpens iron
It is clear that experience-wise, the defense is a step or two ahead of the offense at this point of camp. During a two-minute drill in practice on Wednesday, the offense struggled to complete a pass deeper than five yards down the field against the strong secondary. However, that is exactly what this time of year is all about. Pitting the young players up against those experienced players who have been here before.
“The old iron sharpens iron adage that you wanna use for your guys. And even young players understand, hey, this is what it’s gonna take, right?” Linehan said. “It’s not gonna be easy like high school, right? You’re the best player in your high school and now you got a lot of really good players at the next level. So kind of teach them exactly where they’re gonna need to get, where they’re projected to.”
The players projected to be starters are set to see less than a third of the action today, but the main focus seems to be on the 38 true freshmen and how they handle the moment.
“I want to see some sharpness in us executing with our older groups. And then hopefully we’re trying to finalize some of those position battles for starting spots and key backups,” Eck said. “Then we’ve got to really do a good job of analyzing our younger guys, just who can help us this year.”
Isbelle can be reached at 208-848-2268, risbelle@lmtribune.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyIsbelle.
