Apr. 5—MOSCOW, Idaho — After holding the offense scoreless over 65 plays on Saturday, the obvious call was to say the defense won Idaho’s first spring scrimmage.
But it begs the question: won what?
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Vandals coach Thomas Ford said Idaho has not yet installed a red-zone offense, which might have made a difference both times the team got near the goal line. There are also a multitude of new faces on each side of the ball.
That, and the fact both offense and defense still seemed a half-beat off throughout the workout, suggests the Vandals are still very much a work in progress.
Probably where they should be with a significantly revamped roster and a new coaching staff at this point in spring.
“Our defense has a lot of moving parts,” said Ford. “(Playing against) multiple offensive lines and quarterbacks, that is going to be an advantage.”
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The offensive play of the day was Jack Wagner launching a long pass from his 35-yard line to Emmerson Cortez-Menjivar, who took it to the 10-yard line.
Wagner, a redshirt sophomore who threw for 1,389 yards and 12 touchdowns in relief of an injured Jack Layne last year, said he was trying to sell a play-action run .
“I liked my matchup,” he said. “The safety came down” before Wagner spun it to Cortez-Menjiver.
The drive stalled there, though, as Wagner overthrew Cortez-Menjiver at the 5-yard line then could not connect with him in the end zone when he was covered by sophomore defensive back Khaled Rawls.
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“It just kind of shows what we need to do to get better,” Wagner said.
The defense came away from the workout with a pair of interceptions, including one by redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Matyus McLain that caught Ford’s eye, a tipped pass by defensive lineman Julian Lee, and a sack by defensive back Trenton Fisher, who came roaring off the edge against quarterback Rocco Koch.
Ford also said he wanted to see the defense tackle in the scrimmage, so that got done.
Among the four quarterbacks who took turns alternating series, Ford said Wagner and redshirt sophomore Nick Josifek are emerging as the top two over sophomore Rocco Koch and sophomore Holden Bea in the early going of spring practice.
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A pair of power running backs looked equal to the challenge of matching up with the defense.
Hayden Kincheloe, a 5-foot-10, 235-pound redshirt junior, is listed as a tight end on the roster but has been picking up additional work in the backfield this spring. He and redshirt senior Nate Thomas (5-8, 210) were a handful on simply securing a handoff and running downhill — blocking optional.
“Nate Thomas is a guy who looks better when it is tackle football,” Ford said.
As the Vandals get into the thick of their spring workouts, redshirt junior linebacker Dylan Layne had the best take on what the exercise is all about for a largely new team.
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Layne said he is stepping into the role as the lead communicator on defense after Idaho lost all of its starting secondary and linebackers from last year to graduation and the transfer portal.
“That is the nature of (Football Championship Subdivision) football these days,” Layne said.
“A whole new 11 on each side of the ball and new coaches. But that is the fun of it, too.”
