A springboard to a revival
MOSCOW, Idaho – The University of Idaho spring football game was typical in every way Friday night. There were segments when the offense dominated, portions when the defense ruled, costly turnovers and several missed scoring opportunities.
All fairly normal stuff on the field, but a glance in the stands showed the biggest difference in Idaho’s program from previous years. Some 5,000 showed up for the 90-minute scrimmage, no doubt many drawn to the Kibbie Dome by the return of Vandals head coach Dennis Erickson.
The crowd, which probably equaled the accumulated attendance of the last four spring games, watched the Silver, directed by starting quarterback Steve Wichman, build an early lead before the Gold defense triggered a comeback for a 14-10 victory.
“You saw the crowd – that’s unbelievable for a spring game,” Erickson said. “There’s a lot of enthusiasm, which there should be in spring football. The problem is we have to play Sept. 2 (against Michigan State) and we have a hell of a lot of work to do before Sept. 2.”
Erickson joked afterward that he remains unbeaten in spring games, then concisely summarized the contest by saying, “There were some good things, there were some bad things.”
For the first-team offense, the majority of the good came in the first half. Wichman guided Idaho on two scoring drives and a 10-0 lead, but the first unit struggled mightily the rest of the way. Wichman finished 4 of 20 for 63 yards and his late interception set up the Gold’s winning touchdown.
“Maybe we got a little too cocky there, I don’t know,” Wichman said. “We just didn’t execute like we did in the first half.”
The first-team defense, which gave up considerable yardage in the first half, turned up the pass rush in the second half. Speedy ends Ben Alexander and Charles Campbell were in the backfield constantly, combining for four sacks.
“I started off really rough because they were in maximum protection,” said Alexander, a 212-pound junior who is one of the team’s fastest players. “As the game went on I got more comfortable. As a defensive line we played really well. Toward the end the tackles were getting a good rush.”
The Vandals, desperate to generate a running game after struggling in that department last season, had five players gain at least 30 yards. Rolly Lumbala picked up 55 yards on 11 carries and scored the deciding touchdown with 2:16 remaining.
Probable starter Jayson Bird showed power and speed while rushing for 41 yards and one touchdown. Redshirt freshman Devon Sturdivant had 31 yards, including an impressive 16-yarder in which he shook off a big hit just past the line of scrimmage.
“Schematically it’s awesome,” said Bird, who missed most of last season with a broken collar bone. “There are some things we’ve thrown in that we didn’t run with the old staff and I think it’s helped.”
The receiving corps remains a concern. Max Komar, Peter Bjorvik, Tracy McCormick and Rick Harrison each had two catches, but there were several drops, a recurring problem this spring.
“As I’ve said, somebody’s got to step up and start catching the football,” Erickson said.
Notes
Safety Zachary-James E.K. Santos, a walk-on from Hawaii, had two interceptions. Linebacker Jason Lee Brown, who played running back last year, picked off a Wichman pass and returned it for a touchdown only to see the return nullified by a penalty. … Second-team quarterback Chris Joseph led an impressive scoring drive. He was 2 for 2 for 51 yards and Lumbala capped the march with a 7-yard TD run. … On his first pass attempt, reserve quarterback T.J. Conley rolled out and threw a 38-yard strike to DeAngelo Ramsey. A few plays later, Santos intercepted a Conley pass in the end zone. Conley was at the helm of a 16-play drive in the third quarter that came away empty when Luke Hardwick missed a 24-yard field goal.