Counting accounts for much of Akey’s work time

University of Idaho football coach Robb Akey has enjoyed most aspects of his new job, but there is one that has occupied far too much of his time.

Akey is dealing with constant roster turnover for a variety of reasons, including legal issues, academics, family problems, rules violations or players quitting. There are at least 15 players who were on Idaho’s 2006 roster and/or 2007 spring roster that are no longer with the team and Akey said that list might grow by one or two.

“It’s unfortunate,” he said. “That’s not why you coach football to go through those things, but that’s part of the deal. Being able to build a team, you have to put things together the right way. They can either do the right things or you have to prove there is meaning in your words.

“I knew when I came in here I had to build trust with this team and vice versa. One way is you have to show them you care about them. And two, you explain this is the way we do things and there’s going to be repercussions for their actions. Some of them elected to continue to think they could get away with things or it wouldn’t apply to them.”

Some of the 15 exited months ago, but there are a few notable postspring departures, including receiver Tracy Ford and running back Andre Harris. Ford caught a touchdown pass and Harris had a rushing TD in Idaho’s spring game. Ford rushed for 148 yards and had 35 yards receiving last season.

Also no longer with the team are defensive tackle Alex Toailoa, safety Adam Anderson, defensive lineman Jon Dominguez, offensive lineman Tristan Turner, defensive lineman Dan Aizpitarte, defensive back Bryan Dukes, defensive lineman Marvin Jones, receiver Marlon Haynes, receiver Tariq Ikharo, quarterback Jon Tobin, cornerback General Parnell, cornerback Terrance McCoy and cornerback Reggie Jones.

The departures leave Idaho particularly thin on the defensive front and at cornerback. With a shortage of defensive linemen, the Vandals will probably use a 3-4 scheme at times. Idaho will probably determine the starting cornerback opposite Stanley Franks during fall camp.

Akey believes his message is being heard by the players.

“I think we’ve gained a lot of ground,” he said. “Guys are going to make mistakes – that’s part of growing up. We’re dealing with something different. The guys are going to learn from this, even the ones that are gone.”

Idaho will be well less than the scholarship limit of 85. The team’s academic progress rate (APR) will no doubt suffer because of the turnover. Akey estimated Idaho’s scholarship number in the mid-70s.

“I know this is going to kill our APR in a year, but this is far more important than APR,” Akey said. “We need to provide the right environment for the kids that are doing the right things.”

Regarding scholarships, Akey said, “It’s going to take us a while to get those up because you can only sign 25 (per year).”

Akey intends to put receiver Max Komar, one of the team’s top receivers last season, and running back Deonte Jackson, who rushed for a team-leading 36 yards in the spring game, on scholarship this fall.

Akey has been busy since he was hired in December. He has hired a staff, assembled a recruiting class, installed offensive and defensive schemes and overseen spring football. The pace hasn’t slowed down this spring. He established a spring recruiting goal of visiting every high school in Idaho. By the end of the week, Akey and his assistant coaches will have completed the task.

“We just divided it up and each guy ended up with ‘X’ amount of schools,” he said. “I think it’s important that they understand this is our home state and we want to make sure we handle it. I want every coach out there to say, ‘I know this guy on Idaho’s staff.’ ”