Locally: Former Idaho quarterback Matt Linehan hired as Vandals’ wide receivers coach; Tyson Degehnart settles into role at Boise State
Matt Linehan is returning “home.”
The former University of Idaho quarterback, the game MVP after leading the Vandals to victory in the 2016 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, has been hired to be the Vandals’ wide receivers coach.
“Matt is a passionate Vandal,” said new Idaho head coach Jason Eck in announcing the hire.”
Eck noted Linehan’s UI connections – his father, Scott, played and coached at Idaho, “his mother went to school here (and) he was the starting quarterback on the last (Idaho) team to win a bowl game. He is silver and pride gold through and through.
“On top of that, he came highly recommended by coach (Eliah) Drinkwitz at Missouri,” where Linehan spent last season as an offensive graduate assistant working with quarterbacks and receivers.
“He is someone who has been around football his whole life, and despite being a young coach, has a lot of football experience.”
Linehan, who missed the last three games of his career (2014-17) with a thumb injury, still ranks high in major passing categories in the UI record book, including No. 1 in career passing yards (10,752).
He played one season for the Salt Lake Stallions in the short-lived Alliance of American Football in 2019 before joining the staff at San Diego State in 2020 as an offensive graduate assistant working with quarterbacks that preceded his time at Missouri.
“I’m beyond excited to return to Moscow as part of Coach Eck’s Staff,” Linehan said. “I can’t wait to get to work! Vandal Nation, I’m back!”
• The Vandals will take advantage of the fact the Kibbie Dome will be unavailable because of improvement being made to the facility and move their annual spring game to the Treasure Valley. Eck announced the spring game will be played April 30 on the artificial turf at Eagle High School’s Thunder Stadium.
College scene
Tyson Degehnart has settled in nicely in at Boise State. The freshman from Mt. Spokane HS received his fourth Mountain West Conference men’s basketball freshman of the week award for the week of Jan. 17-23 after averaging a team-high 13 ppg as the Broncos went 3-0, including making 18 of 19 free throws.
He was the game’s leading scorer in two of contests, scoring 19 at home against Air Force and 14 at San Diego. In all three games, he delivered when it mattered most.
At Air Force, 13 of his 19 came in the final 15 minutes to hold off the Falcons; both of his field goals in a six-point game at Utah State came in the closing minutes; and he scored 12 of Boise State’s final 17 points at San Diego State. He hit two free throws to tie the game with 1:04 remaining and two more to seal the victory with less than one second to play.
• Whitworth claimed a couple of Northwest Conference athlete of the week award for the week of Jan. 17-23.
JT McDermott was singled out from balanced men’s basketball lineup after the Pirates won four games in five days. The senior forward averaged 15.5 points while making 70.3% of his shots, 5.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists. Four other Pirates also averaged double-figure scoring in the four games.
Ryan Grady received the men’s swimming honor for winning all three of his individual races against Pacific. His time in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:01.16) broke a Whitworth Aquatic Center record and is the fastest in the NWC this season. His time in the 200 IM (1:51.75) was just off his NWC-best mark and he also won the 200 backstroke (2:00.56).
• Emma Thompson, a Whitworth freshman from Mead, set a school pool record in the 100-yard backstroke Friday to lead the Pirates’ women to a 113-64 swimming win over short-handed Seattle University. Thompson timed 57.67 seconds. The old mark was 59.83.
Hockey
The Spokane Chiefs are taking advantage of the opportunity to use some of their selections from the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft for up to five games this season by calling them up as affiliated players.
Nathan Mayes, a 6-foot-3 defenseman from Salmon Arm, British Columbia, joined the Chiefs Friday from the Yale Hockey Academy U17 prep team in Abbotsford, B.C., where he had four goals and 16 assists in 19 games, and played in a 7-0 los to Seattle.
Earlier in January, defenseman Will McIsaac played in two games.
In a related roster move, affiliated player Ben Bonni, also a defenseman, was returned to his U17 Junior A team in Selkirk, Manitoba.
Softball
Former Spokane Umpire in Chief Rich Hobson, who has spent more than one-third of his 40-year umpiring career in leadership positions, was inducted into the USA Softball Northwest Mountain Region 9 Hall of Fame Saturday during the association’s annual meeting in Clackamus, Oregon.
The 18th individual from Spokane, and third former UIC, in the region’s shrine, Hobson started umpiring in 1980 and was almost immediately sought out to serve or lead in several areas. He has held multiple positions on the Spokane Softball Umpires Association board of directors, including twice as president, and is currently the association treasurer.
In the mid-1980s, when the organization was splintered, Hobson was the glue that bound it together, starting as the first president of a new, unified group. He was selected the Spokane Amateur Softball Association umpire in chief in 1989, a position he held until he was named to the Amateur Softball Association national staff in 1994. He retired from that in 2004.
He was a charter member of the Pac-10 umpire staff in 1993 and was named an ASA Elite Umpire in fastpitch in 2011. He has umpired multiple state of Washington high school tournaments and umpired and directed umpire staffs at numerous high-level amateur national tournaments.