‘I love those guys’: Brothers Sean and Tommy McCormick bring familial bond to Idaho

MOSCOW, Idaho – At first glance, this looks like it could all go terribly wrong in a Cain and Abel kind of way.

Sean and Tommy McCormick play boundary safety for the University of Idaho football team. But it is the younger brother, Tommy, a sophomore, who has acquired the nickname and who is holding down the starting position. Sean, a junior, who came to the Vandals first, is his backup.

It is a testament to the McCormicks they have made this work.

“He’s a great little brother,” Sean said.

“He’s a great older brother,” Tommy adds. “When we were younger kids, we would fight. But he has turned into one of my very best friends.”

“I love those guys,” Vandals coach Jason Eck said of the McCormicks. “Tommy is doing a great job on defense. He is a downhill tackler, and he has a great feeling for zone coverage. Sean is phenomenal on special teams. He plays on all four units.

“I have never seen where Sean has held a grudge about it or is bummed about playing behind his brother.”

The resurgent Vandals (4-2) have won four straight and are ranked 17th in the Football Championship Subdivision poll heading into their game against Portland State on Saturday in Moscow.

“Turnover Tommy” McCormick has contributed to Idaho’s run with 28 tackles, three interceptions, a fumble recovery and a blocked kick this year. He sealed Idaho’s 30-23 win at third-ranked Montana last Saturday when he intercepted Grizzlies quarterback Lucas Johnson in the fourth quarter and returned it 29 yards to set up the winning touchdown drive .

Tommy first saw that pass play when the Vandals played Indiana in their second game. When the Grizzlies ran it, he said he understood the concept and was able to jump the throw.

Sean, on the sidelines, was nothing but supportive.

“I was going crazy. I was so excited,” he said. “It was a great play, but having my brother make that play added to the excitement.”

Sean pioneered Idaho for the McCormicks. After a standout career for Churchill County High School in Fallon, Nevada, as a receiver and linebacker, he accepted a scholarship offer from the Vandals.

“They were the first team to offer me,” he said. “I was hurt shortly after, and I wanted to get the recruiting process done. I have never looked back. It has been a great fit.”

He began his Vandals career as a receiver before being moved to defense and the kicking teams, where he has contributed five tackles this year. He was also Idaho’s biggest booster when it came to recruiting his brother.

“He definitely told the truth,” Tommy said of the way Sean extolled Idaho and the Vandals’ team. “He was spot on.”

Both brothers plan to become orthopedic surgeons. Medicine is a family business. Their father, Thomas McCormick, is a general surgeon.

Sean has also been nominated this year to the American Football Coaches Association Good Works Team, which recognizes players who are scholars and positive additions to their community as volunteer home builders, mentors for underserved children, advocates for the hungry and opponents of domestic violence and civil injustice

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“They are both really smart and tough,” Eck said. “They have 4.0 GPAs. They take such high-level classes that are only offered once a year and limited to about 15 people. Usually, Sean misses a meeting because he has a late lab, and Tommy has to leave practice early because he has a night class. They are certainly at least achievers, and probably overachievers.”

The McCormicks played together in high school, where Tommy was a running back and free safety. But he eventually outgrew his brother, who topped out at about 5-foot-10, 185 pounds.

“My junior year, his sophomore year (Tommy had a growth spurt),” Sean said.

Tommy is now about 6-0 and 200 pounds.

The brothers don’t live together but are close neighbors in Moscow. Since they play the same position, they have detailed discussions about their responsibilities as a boundary safety, Sean said. They enjoy being part of the same defensive backfield group.

“It’s a tight group of guys. We ride for each other and our coach (Tyler Yelk),” Sean said.

“My football IQ has skyrocketed because of (Yelk),” Tommy said. “The game has slowed down for me, for sure.”

Eck acknowledges he is responsible for Tommy McCormick’s nickname.

“I started calling him that when he made the interception against Northern Arizona,” Eck said. “But the defensive coaches tell me I should start calling him ‘Takeaway Tommy.’ ”

Whatever the nickname, the Vandals are the beneficiaries of a pair of McCormicks on defense.