Idaho spring football: Quarterback Gevani McCoy looks to have plenty of weapons at his disposal

Idaho quarterback Gevani McCoy will have unlimited weapons at his disposal during the 2023 football season.

McCoy was firing on all cylinders during Thursday’s practice, delivering the rock to the tight ends, helping him to win the Battle Axe player of the practice honor.

The Vandals will have a plethora of talent tight end this season. Here’s how the Vandals expect to use those players:

Moore slowly coming back

Moore was one of Idaho’s most exciting prospects last season.

The 6-foot-6 tight end earned a scholarship, along with Beau St. John, Mathias Bertram and Sam Brown, after the Vandals’ spring game last season.

All signs pointed to Moore making a considerable impact on the field. But he suffered a lower-body injury during the first quarter of Idaho’s 24-17 loss to Washington State in the season opener, one that kept Moore on the shelf for the remainder of the year. He said he’s at about 80% and should be fully back by the summer.

Moore, who earned the scholarship for his ability to be an elite pass catcher, will be one of McCoy’s go-to targets when he gets healthy. But Moore wants to show he can be an all-around player.

“I’m just trying to get back to 100% and help the team,” Moore said. “I’m super excited to be back. It’s tough to be out here and watch them play and not be able to participate, but I’m excited to be back.”

Multifaceted is the name of the game

While Moore is probably is the most exciting prospect at the position, the Vandals have multiple players who, according to tight ends coach Tyler Sutton, will be difference makers.

“They’re all doing a good job,” Sutton said. “Our goal this spring is to get every single guy on our roster better. I’ve been happy after two practices and seeing the growth of our young guys.”

Currently, Idaho has 10 tight ends, and Sutton plans for several of them to be on the field in the fall. While at South Dakota State, Idaho coach Jason Eck ran a lot of two-tight-end sets. These weren’t traditional sets designed for running the ball, either. He would split them out wide and off the ball in order to get them in space. But if Idaho does run the ball, all of them have the ability to block because they’re all talented.

“That’s the goal,” Sutton said. “We want to make sure that our tight ends create mismatches when they get out there. Our goal is to line them up all over the field. We want them to make sure that if we have two tight ends, it’s not going to be a run every time, and if they line up at receiver, the corner is going to (have to) tackle someone who is 250 pounds.”

Who is sticking out?

With such a deep, dynamic group, some players, naturally, stand out above the rest. But Sutton is adamant about all the tight ends doing well so far.

He was especially excited about the incoming freshmen who haven’t started practicing yet, such as James White and Mason Mini.

“I’m very excited about our youngsters,” Sutton said. “They’re all multiple sport athletes, so they’re continuing to develop their strength and athleticism, so I expect them to come in and learn the offense and push to play this year. We’re not scared to play young guys.”

As for players who are already on the roster, it’s hard to look past redshirt freshman Chance Bogan. The Tacoma native was tabbed a three-star recruit by 247Sports and received offers from several Pac-12 schools, including Washington State, Arizona State and Washington.

“He’s coming along really well,” Sutton said. “We want guys that will create mismatches in the passing game. Then it’s on me as the coach to make sure that the tight ends get bigger, stronger and faster so he can get more reps on the field.”

Bogan and Moore probably are the two best receiving options at tight end for the Vandals. As for who’s the best in the trenches, that would be Jack Schuster and Jake Cox.

Schuster and Cox saw some playing time last year with the injury of Moore and were a second option to the graduated Connor Whitney.

Schuster played in just two games, finishing with just two catches for nine yards. Cox played in one game, finishing with one catch for seven yards. But both players were able to open up running lanes for sophomore running back Anthony Woods and each were used during short-yardage situations.

“We’re making sure that we can do everything we can to develop them in every way possible,” Sutton said. “We want to make sure that they are threats in both the run game and the passing game this year. I’m excited about their growth.”