With injured QB Jack Layne out, Idaho may lean more on the RB tandem of Elisha Cummings, Nate Thomas

The quarterback support firm of Cummings and Thomas – whose motto could be “All Bull: Unstoppable, Indominable, Reliable. Cheerfully Brightening Huddles Since 2024” – has a new client.

Idaho running backs Elisha Cummings and Nate Thomas contributed their upbeat personalities and a combined 53 rushing yards and 51 receiving yards to help new redshirt sophomore starting quarterback Jack Layne lead the Vandals to a near upset of third-ranked Oregon, 24-14 last Saturday in the season opener. Cummings, as a wildcat quarterback, also pitched to Layne for Idaho’s second touchdown.

Unfortunately, Layne finished the game in the locker room after breaking his collarbone on the next-to-last series.

As he roamed practice this week with his right arm in a sling, Layne watched Cummings and Thomas continue to do their thing for backup quarterback Jack Wagner, a redshirt freshman, who will be the starter when the Vandals (0-1) take on Wyoming (0-1) in Laramie on Saturday.

“It is important for us to pick up a young quarterback, help him through the process, processing those things that come naturally to us,” says Cummings, a redshirt junior.

“We definitely plan on running the ball more this week,” adds Thomas, another redshirt junior.

Cummings, at about 190 pounds, and Thomas, 210, bring a heavy touch to the line of scrimmage and an electric burst once they clear the melee there.

Against the Ducks, Cummings averaged 5.4 yards on the ground on eight carries and 35 receiving yards, including a 34-yard screen that set up a score. Thomas added 5 yards per carry on a pair of attempts and caught a pass for 16 yards.

Thomas said of facing the Ducks in Autzen Stadium, “I felt like it was just another game. It came down to us executing better. You can’t get caught up in the game. You can’t star gaze.” Then he chuckled. “But I think a lot of guys on our team are Oregon fans.” He said of the Ducks, “in my eyes, they are just men too.”

Going into Idaho’s second game, coach Jason Eck is still figuring out how to maximally benefit from the many talents of Cummings and Thomas. This involves using them as wildcats. And after throwing a tight, 20-yard spiral to a split-out Wagner in practice Wednesday that went for a score, Cummings said “I am 1 for 1 with a touchdown.

“When I am throwing it, for sure, it’s another different feeling.”

Thomas adds “it is pretty fun switching positions at quarterback. We are definitely going to have fun.”

Thomas, a Chicago-area native, came to Idaho last spring as a transfer from the University of South Dakota, where he averaged 6 yards per carry rushing in two seasons. He says he left the Coyotes for the Vandals, because he believes Idaho’s strength and conditioning program and on-field coaching can help him develop his full potential. Working against Idaho’s defense every day is another bonus.

“I honestly believe we will not play against a better defense than what we play against every day in practice,” he says. He also thinks the Vandals have a chance to win a national championship.

Cummings, by contrast, could have gone the other way. He missed last season, when Idaho made the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs, because he was academically ineligible. But instead of looking at the transfer portal, he says firmly “I was always planning on coming back.

“Because I didn’t redshirt as a freshman, I treated last year as being a freshman. I wanted to come back bigger, stronger, faster. Get better. That was the role I embraced.”

Cummings, who was recruited to Idaho by former coach Paul Petrino in 2021, says when Thomas arrived in Moscow, “I told him there wasn’t much to do here. You are going to see me every day.”

“He was right, too,” Thomas says.

But the two have embraced what Cummings calls a special, team-oriented culture.

“That family culture has always been here since I have been here,” he says. In the Eck era “the coaching staff is much younger,” he adds. Idaho had gone through five losing seasons when he arrived in Moscow from Texas. Now, though, “there is a much different style, new playbook,” and an emphasis on keeping players fresh for a long season, “to try to change this thing around.”

It has resulted in back-to-back winning seasons and FCS playoff appearances.

Thomas, who has only been a Vandal in Eck’s tenure, says “there is a great feeling of culture and brotherhood here.”

And whoever is their quarterback going forward, a pair of cheerful, reliable runners have got his back.