Apr. 12—MOSCOW, Idaho — After being held scoreless by the defense in a scrimmage last week, Idaho's offense, with redshirt sophomore quarterback Nick Josifek running it, looked notably more competent Saturday.
But that didn't mean the defense was slacking.
"It was a great day for the defense," said graduate transfer defensive end Donovan Parham, formerly of Mississippi Valley State. (Giving up) one touchdown in 60 plays was great."
Actually, it was two. But the defense offset those by taking a couple of plays to the house .
Josifek accounted for one score by outracing Parham to the corner of the end zone from 5 yards out then celebrated by firing the ball into the Kibbie Dome turf. Vandals offensive coordinator Matt Linehan pointed out afterward that in a game spiking the ball would be a penalty.
"But I love the fire. I loved the emotion he plays with," Linehan said of Josifek.
Hard-running senior Nate Thomas got the other offensive score in three plays from the 24-yard line. First, he skipped left a step and took the ball to the 15. From there, he spun to the 9-yard line. On a third consecutive carry, he ran between left guard and tackle to the end zone through a yawning hole provided by senior Nate Azzopardi and redshirt freshman Nathan Knapik.
"That was three plays in a row for the offensive line. I was like, 'Man, let's go!' That was a beautiful thing to see for a running back," Thomas said.
Azzopardi, a key performer on the Vandals' offensive line for three years and an All-Big Sky Conference honorable mention pick, is upholding his standard of play this spring.
"Knapik has come a long way," Linehan also pointed out.
While the front side blockers got all the notice, those on the back side of the play deserved credit, too, Thomas said.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Jack Wagner, who is battling Josifek to be the starter, had trouble moving the team. He was intercepted twice, by redshirt sophomore linebacker Wayne Queen and by sophomore safety Hayden John, who jumped a throw over the middle that Wagner let go under extreme pressure, and took it the length of the field .
The defense got its other score when redshirt sophomore linebacker Ryder Bordner came off the corner and hit redshirt freshman quarterback Rocco Koch trying to carry around the end, forcing a fumble. Redshirt freshman defensive end Braxton Lawrence scooped up the loose ball and took it 76 yards to score.
"Ryder came off the weak side, and he was flying to get there," Parham said of the hit.
Koch, 220 pounds, seems to be carving out a role as a short-yardage running quarterback. He stepped in on several series to attempt to convert first downs.
Another player finding a role is redshirt junior tight end Hayden Kinchloe. Because veteran running backs Art Williams and Carlos Matheney are being held out of contact with injuries, the 235-pound Kinchloe has been filling in as a heavy-hitting complement to Thomas.
He has performed well enough that Linehan said Kinchloe may be used as a fullback next fall.
The Vandals suffered one notable scrimmage injury. Redshirt junior linebacker Dylan Layne was pursuing Wagner when he suddenly slid to the turf and clutched his right hamstring. He left the field on crutches, later returned on crutches but abandoned them and limped carefully along the sideline for the last few plays of the scrimmage.
Despite Josifek's dominant performance, Linehan suggested the battle with Wagner is not over. Linehan may have included Koch and redshirt freshman Holden Bea in his assessment when he said, "The quarterbacks are going through the growing pains of spring ball. I went through those as a player. They are going through them as ...
