MOSCOW, Idaho – The offense had the upper hand Tuesday in
the first scrimmage of the fall for the University of Idaho football team
during a camp that began with a litany of questions about the offense. While
there are not concrete answers to the questions, there certainly appeared to be
plenty of options during the two-hour session at the Kibbie Dome.
“I am happy to see the production we saw out of the offense
today,” coach Robb Akey said after watching the Vandals score nine touchdowns –
primarily via the pass, and four field goals. “That was a great thing. There
was a lot of excitement. There were some good plays being made from different
position groups, which I thought was a good thing. You can include that offensive
line in there, too, now.”
While a starter has not been determined, there was promise
among the quarterbacks. While Dominique Blackman and Taylor Davis have garnered
most of the attention as they battle for the No. 1 position, Akey and offensive
coordinator Jason Gesser were complimentary of the efforts of journeyman Logan
Bushnell and freshmen Chad Chalich and Austin DeCoud as well.
“Both of those guys threw some touchdowns,” Akey said of
Blackman and Davis, “and both of those guys got the ball out of there pretty
good.”
Blackman finished with 16 completions in 21 attempts with
four touchdowns for 181 yards, while Davis was six of 14 with one TD and 75
yards. Chalich teamed with high school classmate Deon Watson for a 17-yard TD
as he completed four of five passes for 88 yards. Bushnell (10-of-13 for 39)
and DeCoud (two-of-four for 34) also threw one touchdown each.
The receiver corps has expanded since last spring. With veteran
Mike Scott providing a sure target as well as leadership, a young group is
emerging with the likes of Roman Runner, Najee Lovett, Robert Hatchett and
Jahrie Level displaying a knack for being where they need to be when they need
to be there – and having the speed and elusiveness to make the most of the
opportunity. Scott was the yardage leader with five catches for 85 yards with
Lovett collecting six catches for 59. Runner had four for 55 and Level had four
for 42 with Hatchett pulling in five for 25.
Out of the backfield, transfer James Baker was steady, while
redshirt freshman Justin Parkins from Moscow opened eyes with his tenacity and
ruggedness. Baker scored on a two-yard run and totaled 50 yards on eight
carries, while Parkins had 23 on seven.
Kicker Trey Farquhar continued to prove he is one of the
nation's best and one of the best in school history with field goals of 38, 41,
48 and 49 and a near-miss from 55 yards (it fell just shy of the crossbar).
Of course, the successes of the offense meant speed bumps
for the defense.
“They got the defense's attention today,” Akey said. “I do
think we have a strong defense, but there's no doubt the offense got the upper
hand today.
“I've seen our defense perform a lot better in previous
practices, so hopefully this will get their attention to get after it.”
The defense did have its highlights with Quinton Bradley
finding his way into the backfield for two sacks and Robert Siavii showing he
is back after missing 2011 because of injury with two tackles for loss (one of
which was a sack). Newcomer Matthew Willis also had two tackles for loss with
Trey Williams the total tackler leader with six. Freshman Jayshawn Jordan had
the lone interception, which he returned 35 yards.