MOSCOW, Idaho – Coach Robb Akey and his staff have found their starting quarterback. After two scrimmages and 13 fall camp practices, Akey announced junior Dominique Blackman will start for the Idaho Vandals when they take on Eastern Washington University in a non-conference football game Aug. 30 at the Kibbie Dome.

Blackman, who transferred to Idaho from Old Dominion and sat out last fall because of NCAA requirements, completed 25 of 35 passes for 348 yards and six touchdowns in the first two scrimmages in contrast to Taylor Davis' nine-of-21 for 142 (two TDs and one interception) and Logan Bushnell's 16-of-30 for 88 (one TD and two interceptions).

““I've been telling everybody we needed separation to come about at the quarterback position,” Akey said after Monday morning's practice. “We feel that separation has created itself throughout this camp. Taking into account the practices as well as the scrimmages, the preparation, we have make Dominique our starting quarterback. He's very excited about that.

“We'll progress through camp with him working with the one offense. We'll keep working Taylor Davis and Logan Bushnell with that No. 2 offense to determine our number two and three quarterbacks.”

Prior to redshirting at Old Dominion, Blackman started at LA Harbor where he averaged 337.4 yards per game after completing 63 percent of his passes for 3,711 yards and 35 touchdowns. A left-hander, Blackman was an all-city selection at Carson (Calif.) High School and a PrepStar Dream Team member.

“We've done everything we could to put them in the same situations,” Akey said. “It's not a matter of one great day or one bad day. It wasn't solely what took place in the two scrimmages.”

For Blackman, it's a dream come true.

“It's a blessing,” he said. “It's something I've been working for my whole life. To me, it's just a blessing to have this opportunity. I have to take advantage of it.”

Davis, also a junior, is a native of Anthem, Ariz., and a graduate of Boulder Creek High School. He started three games and played in seven as a sophomore. He completed 28 of 62 passes for 234 yards and one TD.

Bushnell, a graduate of Emerald Ridge High School (Puyallup, Wash.), completed his lone pass in 2011 and played in four games.

“I knew it was going to be a competition,” said Blackman, remembering he was informed when he arrived in Moscow that there was another player in his class battling for the job. “I knew from the day I set foot on campus.”