Idaho coaches excited about team's depth as preseason practices roll on

Aug. 5—The Vandals plan to go behind closed doors Thursday for a padded-up-tackle-to-the-ground live practice. So, Wednesday was a dress rehearsal.

The University of Idaho football team went through a session in shorts, jerseys and helmets in the Kibbie Dome, focused on red zone work from the 10-yard line to save everyone's legs for the live stuff.

Moscow Mountain, north of campus, was almost invisible Wednesday morning because of wildfire smoke and probably harvest dust when Idaho practiced. The air inside the dome was much better. But it was getting sultry in there before practice concluded. The players, however, seemed to power through it.

Vandals coach Thomas Ford Jr. said afterwards "the picture is starting to get more clear" with regard to the depth chart. Beyond that, the depth itself heartened him.

"It is really good right now. The 3s are not far behind (the first and second team)," he said.

Offensive line coach Loren Endsley seconded him, saying Idaho's depth in that unit is the best he has seen in two years with Idaho. It is so good, he is calculating how he can rotate players to keep everyone fresh without losing the cohesion of having five linemates attuned to each other's timing.

"I am still messing with that," he said.

Endsley added that senior center Layton Vining "is one of the smartest kids I have ever coached," and he is trying to steer Vining toward a coaching career.

"You really need a center like that," said Endsley. "You can give him the keys to the car a little bit and trust he is not going to take it off a cliff."

Even in the unpadded environment, players took advantage of the opportunity the workout presented. None more so than fifth-year senior tight end Chance Bogan, who caught back-to-back touchdowns in pass skeleton from starting quarterback Joshua Wood. He got isolated on a cornerback for the first one, Bogan said, and he had to sky to get his hands on the second throw. His day's work earned him the daily practice award.

"I'm a D-I tight end," he said of bringing in that second ball.

Ford noted he had recruited Bogan when Ford was a Vandals assistant in 2022, and he said Bogan anymore is a rarity as a five-year player, who overcame injuries to have a breakout spring that he continues to build on.

None of this is remarkable to Bogan.

"I just want to bring glory to the Vandals," he said. "I'm V's up until I freeze up, and I'm not getting cold. I love Idaho, Moscow, and the dome."

The offense generally had a good day in the pass skeleton and in the 11-on-11 red zone work, although senior safety Khaled Rawls and Rogers High School alum Jerry Allen III had pass breakups in the end zone, and sophomore safety Brody Michael jumped a route and intercepted Wood. Following the workout, offensive coordinator Ian Shoemaker told the assembled team "we should have 80% touchdowns when we move across the 20 (yard line)." Ford did not shrink from that. The Vandals don't want to trade touchdowns for field goals, he said.

As the Vandals progress through their fall camp, Endsley says the daily clash of new offensive coordinator Shoemaker's offense against new defensive coordinator Lee Stalker's defense is paying dividends that will be evident during the season. The Vandals linemen are seeing football from a strategic vantage.

"They are learning how Coach Shoe's stuff works off itself," he said. "If a defensive coordinator wants to take something away from you guys, he is giving us something, and we can attack it."

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