Jul. 30—The leaves are not quite changing color yet, but the Washington State and Idaho football programs will open their respective fall camps Wednesday, exactly one month prior to the first games of the season against Oregon-based opponents.
The Cougs and Vandals open with 15 and 16 fall camp practices, before school begins on each campus Aug. 19. Both teams will shift to the fall semester practice schedule leading up to their season openers Aug. 31.
WSU will host Portland State at noon, at Gesa Field while the Vandals make the trip to newly crowned Big Ten country to challenge the preseason darling Oregon Ducks at 4:30 p.m. The Cougs’ season opener will be their first of six games broadcast by the CW while Idaho’s opener will be the first Oregon home game broadcast by the Big Ten Network.
WSU will open with helmet-only practices for two days, add shoulder pads Friday and begin practicing using full pads Aug. 6 at Rogers Field. Head coach Jake Dickert will follow a similar model as last season with two scrimmages before school begins. These scrimmages will take place on Saturdays at 10:15 a.m. Aug. 10 and 6:45 p.m. Aug. 17, likely at Gesa Field.
While the program has not announced arrangements for an open practice or scrimmage, Dickert encouraged Cougs to show up to several open practices/scrimmages last year, especially after school began and students were back on campus.
Idaho will follow a similar schedule, with two scrimmages Aug. 8 and 17, likely in the Kibbie Dome. All Idaho practices will be open to the public, according to the Vandal football website.
WSU and UI held their spring camp in April, with Wazzu’s camp concluding with a 22-21 Team Crimson walk-off win over Team Gray while the Black jerseys beat the Yellow jerseys 35-21 in the Vandal Spring Game. The respective spring games provided plenty of entertainment for the fans and a preview of what faces new and old could do in 2024.
WSU early enrollee running back Wayshawn Parker may have been one of the youngest players on the field (spending what would have been the spring of his high school senior year enrolled at WSU and practicing with the football team) but was part of several impact plays during the Crimson and Gray Game, including a 42-yard catch-and-run touchdown.
The Vandals saw a standout performance from sophomore wide receiver Jordan Dwyer who racked up five catches for 98 yards in his spring game.
While standouts will continue to stand out, fall camp is also a chance for those who fans and pundits may least expect to earn a significant role and build trust with the coaching staff.
Dickert was not shy to share his approach to what it will mean to play in the Pac-2 and face a majority-Mountain West schedule.
A slew of narratives will loom over Wazzu as they fight for a place in the future of college football. Dickert said he is embracing that challenge.
“We’re not licking our wounds, we’re licking our chops,” Dickert said at the Pac-12’s “After-hours with the Beavs and Cougs” event July 10 in Las Vegas.
Idaho coach Jason Eck’s Vandals are secure in the Big Sky Conference, but still faced roster turnover as their starting quarterback transferred to Oregon State and they lost their top two rushers and top three receivers.
“Last year, we were coming into this event where we had a bunch of established first-team all-conference players,” Eck said July 22 at the Big Sky Media Day in Airway Heights, Wash. “Now, we have some prospective first-team all-conference players. To me this is fun, this is the development part of coaching.”
The Vandals have retained an impressive defense, which includes three All-Big Sky Conference preseason players. Defensive linemen Dallas Afalava and Keyshawn James-Newby and defensive back Tommy McCormick.
Tight end Jack Cox and kick returner Abraham Williams were also named to the preseason All-Conference team.
Fall camp is also the final month of the longest annual offseason in sports. While camp will offer more rock solid indications of what fans could see on the gridiron come the regular season than recruiting reports or even spring camp could offer, it is still exactly what it is. Practice.
The Cougs and Vandals will write their 2024 stories on Saturdays (and one Friday) in the fall, but the trajectory of those stories is already underway. Some players spent the summer on the Palouse, working out at the team facilities and hanging out, others spent time with their families, working out at home and recharging for the year ahead.
The annual football camp storylines abound for both teams. WSU will see a quarterback competition between established Coug John Mateer and senior Bryant transfer Zevi Eckhaus. The Cougs saw both of their senior EDGEs, Ron Stone Jr. and Brennan Jackson, sign with NFL teams and will seek to replace one of the most productive WSU defensive end duos in WSU history.
Utah Tech transfer Syrus Webster, senior Nusi Malani and redshirt junior Raam Stevenson are among the early contenders to start.
The Vandals will seek to build a brand new offense, personnel-wise with Jack Layne the lead to start at QB.
However student-athletes spent the summer, they arrive on the Palouse with an opportunity.
For the Cougs and the Vandals, the work continues Wednesday.
Taylor can be contacted at (208) 848-2277, staylor@lmtribune.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @Sam_C_Taylor.
Lewiston Tribune, Idaho
