Aug. 1—”Five hours and 37 seven minutes.”
That is how much new starting quarterback Jack Layne said he slept, according to his app, the night before the opening of fall football camp for the Idaho Vandals. It is exactly one month before taking the field at Autzen Stadium to take on the Oregon Ducks.
Layne admitted that it was a little less than normal — there were, “a lot of nerves, but a lot of excitement.”
The conditions were as perfect as one could hope for; low 70s with barely a cloud in the sky as the Vandals broke the huddle to work on position drills. The wonderful weather assisted in the high energy level that any opening day to camp brings.
“What do you expect, we haven’t practiced since April so to finally get the helmets back on is fun for the players, fun for the coaches,” coach Jason Eck said. “There was a lot of great energy today, the key is everything is exciting for the first day we have to keep this energy and excitement through camp.”
The biggest question mark going into the season is on the young offense. Gone is Jerry Rice Award winning quarterback Gevani McCoy. Gone are the key playmakers from the 2023 FCS quarterfinalist. In their place is sophomore Layne and a long list of talented playmakers eager to prove themselves.
Throughout drills there was one thing that was obvious: Layne is ready for the opportunity and the challenge.
“The big thing with Jack (Layne) is he has always done a good job of taking care of himself, he is one of the hardest workers,” Eck said. “Now you gotta have influence on others. That is leadership: influence the behavior of others.”
During the two-and-a-half hour practice, Layne was showing poise in drills, making the right reads and decisions on many occasions. When he was awaiting his next rep, you could always see the sophomore having a conversation with a teammate.
Layne talked after the practice about the importance of building relationships with everyone on the team; not only with the offensive line and receivers, but with the defensive players and special teamers as well.
“At quarterback, you are a natural leader whether you want to be or not. I have really been trying to focus on that in two ways; being more vocal and also leading by example,” Layne said. “I think it is a testament to the job Coach Eck does on relationships and making sure we are all hitting each other up.”
One player Layne had no trouble connecting with during practice was sophomore wideout Jordan Dwyer, who had the highlight of the morning offensively.
During an 11-on-11 drill, Dwyer beat his defender and Layne hit him perfectly in stride for a big completion. Dwyer, who had 20 receptions last season, looked excited for the opportunity to take over that No. 1 target role.
While Dwyer had a big play and Layne worked well in and out of the pocket, it was the defense that won the opening practice.
During an earlier seven-on-seven drill, the offense struggled to complete a single pass beyond the line of scrimmage against an attacking secondary.
Senior-leader Tommy McCormick patrolled the middle of the field and caused as much havoc as he could during the helmet-only practice.
“I thought our defense looked really good out here today,” McCormick said. “Our safety room especially.”
The star for the defense and recipient of the first Battle Ax player of the practice award of the fall was sophomore defensive back Hayden John. John broke in to deflect a pass away on one play of an early offense vs. defense drill and then read a route beautifully to intercept a pass on the next.
Later, during the 11-on-11 practice, the Anacortes, Wash. native intercepted another pass down the sideline and was mobbed by his teammates.
“I think (John) has developed a lot,” McCormick said. “He has put in a lot of good work in the weight room, he has gotten strong and fast and he looks really good. He has really spent a lot of time in the film room too, he has a pretty good understanding of what he is doing out there and we saw that today.”
While the big plays stood out and got the biggest reactions from the players, Eck and the coaching staff understand that it is early on in camp and the key right now is working on fundamentals and making sure everyone is taking care of their bodies.
“We want to avoid any soft tissue injuries that typically happen early in camp,” Eck said. “As a team we try and settle in on our lineups the first couple of weeks. We are really just looking for consistent, gradual improvement in all three phases throughout camp.”
The Vandals have four-and-a-half weeks to see those improvements and work out the several position battles that will naturally arise when there are 38 true freshmen stepping on the field for their first fall camp.
There are still a lot of questions with how young Idaho is this season, but after one practice it is clear that the players on the field are ready to put in the work to answer them.
Isbelle can be reached at 208-848-2268, risbelle@lmtribune.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyIsbelle.
Lewiston Tribune, Idaho