Idaho focuses on situational football on Day 13 of fall camp

Aug. 14—MOSCOW — With the season opener inching closer, situational football took center stage on Thursday on Day 13 of the Idaho Vandals' fall football camp at the P1FCU Kibbie Dome. Idaho coach Thomas Ford Jr. put both the offense and the defense in uncomfortable situations to prepare them for game play coming in just two weeks, with Idaho's opener against Cal Poly on Aug. 28. A position group that continues to stand out is the defensive line, often getting simulated sacks or creating pressure on the quarterback to make a poor throw. "Today was a great practice," Ford said. "We're coming off a recovery day. You always worry about guys starting slow, but they did not start slow. This group I think is starting to really mature, and you saw it today with a fast start and a strong finish." Situational drills The situational segments consisted of 11-on-11 drills starting from the offense's own 3-yard line with 97 yards to go, 11-on-11 from the offense's own 30 and then 11-on-11 from the defense's 45-yard line. Ford said the drills were about simulating games and putting each side in specific situations. "I think you're going to continue to see more real football," Ford said about practice strategy. "For us, it's all about situations. There are no plays, just situations, are no plays, just situations, and so we're trying to put our guys in as many of those situations as we possibly can throughout the rest of camp, but you'll definitely see more of that as we finish camp." Advertisement He said that he thought both sides of the ball "handled it well in spurts" and that the competition was his favorite to see. He didn't feel like either side handled it much better than the other and said it wasn't "lopsided," and that the Vandals can keep building on the situational drills. There were times where the offense had a 12-play drive and went down the field for a field goal, times when the offense scored touchdowns, and also times where the defense would force a three-and-out. Junior linebacker Darrell Gipson Jr., a transfer from Cincinnati, said that the game is all about situations rather than focusing on specific play calls. "Just continuing to know everything that is important," Gipson said. "(Ford) talks about situations within the plays. Like every play is a situation. It might be end of the game, like two-minute, but every play is a different situation, so just knowing the down-and-distance, things like that. Why coaches are calling a specific call, things like that, really help us win those situations." A solid defensive effort Both the defensive line and the secondary were groups that Ford said he wanted to improve earlier in the offseason. Those position groups stood out multiple times during practice on Thursday. In the first 11-on-11 portion of the practice, the defensive line got a simulated sack. Then in the red zone portion, Luke Teskey, a fifth-year defensive line transfer from New Hampshire, had a simulated sack on senior quarterback Israel Carter, a transfer from Norfolk State. A play later, sophomore defensive lineman Shepard Fish had a simulated sack on sophomore quarterback Sawyer Teeney. In the 7-on-7 portion, there were two coverage sacks caused by the secondary because the quarterback took too long to throw the ball. In a situational drill from the offense's 30-yard line, freshman defensive lineman Ocean Taufa caused pressure on Carter that would've likely been a sack, but then Carter slung the ball, and it was picked off by sophomore linebacker Nikko Speer. Ford said that the defensive line has been very consistent throughout camp. Defensive line coach VJ Malo is in his first year with the Vandals, but his impact is already being felt. Malo said that the offense switching up the tempo is a good test for the D-line to see who is going to show up during the practice. He said that he felt like the defensive line showed up in a big way Thursday. Malo said there is always room to improve, but unlike a defensive back or a linebacker, it isn't very easy to tell when a mistake is made for a defensive lineman because an immediate impact like giving up a touchdown is not there. "I think there's probably going to be little things I want to correct every day as far as the details," Malo said. "Like it'll probably never be perfect. Nobody's going to score a perfect grade in my room. ... There (are) a lot of mistakes people aren't seeing just in the technique. So just doing my best to work on the fine details, and criticize those and coach them, and hopefully develop them. I would say we're close (to what I want to see), but not close enough yet." During the 11-on-11 portion from the offense's own 3-yard line, junior quarterback Holden Bea tried to fire an out route to the right side, but was picked off by sophomore cornerback Tsiyown Lowery for a pick-6. "Much improved in the secondary," Ford said. "What I think is happening is those guys are doing a great job communicating. We have some guys that have played significant snaps now, and I think what you're seeing is that group really jelling on from the communication standpoint." Darrell Gipson Jr. gets the 'Battle Axe' Gipson earned the ceremonial "Battle Axe" for the best individual performance at the practice on Thursday. Gipson said that he feels "really comfortable" in the defense and said that he loves the defensive scheme. "It's a system. It's not a player — it's a system," Gipson said. "So, lots of dudes can play multiple different spots. It's plug and play. A lot of guys can play here, play there. So, it's really multiple." Ford said Gipson has had a "phenomenal camp" and he is seeing a lot of speed from him. "He is diagnosing the play and he is in that backfield, especially versus the run," Ford said. "I think he's also doing a good job communicating with the picture changes. But I'm super excited about Darrell. He's going to be a really, really good player for us." Gipson said he planned on celebrating the Battle Axe by calling his mother. "It's her birthday today, so (I) won the axe for her," Gipson said of his mom. "Shout out to her, man. I just love her. Want her to know I love her, and hope she has a great day today." Junt can be reached at 208-848-2258, tjunt@lmtribune.com or on X @TrevorJunt.