2022 First Glance Preview: Idaho Vandals
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Written by: Sammy Jacobs
Week Two: Idaho Vandals
Date & Time: Saturday, September 10 at 8pm
Venue: Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, IN
TV: BTN
Vandals at a Glance
Head Coach: Jason Eck
Entering his First season as Idaho head coach
Record at Idaho: 0-0 (0-0 in Big Sky Conference)
Overall Record: 0-0
Last Season: 4-7 (3-5 in Big Sky)
Vandals Returning Leaders
Passing: Zach Borisch – 19-of-36 (52.8%), 371 Yards 2 Touchdowns 1 Interception
Rushing: Zach Borisch –502 Yards on 119 Carries 5 Touchdowns
Receiving: Terez Traynor – 50 Catches for 737 Yards 3 Touchdowns
Tackles:– Fa’avae Fa’avae (LB) 72 Tackles (31 solo), 4 Tackles for Loss, 1.5 Sacks
Vandals Preseason Predictions
Athlon: N/A
Lindy’s: 10th in the Big Sky
Pick Six Previews: N/A
Phil Steele: Not Published
SP+: 83rd Nationally
Impact Newcomers for the Vandals
J’Bore Gibbs, QB (South Dakota State)
Jeremiah Salaam (Kent State)
Paul Moala (Notre Dame)
Juliano Falaniko (USC)
Biggest Questions Facing the Vandals
Can J’Bore Gibbs stay healthy?
Will they knock off one of their two Power Five foes?
Can they build a program with FBS castoffs?
Program Preview
After going 4-7 in 2021, the Idaho Vandals relieved Paul Petrino of his duties as head coach and brought in Jason Eck from South Dakota State where he served as offensive coordinator. Eck won the 2019 America Football Coaches' Association FCS Assistant Coach of the Year. He brings along quarterback J’Bore Gibbs from SDSU as well. Eck’s offenses at SDSU were top 10 in the nation at the FBS level in scoring, passing efficiency and rushing. SO, he should bring a relatively potent offense to Bloomington.
Indiana represents the second Power Five opponent for Idaho in 2022, the Vandals open up at Washington State, and with the Cougars in a rebuilding phase, Idaho is looking to put a scare into them. This will also be Idaho’s second-straight year playing in Bloomington and shouldn’t be wide-eyed about playing in Memorial Stadium.
The Vandals lose star linebacker Tre Walker, who led the team in tackles. However, Fa’Avae Fa’Avae is back. Hoosier fans should be familiar with him as he made 11 tackles against IU last year. On offense wide receiver Hayden Hatten is back. Hatten had two touchdowns and 94 yards in last year’s matchup.
Idaho will have to figure out their starting quarterback situation as well. Mike Beaudry has moved on, so it’ll be between CJ Jordan, J’Bore Gibbs and maybe even “slash” Zach Berisch who is the Vandals returning leading passer.
Offensive Preview
Jason Eck will bring his high-powered offense that ran the ball well and was efficient in the passing game. The quarterback position will need to be figured out in fall camp as J’Bore Gibbs transferred in during the summer. Gevini McCoy started the spring game, a game that the defense won 61-26, and finished 8-of-19 for 134 yards and an interception. Freshman CJ Jordan was just 5-of-13 for 47 yards. As long as Gibbs can come in healthy and perform the job is his to lose.
"(Gibbs) played very well in the narrow loss to Minnesota in a real tough environment for someone's first college start. He also played very well at Youngstown State and Indiana State but unfortunately tore his ACL against North Dakota State. He tore his other ACL the next year and COVID didn't help his rehab. He's a guy who's battled adversity in his football career and just growing up in inner-city Chicago so he knows how to handle a tough situation. He is really excited to have a fresh start and can come in and compete with Gevani (McCoy) and C.J. (Jordan) for the starting quarterback position." Eck said of quarterback J’Bore Gibbs.
The offense struggled in the spring game, albeit without Gibbs on campus, but Eck was encouraged by what he saw.
“Offense came out with some good drives early leaving at the end of the first quarter, but the defense turned it up and great second quarter.” Eck said after the spring game. “The defensive line played really well Isiah King grabbed a big interception. I was proud of the offense. They didn't hang their heads and came back in a nice touchdown drive at the end with Roshan punching it in. We were able to get everyone in the game and most importantly we kept everybody healthy."
Whoever the quarterback is will have some weapons at wide receiver. Junior Hayden Hatten returns after putting up 215 yards and three scores in just four games in an injury filled season. Redshirt junior Terez Traynor had a huge year for the Vandals in 2021 after transferring from Western Kentucky as he racked up 737 yards and three scores on 50 receptions including two catches for 36 yards against IU. Traynor is a six-foot-three receiver and can hurt defenses down the field. In the slot will be Jermaine Jackson, a five-foot-seven junior who came to Idaho via the College of San Mateo. He played in five games in 2021 making eight catches for 93 yards.
Alex Moore is a six-foot-six tight end who is a redshirt sophomore. He played in four games last fall and played a nice role in the Vandals’ spring game.
The running game will be led by redshirt senior Roshaun Johnson, a six-foot 220-pound back who ran for 444 yards and 10 touchdowns on 91 carries. Six of those rushing touchdowns came in one game against Southern Utah. Johnson carried the ball once for four yards against IU last season. Zach Borisch is labeled by Idaho as a “slash” player. He can line up at running back or quarterback. Borisch started 2021 at running back before being moved to quarterback due to injuries. He ran the ball 119 times for 502 yards and five touchdowns while completing 19-of-36 passes for 371 yards and two touchdowns.
Nick Romano will also be a factor out of the backfield. He carried the ball 47 times for 155 yards in 2021 and has 668 career rushing yards and three touchdowns.
The Idaho offensive line will be anchored by Abe Christensen, a six-foot-five, 305-pound redshirt sophomore who transferred in from NC State prior to the 2021 season. He played in seven games at guard for the Vandals last season.
Beau St. John played in nine games last year and came over from Liberty prior to the Spring Season in 2021. He is listed at six-foot-three and 300 pounds. He earned a scholarship thanks to his performance in spring practice.
Jason Hahlbeck had a good spring practice session as well and could be in at tackle after helping NAIA Morningside to a 66-2 record during his time there.
Newly named captain Logan Floyd is an All-Big Sky performer and has 25 games of experience under his belt.
There is plenty of youth along the Vandal offensive line.
Defensive Preview
The defense is going to be anchored by linebacker Fa’Avae Fa’Avae. He should be an All-Big Sky performer. “I think Fa'avae is an All-Conference kid.” Defensive coordinator Rob Aurich said. "The sky is the limit for him, and we made the position change with Sully Shannon. We're seeing him play a level that he hasn't played at here and fundamentally he's really bought into the teaching of the position. You're seeing the guys change fundamentally and really adopt to our belief, and so a lot of credit goes to those guys they're playing ball in different way right now and it's good to see."
Fellow linebacker Isiah King had an interception in the spring game and should find himself in a bigger role in 2022. While Sully Shannon adds depth and experience as the third backer. The room also adds Notre Dame transfer Paul Moala who played in 23 games for the Irish totaling 22 tackles.
“We are excited to get Paul to Moscow," Eck said. "Watch his tape and you see him showing up and making plays against Georgia. If you see a guy making big tackles against Georgia, you can expect him to make plays in the Big Sky. I also enjoy being around him. He is sharp and I think he'll really be able to help us as a linebacker and as a leader."
Jeremiah Salaam, a transfer from Kent State, will led the secondary from the safety position. He appeared in eight games for the Vandals in 2021 and 21 games for Kent State over three seasons. He can back plays in the run and pass game.
Corner Marcus Harris played in all 11 games last season, including a start at IU. He totaled 47 tackles and seven pass breakups.
The secondary will get some help via the Transfer Portal as the Vandals added Murvin Kenion III from City College of San Francisco and Mathias Bertram from New Mexico. Both seem to factor into the rotation, if not the starting lineup.
The Vandals defensive line will to plug holes with transfers. The Vandals added Ben Bertram (New Mexcio), Carter Carlson (Washington State) and Juliano Falaniko (Southern Cal). Bertram played in three games and recorded a sack for UNM last year. Carlson played in just one game at Washington State. Falaniko is an edge rusher and played in 37 games for the Trojans.
“Juliano is just a very physical football player," Eck said. "He came highly recommended by Johnny Nansen who was his first coach at USC. I coached with Johnny during my first time at Idaho and I have a lot of respect for his opinion. Juliano has played as a stand-up rush and outside backer for USC and we think he can be a real stout guy who can help us out and be a physical presence for us at defensive end."
Special Teams Preview
Special teams was the difference in the game in Bloomington a year ago, as the Hoosiers scored on a punt block and a punt return while racking up 154 punt return yards and 112 kick return yards.
Logan Prescott returns to Idaho to continue his place-kicking duties. He hit both his extra points last year against IU, but went just 4-of-8 on field goals during the 2021 season. Prescott also punted 10 times last season and handled some kickoff duties.
Idaho adds JUCO All-American Ricardo Chavez to handle the punting duties. In two seasons at Riverside City College he punted and was the place kicker. He went 28-of-32 on field goals including five field goals of over 50 yards. If Prescott struggles early, Chavez could be the replacement. At the very least, he’ll get a shot at longer field goals.
Nick Romano is back to return kicks after earning All-Big Sky honors as a sophomore. Romano has 886 career return yards and a touchdown.