Blog Swap with Go Vandals.net

So, last year we had the chance to do a blog swap with Pat from GoVandals.net.  They do an excellent job covering the Idaho landscape and I'd highly recommend going over there and taking a look.  With the game coming up in a couple of days, I thought we'd try it again this year.  Here are Pat's answers to my questions and when he posts my answers to his questions, I'll put a link up here as well.

1. I'd say the thing we're most interested in is your first game against Eastern Washington. I know your QB didn't play. Was that the whole problem? How well do you think that game reflects what you think of this year's Idaho team.

Having our starting quarterback, Dominique Blackman, miss the season opener last week was a huge disappointment for Idaho fans. Was his suspension the only reason Idaho lost last week? No. It was a major reason, but there were a number of issues all around offensively. Idaho broke in three new starters on the OL last Thursday, including two redshirt freshmen at left tackle and left guard. Idaho has a solid stable of wide receivers, but this group also includes several getting their first collegiate experience. The runningback position has talent, but the group is largely unproven with just one athlete, starter Ryan Bass, with any experience at the Division 1A level. Plus, the entire offensive coaching staff was overhauled this off-season, with three new position coaches (OL, WR, and RB), as well as a new offensive coordinator, Jason Gesser, getting his first break as an OC. Add to all of this the fact that Blackman was suspended for the game and projected backup Taylor Davis had been demoted to third string, which led Idaho to start senior Logan Bushnell who had played sparingly in 3 previous seasons, and you've got a tremendous amount of change to overcome. Idaho certainly has the pieces to have a potent offensive attack, but how well this unit comes together over the course of the next few weeks, and how effective Blackman is as a leader and field general at managing the game, remains to be seen.

2. From what I see, Dominique Blackman is expected to play in BG on Saturday. What can we expect from the transfer who once was headed to Washington.

Based on spring and fall camp, Blackman - a lefty - brings a strong arm to the Vandal passing attack and a competitive personality on the field. He has a good grip of what the Idaho coaching staff wants the offense to do, and he is a pretty good leader on the field. Those are the traits that helped him win the starting job this fall. Consistency was been the biggest hurdle he had to overcome in winning the position, and he has made significant improvement here. There is no doubt that Blackman (6-5, 254) has a strong arm and can make plays. The question is can the junior signal caller do it consistently, and can he play with patience and poise? More importantly, can he be the catalyst to open up the Idaho playbook so the offense can play more aggressively and less predictably?

3. What else can we expect on offense? Has Ryan Bass lived up to expectations? What other weapons are there? How has the line play been.

This week right guard A.J. Jones, a senior who started most of last season and missed last week’s game against EWU, may be back on the Vandal offensive line, giving the right side of the Idaho line at least one year of starting experience across the board. The left side, with two redshirt freshmen, has the most ground to make up. Reps will help this group gel. The potential is there to be pretty good, but playing time is what will help this group develop. The running game showed glimpses of punch during spring and fall camps, and the potential is there. Bass led Idaho's rushing attack last week in a mostly one dimensional attack. If the passing game gets untracked this week, there is potential for Idaho to be able to mix it up. New bruising tailback James Baker (6-1, 228) gives Idaho a nice 1-2 punch out of the backfield. There are some weapons at wide receiver in seniors Justing Veltung and Mike Scott and newcomers Najee Lovett and Jahrie Level, and at tightend with juniors Mike LaGrone and Clayton Homme. But if the offensive line can't stop the Falcons, then these play makers won't see much action headed their way.

4. You got excellent production out of LBs Tuala and Scheidt in your first game. LBs were expected to be a strength--how do you handicap your D-line and backfield?

From a pure numbers and experience standpoint, the Idaho defense should be pretty solid all the way around. The game last week was 13-3 halfway into the fourth quarter, and that is with a Vandal offense that was largely ineffective for the game. The two-deeps all around are solid, from front to back. Senior Gary Walker is the seasoned veteran at safety, while senior cornerback Aaron Grymes is the defensive captain. Up front it's hard to remember a time when there was this much size and experience, with Vincent Keener (6-4, 263) at strongside DE, junior Quayshawne Buckley (6-3, 303) at DT, sophomore Jesse Davis (6-6, 286) at NG, and sophomore Maxx Forde (6-4, 261) gets the nod at rush end (senior standout Benson Mayowa, a 3-year starter at rush end, may be unavailable this week). The rotation at each position is solid and 2-3 deep all the way across. And as you said, the linebackers performed about as well as advertised with a nice rotation last week. We will find out how good this unit is as the season progresses, but defensively Idaho should be competitive this fall -- unless of course the offense continues to struggle with 3-and-outs, turnovers, and poor field position.

5. Idaho is enduring what is BG's biggest nightmare--watching a conference dissolve right underneath you. Is there a future for Idaho in FBS and if so, what do you think it is?

Yes, from our vantage point there is a future for Idaho at the FBS level -- it just isn't going to be easy to attain. Conference realignment most likely isn't done, especially with the Big XII sitting at ten teams and with serious money at stake for the BCS conferences to expand their footprint. With so much potential realignment still on the table, it is in Idaho's best interest to keep focused on FBS. But at some point, to really make it work at this level, the University of Idaho has to make a more profound commitment to athletics, both in the form of its gameday facilities, and how it supports and embraces its athletics programs as an institution. In the last 12 years Idaho has invested approximately $50 million in its infrastructure (from new practice fields, new locker rooms, and a new weightroom - replacing horrendously inadequate facilities - to a complete modernization of the Kibbie Dome and installation of luxury seating to enhance revenue). Next up, though, are bigger investments which include (in the current plan) a new Events Center for basketball and a seating expansion of the football stadium. These are going to be key investments for Idaho moving forward to demonstrate the school's commitment to compete at a higher level. The costs for these facilities are not trivial, but for decades Idaho has avoided building them altogether, whether it was putting a roof on the football stadium back in the 1970s and moving basketball in there rather than building a new basketball arena that the school needed then, or renting Martin Stadium from neighboring Washington State in the late 1990s and early 2000s for "home" football games rather than expanding the Kibbie Dome or building a new stadium to meet then-NCAA seating requirements. Idaho as an institution has historically always found ways to avoid building these things, and until this year Idaho refused to move on any of these needs. But with so much now at stake, there appears to be some momentum from the University of Idaho to expand. Barring an immediate change in the conference landscape, the Vandals are preparing to compete as a football independent in 2013 and 2014, with the intention of ultimately landing in an FBS conference. From our perspective Idaho can't just go independent and call it good. In addition to indy, Idaho must also take serious steps toward building these new facilities (i.e. launching a public campaign to raise the funds to build one or both of these planned facilities) to finally demonstrate their seriousness about expanding the program and competing at this level.