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Jan. 14—MOSCOW, Idaho — When former Idaho football coach Jason Eck told his team after its Football Championship Subdivision quarterfinal loss to Montana State that he was leaving to become the head coach at New Mexico, it left Vandals fans with complicated feelings.
Eck had revived an Idaho program mired in mediocrity with no winning season since 2016 with three consecutive playoff appearances. But his departure was sudden and he took most of his coaching staff with him to the Lobos. More than two dozen Idaho players also flooded the transfer portal following his announcement.
As portal season ends, though, one thing is clear: Those guys could recruit.
Of the Vandals in the portal, three have accepted Big Ten offers, three are going to the Atlantic Coast Conference, one to the Big 12 and 10 to the Mountain West, including seven who are following Eck to New Mexico.
Wide receiver Mark Hamper, with three years of eligibility, is headed to Wisconsin. All-Big Sky Conference offensive tackle Ayden Knapik is using his final year of eligibility at Illinois, and Andrew Marshall is now at Nebraska.
Defensive tackle Dallas Afalava will have two seasons of eligibility at Wake Forest. Tight end Mason Mini, with three seasons of eligibility remaining, originally committed to Michigan State but subsequently switched to California. Former Lake City High star Zach Johnson, an honorable mention All-Big Sky linebacker, will take three seasons of eligibility to Stanford.
Idaho’s leading receiver from last season, Jordan Dwyer, a sophomore and All-Big Sky second-teamer, is now at Texas Christian in the Big 12.
The Mountain West picked up redshirt offensive lineman Jack Foster, who will have two years of eligibility at Nevada; safety Dwayne McDougle, who has a year of eligibility remaining at San Diego State; and defensive end and former…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/idaho-looks-rebuild-around-coach-030200744.html
Author : The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.
Publish date : 2025-01-15 03:02:00
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