Bringing the heat

 

After two solid defensive spring scrimmages, Vandal Nation caught up with Idaho defensive coordinator Mark Criner and seniors Aaron Grymes and Rob Siavii. Hear what they have to say about spring practice so far, senior leadership and competition for starting spots.

Idaho Vandals Midseason Report Card: Defense/Special Teams

We’ve got the second half of our midseason report card — looking at the Vandals’ defensive and special teams units. The first half, covering the offense, can be found here.

Defense

Defensive line: A-

The Vandals’ defensive front has bullied teams all season, and that’s why Idaho has the WAC’s #1 rushing defense. Giving up just 95.6 yards per game on the ground, this unit has absolutely dominated the line of scrimmage against most every opponent. This was particularly noticeable against Northern Illinois. The Huskies had piled up 280 yards on the ground the week before against the Big 10′s Purdue, and were expecting to run all over the Vandals. But nothing doing — Northern Illinois was able to net just 128 yards against Idaho.

Bruising defensive ends Aaron Lavarias (23 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 TFLs) and Michael Cosgrove (21 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 TFLs) and nose tackle Jonah Sataraka (21 tackles 3 sacks, 4 TFLs) have not only plugged up the front, they’ve harried opposing quarterbacks and, once again, made big clutch plays. Notably, Lavarias’ sack and forced fumble on Hawaii quarterback Bryant Moniz was a game-changer, putting the Vandal offense back on the field for the clinching drive.

Linebackers: B+

This crew is getting the job done. JoJo Dickson is the Vandals’ second-leading tackler with 39 and has two picks and a sack to boot. Robert Siavii and Paul Senescall aren’t far down the list with 31 apiece and both have generally stayed remarkably healthy despite being in for a ton of plays. The only reason the grade isn’t higher? As we’ll talk about in the secondary section, Idaho hasn’t done a great job defending the pass, and the linebackers certainly share in some of the blame.

The surprise of the season on this unit has to be sophomore Tre’Shawn Robinson, who hasn’t started a game yet but leads the team in tackles for loss, with six for 26 yards, including a quarterback sack. He only has 18 total tackles — so fully one-third of them have set back the offense.

Secondary: C+

Idaho’s secondary has been blasted apart all season long. That’s one reason the Vandals sit 8th in the WAC in passing defense, giving up nearly 270 yards per game through the air. It’s not so much that our guys are getting burned; rather, to keep from being burned they’re giving up big cushions to receivers. Safeties Shiloh Keo and Jeromy Jones are playing for tackles rather than preventing catches. Idaho has allowed opponents to connect on 65% of their passes. That’s simply not going to get it done as the Vandals move deeper into the conference season.

That being said, the secondary has also found ways to come up with big plays just when they’re needed. The Vandals have clinched three consecutive games with interceptions: Keo against Colorado State and Hawaii, defensive back Kenneth Patten against San Jose State. Of note: Idaho’s fourth-leading tackler is true freshman defensive back Aaron Grymes, whose career with the Vandals is off to a stellar start.

Defense overall: B-

Like the offense, Idaho’s defense is a work in progress. It’s a little further behind than the O, particularly when it comes to passing. Hawaii showed the world how to hang with Idaho — just chuck up the ball, because we simply can’t stop the aerial game. Big passing teams should scare the daylights out of us.

But again like the offense, the unit’s defining characteristic has been its performance in the clutch. Time after time, Idaho’s defenders have come up big when the game is on the line, making key stops, huge sacks or timely interceptions just when things are looking grim for the Silver and Gold. OK, so they’re not exactly the Wrecking Crew, but the record says 6-1, and that says the defense has done just enough. To get to where Idaho wants to be, however, will require the defense to do even more.

Read on for our special teams grades.

Practice Tidbits: Sept. 30

The Idaho Vandals were back out in pads today for practice, running contact drills in preparation for Saturday’s battle with Colorado State.

Coach Robb Akey said the players we mentioned yesterday as being held out of practice are officially “day to day,” but are all expected to be ready to play Saturday.

He told his team to keep practicing and playing “with a chip on your shoulder” every day — with visions of bowl games beginning to dance in the Vandals’ heads, Akey said focusing on one game at a time is key.

The good thing about being where you want to be is that every week is going to be a big game. Saturday is no exception. We need to take that next step forward and improve in every game. We’ve been doing that as a team so far and that’s why we’re in this position right now. That didn’t happen by accident.

We asked Akey about exploiting Ram quarterback Grant Stucker, who’s thrown nearly as many picks (five) as touchdowns (six). But he didn’t bite, instead praising Stucker’s arm and ability.

(Stucker) is a talented kid. He’s got a strong arm, he can make deep throws and he’s completed a lot of those. With a couple of those interceptions, the ball hit the receiver on his hands — not much he can do there. He’s got a real touch, but I hope we can stir him up, get some pressure on him and make him throw the ball up where we can get it.

Defensive coordinator Mark Criner agreed.

(Stucker) throws an exceptional deep ball. He can throw the ball 60 yards in the air and make big plays, and that’s where he hurt Nevada. The defense maybe started overplaying his interceptions and he took advantage of that for some long plays.

Criner said another challenge his unit faces includes taking on “the most athletic offensive line we’ve faced this year,” with big bodies and big experience. The Vandals’ defensive front dominated Northern Illinois last week, but Criner explained the Rams’ size isn’t everything.

(The Rams) are not necessarily bigger than the Huskies, but Northern Illinois was trying to smash you. These guys aren’t trying to smash you, they’re trying to get leverage and get outside in the run game, and they’ve done a good job of it.

Trey Farquhar was trying some long (and we do mean loooooong) boots and connected on a couple.

Below the fold, more from Akey and Criner.

Practice Report: Sept. 29

The Kibbie Dome is echoing with whistles and shouts again, as the 3-1 (1-0 WAC) Idaho Vandals ready themselves for Saturday’s fight against the 3-1 (0-1 MWC) Colorado State Rams.

Daniel Hardy is on the sidelines, suited up but sans pads. He apparently got banged up a bit at Northern Illinois. He’s expected to be ready to play on gameday. Jonah Sataraka, JoJo Dickson Shiloh Keo were also being protected.

The Vandals’ first team, including QB Nathan Enderle, was working game reps, and there were also a couple practice kick-return situations. Return coverage has been a bugaboo for the Vandals all season, giving up an average of 21 yards per return. Last week, the Huskies frequently found themselves starting from their own 30 or 40-yard line.

We stopped to take a look at the line at the Dome ticket office — it’s filling the hallway and spilling out into the foyer. Lots of students picking up their tickets, and the athletics department has reported that three-quarters of the student-allocated ducats have already been distributed.

Aaron Grymes is getting quality reps, as the true freshman has become a stalwart starting defender.

The Red and Black Attack believes they know why Idaho won: it’s the Axe.

We’ll have quotes from Enderle, Sataraka, Robb Akey and DeMaundray Woolridge tonight.