Blackman looks like QB favorite for Vandals
MOSCOW, Idaho – The men who will make the decision declined to give definitive statements Saturday afternoon on the University of Idaho’s drawn-out quarterback race.
But an end to the competition for the No. 1 job appears to be in sight.
Dominique Blackman, a 6-foot-5 transfer from Los Angeles Harbor, was again the sharpest QB in the Vandals’ preseason scrimmage Saturday afternoon in the Kibbie Dome. The left-handed junior took the most reps with the first-team offense, passing for 167 yards and two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, incumbent Taylor Davis, who started three games last year, took a backseat to senior Logan Bushnell, the Vandals’ third-stringer in 2011. Bushnell got a long look Saturday – a reward for his strong play in fall camp, coach Robb Akey said – and went 6 of 17 with two interceptions.
Davis attempted just six passes, completing half of them – including one to Mike Scott over the middle for a 67-yard TD. Most of the junior’s snaps, however, were with the second and third units.
“Logan has kind of (come) on here,” offensive coordinator Jason Gesser said. “(He’s) had a pretty decent camp. And Taylor … he’s been up and down, up and down, up and down – kind of like he was in the spring. He’ll have a real good day. Then one of those days, you’re like, ‘What are you doing?’”
Gesser followed Akey’s lead in not saying if there’s a favorite to start UI’s opener on Aug. 30 against Eastern Washington. But Blackman has progressed enough that the choice might not be difficult to make.
He’s connected on 25 of 35 passes in two scrimmages with no interceptions. Although he overshot several targets Saturday, he’s been more accurate than Davis and increasingly received more time with the first unit.
Akey told reporters he’s “very anxious to digest today and add that into the equation, but it’s coming along well and I think we’re starting to see some things. And I’m going to leave it at that at this point in time.”
Neither Blackman nor Davis has been made available to the media through spring and fall camps. That will change when a starter is named, Akey said last week.