Idaho Quarterback Auditions Continue Hisaw, Brennan And Scott Concede They Haven’t Distinguished Themselves

And how did you perform, Eric Hisaw, during Idaho’s first full-squad, padded football practice Wednesday morning.

“Terrible,” Hisaw said.

And you, Brian Brennan? “I had a terrible day,” he said.

Like his counterparts, third quarterback contender Robert Scott fluctuated between brilliant and bad, so it’s safe to assume nobody has secured the starting quarterback job yet as Idaho dives into two-a-days.

All of which was of little surprise to new coach Chris Tormey.

“It was pretty sloppy, after having six pretty good workouts,” Tormey said. Of the quarterbacks, Tormey said, “Those guys’ arms are sore.”

Tormey hopes to whittle the threesome to a pair, probably after Saturday’s scrimmage. That way, the remaining two can get loads of repetitions to determine whether a starter or two-QB system emerges.

“You can’t really give three guys enough repetitions,” Tormey said.

The luxury of Tormey’s first major decision as UI coach is that all three quarterbacks appear capable of handling the job. Hisaw, the starter until a knee injury at midseason last year, and Brennan, who admirably replaced Hisaw, are proven. The untested Scott is a mixture of the two, with the elusiveness of Hisaw and the strong arm of Brennan.

“I really can’t make a bad decision,” Tormey said.

Brennan agrees. “There are a lot of positions out there that aren’t challenged and they kind of take it easy and they’re not getting better,” he said. “We know that if we take one morning practice or one afternoon practice off, anything could happen.”

In some ways, Hisaw faces more of an uphill climb. With a new coaching staff, logic suggests that Tormey may select a quarterback that’ll be around two or three more years, such as the sophomore Brennan and redshirt freshman Scott, though Tormey has said nothing to that effect. Hisaw’s a senior.

Hisaw also is coming off a major knee injury that kept him out of spring drills. He said the knee is healed, and he took live snaps on Wednesday for the first time since playing against Montana on, as his recalled so vividly, “October 29.” Naturally, he’s battling rusty timing and re-learning basic fundamentals, such as fumble-free center-quarterback exchanges.

“Rob and Brian are playing real well, and they’ve kind of got a jump on me with the offense by going through spring ball,” Hisaw said. “But pressure-wise, no, I don’t think there’s lot of pressure on us. Just the pressure to perform well.

“I’ve fumbled more snaps the last two days than I have in my entire career here. It’s just a matter of getting my timing and rhythm back. In my aspect, I have to really shine (to win the job). I’m not going to shine right away because I’ve had so much time off. It’s going to take some time.”

Hisaw said his mobility is fine and his repaired knee is stronger than his other knee. Still, he will wear a brace this fall.

The Don, and others

Tormey, a former Washington assistant under Don James, asked James to speak at a team meeting on Tuesday night. James addressed the team for about 30 minutes, focusing on mental preparedness and visualization.

“What we’re trying to do here is create an environment where motivation exists,” said Tormey, sounding a lot like, well, James.

“He (James) had a lot of good points,” receiver Chad Berry said. “He gave an inspirational speech.”

“I think it’s going to help us a lot if we take it to heart,” Hisaw said. “I took some notes and I think there’s a lot of truth to that stuff (visualization), with the world-class athletes.”

Tormey lined up a series of guest speakers, including Mac Bledsoe, father of former Washington State standout and New England Patriots star Drew Bledsoe, on Wednesday night. Other speakers include UI administrators Dene Thomas and Linda Davis, a Big Sky official and a Latah County judge. Clearly, the range of speakers will cover a range of topics.

“It’s not all football-related,” Tormey said.

General hospital chores

If, by the odd chance, a UI coach asks for a scalpel during practice, expect senior defensive back Jason O’Neill to be the first volunteer.

O’Neill worked as an assistant to an orthopedic surgeon in California this summer. O’Neill’s mother works at the hospital and helped her son get the job.

O’Neill was often in the operating room, getting a close look at the career he intends to pursue.

“It opened my eyes a lot, put my head straight to where I could be headed if I play my cards right,” he said. “I was handling different instruments and every now and then, when a knee needed to be held a certain way, I’d do that. I got to see everything.”

Hisaw and tight end Andy Gilroy worked as Little League softball umpires in Moscow.

“The kids were pretty funny,” Gilroy said. “The kids would say stuff like, ‘You play with the Vandals? You ain’t so big.’ All that kind of stuff, but I get that from my teammates, so what’s the difference?”

Linebacker Avery Slaughter was an intern at TV station KLEW in Lewiston.

Shelt is sound

Like Hisaw, linebacker Jason Shelt proclaimed his knee completely healthy. Shelt had reconstructive surgery after being injured last September against Nevada-Las Vegas.

He’s wearing a brace, but that’ll be gone when games arrive. “I can’t wait to get rid of it (the brace),” said Shelt, who may have had the hit of the day when he flattened a thirdstring running back. “I don’t even want to be reminded of it (the injury).”

, DataTimes