Putting Up A Good Front Idaho Vandals Have Excellent Athletes On Offensive, Defensive Sides Of The Line

It’s simple, really. If you want to win football games, you had better be good up front.

And Idaho is.

Jim Mills is an All-American at offensive tackle. He’s surrounded by three returning starters, Eric Johnson, Mike Hughes and Spencer Folau, all capable of earning All-Big Sky Conference honors.

On the defensive line, Idaho has All-American Ryan Phillips, a frightening combination of speed and strength at 6-feet-4 and 253 pounds. The other end is sack specialist Barry Mitchell, up to 243 pounds from 221 last year, and three talented tackles can plug the middle.

That’s enough to make new coach Chris Tormey smile.

“Just look at the athletes we have (on the defensive line),” marvels Tormey, a former Vandals defensive lineman who was All-Big Sky in 1976 and 1977. “Ryan and Barry … (tackle) Dan Zeamer is much quicker than I expected. (Tackle) Tim Wilson is a real explosive guy who reminds me of D’Marco Farr (former Washington Husky).

“We’re not deep at all (on the offensive front), but I’m real pleased with the first group.”

The line serves as Idaho’s - or any team’s - foundation. The flash-and-dash is usually provided by skill position players, but you’ll recall Steve Young spending a lot of time on his wallet early last season when the 49ers’ line was banged up.

UI, 9-3 last year and rated No. 14 in the preseason poll, is not without question marks. Those seem to come the farther one gets away from the lines - at wide receiver and defensive back.

The quarterback battle continues with Eric Hisaw and Brian Brennan. Each served time as starters last year and each proved capable. It’s possible both will see time.

Tormey loses no sleep over the QB race. “Those guys don’t have to win the game for us,” he said. “They just need to be solid players and make good decisions, just don’t give the ball away. We’re going to have to be able to run the ball to win.”

Enter junior Joel Thomas. The human cannonball at 5-foot-6 and 209 pounds, who has bench-pressed an alarming 475 pounds, steps in for graduated All-American Sherriden May. Thomas, whose low-to-the-ground body doesn’t lend itself to injury, has piled up 1,344 yards the last two years while spelling May.

Thomas helped UI average 220 rushing yards per game last season.

Idaho’s offense has been rated in the top 11 nationally since 1982, when Dennis Erickson arrived with his one-back sets, but the attack truly blossomed when the ground game began appearing in national statistics. UI was 14th last year; 12th in 1993.

“If you look at the games we’ve lost over the years, it was games we didn’t run the ball well,” said Thomas, whose relief will come from speedy Lavoni Kidd.

Thomas could also be catching the ball more this year as coaches toy with occasionally putting him in receiving formations. “If they want to put me out there, I wouldn’t mind,” he said.

By moving Robert Scott from quarterback to wide receiver, UI has attempted to shore up a vulnerable position. The headliner is Dwight McKinzie, who follows a long line of UI passcatching greats such as Kyle Gary, Yo Murphy, Kasey Dunn and Eric Yarber. But there are no proven backups and even Scott has never played a down at receiver in a game.

Starter Andy Gilroy and reserve Avery Griggs return at tight end.

In addition to the aforementioned defensive linemen, also plug in the names of Ryan Smith and Robert Mulder. Smith is eye-to-eye with Zeamer for starting tackle. Mulder is an end who gives UI the ability to swing Phillips to other positions, exploiting the weaknesses of opposing linemen.

“He (Phillips) is going to play other positions,” defensive coordinator Nick Holt said. “Ryan’s bigger and faster. He just needs to stay healthy.”

Healthy once again is hard-nosed linebacker Jason Shelt, who went down with a knee injury in the second game last year. “I’m hoping that he’s going to be better (than before),” Holt said.

Flanking Shelt will be Dave Longoria, a blue-collar worker whom Holt calls, “real steady.” The other linebacker will probably be senior Avery Slaughter, though he’s being pushed by Whitney Mayer and true freshman James Durrough.

Idaho will stay with the Arizona-style defense, an aggressive, attacking brand that puts a premium on secondary coverage.

Holt and Tormey like the athletic ability of the secondary, which will probably be Arnold Gunn and Jason O’Neil at corners and Montrell Williams and Tommy James at safeties.

Holt walked off the field after Idaho’s playoff loss to McNeese State last year lamenting the Vandals’ lack of speed. He no longer has such worries.

“We’ve helped ourselves in that area,” Holt said. “Montrell is as fast as anyone. If he continues to improve, he’s a major key. He has the ability. He’s a key, as is Tommy James. We’ve got a chance to be as good as any defense we’ve had since I’ve been here (1990).”

Special teams responsibilities will fall on Brennan (punter) and returning starter Ryan Woolverton (placekicker).

Tormey replaces the popular John L. Smith, who packed up for Utah State. Tormey’s resume is faultless - with ties to Erickson as a UI assistant in 1982-83 and working under Don James and later Jim Lambright at Washington the last 11 years. Tormey’s worst record is UW’s 6-5 mark in 1988.

He has been careful to praise UI’s tradition and his desire to continue it in a rather faceless manner. He shies away from calling Idaho “his program,” and he strives to be the coaching conglomeration of James, Lambright and Erickson.

He sounds as if he’d be happy to be the George Seifert of the Big Sky, overseeing a quality team in Seifert’s reserved, but successful manner as the successor to Bill Walsh at San Francisco.

Mention the Big West Conference, which Idaho will join in 1996, and Tormey bristles, typically responding that “we’re not thinking about next season.”

His focus is on Oregon State, Idaho’s season-opening opponent on Sept. 2 in Corvallis.

“We have goals, but they’re internal and I don’t believe in making them public,” Tormey said. “I like our team, our attitude and our effort. And our toughness.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 Color Photos