UI Defends Use Of Star On Punt Team
Joel Thomas’ football career likely came to an end on Saturday as he made a punishing tackle on a punt return.
That, naturally, led to questions of why Thomas, Idaho’s fifth-leading career rusher with a shot at No. 1 before dislocating his knee in a 14-10 loss to Air Force, is used on special teams.
The Vandals, including Thomas himself, were ready with answers.
“I don’t regret playing on special teams,” said Thomas, standing with the aid of crutches outside Idaho’s charter airplane at the Colorado Springs airport. “It’s part of football, and here we put the best players on special teams.”
Idaho has long used starters on coverage teams. This year defensive end Nick Alexakos, linebacker Ryan Skinner, tight end Jeff Pankratz and safety Bryson Gardner are on various special teams.
“He’s been playing that position for three years,” UI coach Chris Tormey said. “Air Force has blocked 33 kicks in the last five years and we have a freshman behind him…
“Let’s get one thing straight. Special teams are every bit as important as the offense and defense. We have absolutely no second thoughts about playing our best football player at a critical position.”
On the return, the knees of Thomas and Air Force’s Jason Sanderson collided. Both players went down and Thomas was in immediate agony. The senior, who has already redshirted and was granted a medical hardship in ‘95 because of a broken foot, had to be transported to the hospital.
“It sucks,” he said. “The hospital wouldn’t put the game on the radio. I’m just disappointed because I wanted to help us win. I love punt return. It’s when I get in big hits.”
“I saw his leg buckle and it looked very ugly,” Skinner said. “I didn’t want to see that because Joel has worked so hard for this season.”
Thomas’ absence leaves UI thin at running back. Jerome Thomas moves into the starting role. Behind him are freshmen Willie Alderson and Laki Ah Hi. Reserve Marcelle Williams transferred to Utah State before the season. The Vandals might be forced to use freshman Anthony Tenner, whom they had hoped to redshirt.
Silencing the critics
Idaho’s offensive and defensive lines, the team’s biggest question marks, performed well.
Quarterback Brian Brennan was sacked just once. The Vandals managed 96 rushing yards, 3.7 per carry, despite the loss of Thomas. Brennan was knocked down only a handful of times and usually had plenty of time to throw.
Idaho juggled defensive schemes, particularly up front, to bottle up Air Force’s wishbone. The Falcons gained 340 total yards and it took 56 attempts to net 197 rushing yards.
“We gave up only one run over 15 yards,” Tormey said. “Our defense played well enough to win.”
Notes
Freshman returner/wide receiver Vern Bernard suffered a knee injury. Extent of the damage wasn’t known. … Idaho’s 10 points were its fewest since a 33-3 loss to McNeese State in the ‘95 I-AA playoffs… .The crowd of 41,331 was boosted by the mandatory attendance of 4,100 cadets.
, DataTimes