Tormey: ‘I’M A Vandal’

He may or may not have been one before, but Chris Tormey became a hot - or at least a warm - coaching commodity when his Idaho Vandals won the Humanitarian Bowl on Wednesday.

And hotter still because of what transpired earlier in the day.

At the University of Washington, athletic director Barbara Hedges fired head coach Jim Lambright in the wake of a humiliating defeat at the hands of Air Force in the O’ahu Bowl - leaving the Huskies with a 6-6 mark, their first non-winning season in 21 years. Former UW assistant Gary Pinkel, now the head coach at Toledo, figures to be a leading candidate to succeed Lambright. Tormey, too, is a longtime Husky aide.

“I’m a Vandal,” insisted Tormey, a UI graduate. “I love the University of Idaho. I’m sad to hear Coach Lambright was fired. He’s a good friend and a good football coach and I don’t like to see that happen to anybody.”

Will Tormey listen if Hedges calls?

“I’ve got no comment on the University of Washington today,” Tormey said. “Today is the University of Idaho’s day.”

Tormey has two years remaining on his UI contract, which pays him $89,400 a year, plus bonuses. Athletic director Mike Bohn has said he wants sit down with Tormey and redo the contract “for more years and more money.”

The next-to-MVPs

Idaho quarterback John Welsh was a popular choice as the Vandals’ player of the game, but they had a number of lesser-sung heroes - notably linebacker Ryan Skinner and defensive linemen Wil Beck and Falemao Tosi.

But the truly unsung stars were offensive tackles Rick DeMulling and Patrick Venzke, who made Southern Mississippi ends Adalius Thomas and Cedric Scott all but disappear. Thomas, a 1998 All-American, made just two tackles working primarily against DeMulling, while Scott had four stops.

“They were spying, the backs, for our screens, so (Thomas) was mostly in full pass rush,” said DeMulling, a sophomore from Cheney. “He’s a great athlete - quick, fast, strong. It was fun going against him. I’m just glad I didn’t have to hear his name called very often.”

Defense by Patsy Cline

The defensive wrinkle Idaho threw at the Golden Eagles has the perfect name: Crazy.

Usually, the Vandals would line up with their usual four down linemen. But sometimes nose tackle Wil Beck would be the only one in a stance - and sometimes even he’d be standing up, putting his 312 pounds into a tap dance.

“When you have the extra time to prepare for a bowl game, you like to throw something different at a team,” said Tormey. “We have the ability to stand seven guys and bring six, or bring three and play various coverages and combinations of zones. It was good for us. It enabled us to slow them down a little bit.”

Said Beck, “Sometimes it’s like I’m almost a middle linebacker, except I don’t go out for (pass coverage). It’s nice to have a running start. I guess he calls it ‘Crazy’ just to get us crazy.”

The Friar’s Club?

Invite the Vandals to your next banquet if you dare. Summoned to the interview room after the game, several of Idaho’s finest turned it into a roast.

For instance, when a writer asked running back Joel Thomas about his two fumbles, quarterback John Welsh grabbed a microphone and boomed, “Yeah, Joel, what about those fumbles?”

And when senior linebacker Ryan Skinner entered the room, he found all the seats at the head table occupied so he found a chair next to a sports writer - and then made like one.

“Nick,” Skinner asked defensive end - and roommate - Nick Alexakos, “on the defensive side of the ball you had some trouble in the fourth quarter. What happened to you guys and how were you able to bring this victory through.”

“Well,” Alexakos shot back, “I’d have to say it was great senior leadership and, of course, the 44 magnum, Ryan Skinner.”

Skinner couldn’t leave the room without one last question?

“Hey,” he said. “Where’s all the snacks for the press?”

Notes

Former Vandals and Green Bay Packers great Jerry Kramer was part of the pre-game coin-flip ceremony and he walked Idaho’s sideline during the game. His son, Jordan, a redshirt freshman, will contend for a starting running back position next season. His older son, Matt, a junior, is a reserve defensive end… . Humanitarian Bowl officials were a bit surprised at one media credential request. It came from a 350,000 circulation daily - in Mexico City. The reporter was in attendance.