Vandals Off And Running Despite Losing Key Receiver

Idaho considers wide receiver its deepest position, but the Vandals will play the 2000 football season without one of their top deep threats.

Rossi Martin, who had 11 receptions against Auburn and also caught two second-half touchdown passes as Idaho rallied past Washington State last season, is academically ineligible.

“It’s huge, but I’m not one to worry about spilt milk,” new head coach Tom Cable said. “We’ve already talked about it as a team and we’ve moved on.”

Martin led Idaho in 1999 with 483 receiving yards and averaged 14.6 yards per catch, tied with Ethan Jones for best on the team among regulars. Jones, by the way, watched Idaho’s first practice Monday. He’s yet to receive clearance academically, but coaches are optimistic that he’ll be eligible soon.

“You’ve got to take care of the classroom before you can come out here,” quarterback John Welsh said.

Cable said he’s talked to Martin, who plans on improving his grades so he can come back next fall for his senior season.

Idaho returns five players - counting Jones - who caught at least 16 passes last season.

First day on the job

Cable was up at 5 a.m. Monday, anxious for his first practice as Idaho’s head coach. Before coaching his players, Cable gave himself a pep talk.

“I talked to myself this morning about trying to stay relaxed and not acting like a little kid out there,” said Cable, who spent a few minutes replacing divots after the morning practice.

Cable plans on keeping many of UI’s enduring traditions, but he has made some hazing activities a nono.

“We’ve cut out some of the negative hazing,” Cable said. “But the singing and joke-telling for new players and coaches (at the dining hall), that stuff is staying. I don’t have to do it because I did it when I was a player here.”

Returning players have noticed some changes from previous coach Chris Tormey’s approach.

“For the most part we have the same drills, but our enthusiasm is probably a little better,” senior linebacker Rick Giampietri said. “We’ve always worked hard in practice for all of our coaches. We’ve pretty much demanded that of ourselves.”

Big deal

They won’t have to write a paper about it, but many of the Vandals’ showed off what they did over the summer. They lived in the weight room.

Nineteen Vandals bench-pressed 400 pounds or more, compared to six last season. All five starting offensive linemen benched 400 or more, including redshirt freshman Jake Scott. All five linemen maintain body fat of less than 20 percent.

Defensive tackle Wil Beck, another 400-plus bencher, weighed in at 295 pounds. “Just where we wanted him,” strength and conditioning coach Tommy Boyer-Kendrick said.

Senior offensive lineman Rick DeMulling bench-pressed a team-best 500 pounds.

“We had people here almost every day lifting (during summer),” DeMulling said.

The added muscle should help Idaho combat a schedule that includes Washington, Oregon, Washington State and West Virginia.

“The schedule helps for motivation,” DeMulling said. “We know if we’re weak we’re going to get our tails kicked because those teams have some big boys.”

Grassy beginning

Receiver Jeffrey Townsley reported at 210 pounds, 11 above his playing weight last season. This didn’t impress the new coaching staff.

So, after Monday’s morning practice Townsley did 200 yards worth of rolls, looking like a kid rolling down a hill except that Idaho’s practice field offers no benefit of gravity.

“It’s a dizzying sensation, that’s why I was going slow so I could keep my eyes open,” he said. “I don’t see it as punishment. I see it as getting in shape for the season and when it comes game time, I’ll be one of the best conditioned on the team.”

Notes

Idaho football ads have saturated the airwaves the last week. Cable and long-time voice of the Vandals Bob Curtis are featured in the TV spots. “That (advertising) continues to grow, just like our program,” athletic director Mike Bohn said. Idaho is approaching 2,000 in season-ticket sales. UI also has sold 2,000 tickets to the season opener against Washington in Seattle on Sept. 2. Bohn’s goal is 3,000 season tickets… . Idaho’s punter of the future might be its punter on opening day. Ryan Downes, a 6-foot-6 freshman from Casper, Wyo., is battling Jesse Taylor and Keith Stamps for the job. “It sure looks like he’s got a chance to be the guy,” Cable said.