Full speed ahead

NICK HOLT’S first year as head coach at the University of Idaho is winding down, but he’s not. He doesn’t understand the concept. He remains in perpetual motion, full of energy and focused on the future. Practices, meetings, games, walking to the water cooler, it’s always with the throttle floored.

“I don’t think I was ready for all the energy he has,” junior defensive end Mike Anderson said.

It’s been a season that has tested Holt’s boundless energy reserves. From inconsistent play on the field to tragedy off it, few, if any other, first-year head coaches have had to deal with so much.

Holt has endured a schedule with just three true “home” games, and one of those was played at Washington State’s Martin Stadium. The Vandals will have traveled nearly 25,000 air miles this season when they return from Hawaii, the Vandals’ opponent Saturday in Honolulu.

He’s seen his 3-8 team play bad football on several occasions, yet bounce back impressively seven days later. He’s watched the injury list expand as Idaho faced 12 games in 12 weeks.

And he’s shed tears with his players at a team meeting hours after freshman cornerback Eric McMillan died from a gunshot wound.

“I had never seen him down,” offensive tackle Hank Therien said. “He kind of has this fearless leader image and all of a sudden he was speechless. He let us know that what we were feeling was OK and normal and he kind of gave us perspective on it.

“I remember him saying, ‘There’s a big difference between moving on and moving forward. We’re not moving on without Eric, we’re just moving forward as a team.’ “

Added Anderson: “He showed us that it was all right to cry and grieve and he brought people around to help us deal with it. And at the same time, he tried to keep us going. We needed to grieve, but we also had to keep going.”

If there is a theme Holt has tried to install this season, it is to keep moving forward. Get beat by 40 at Troy, come back with a victory against Arkansas State. Get waxed by Oregon, fly halfway across the country and beat Eastern Michigan. Get the worst news possible, the death of McMillan, take time to grieve and remember your teammate and somehow find a way to keep going.

“It’s a terrible thing that happened,” Holt said. “We’ve drawn closer as a team. We think about Eric daily in our prayers. It’s a messed-up thing that happened, but the sun rises the next day and you have to move forward, no matter how hard it is and reality sometimes sucks.”

On the field, Idaho has made little progress in the win-loss column. If Idaho, a 21-point underdog, loses Saturday, it will finish 3-9, same as last season. The Vandals won two Sun Belt games, compared to three in 2003.

But Holt will tell anyone that significant progress has been made, and he presents a convincing case. Beyond the obvious, that Idaho should benefit greatly down the road by employing 17 true freshmen this season, Holt points to basic tenets that will shape the future.

“We set the tempo for this program,” he said. “We learned how to play hard and we learned how to practice. We learned how to compete. That North Texas game (last Saturday) was a perfect example. When it comes down to it and with all our guys hurt, there’s no way we matched up. But we just played our butts off and with 3 minutes left we’ve got a chance.”

The improvement shows up on Sundays, Therien said, when the team reviews the game tape.

“When I think back to last year, just the intensity and hustle and drive we play with is at a whole new level,” Therien said. “I wouldn’t say it was embarrassing (last year), disappointing maybe.”

Holt’s candor and sometimes undetected sense of humor have caught reporters off guard. During a midseason conference call, he jokingly admonished the media for asking dumb questions. When reporters became reluctant to ask additional questions, Holt laughed and told the assembled group he was only kidding.

A reporter from Hawaii asked Holt if Idaho has plans to build a new football stadium.

“We’re breaking ground in about 15 minutes,” Holt responded without hesitation. “About 65,000 people, luxury boxes, chair-backs. Everything’s a go. Retractable roof.”

Players have taken to imitating the excitable Holt, with cornerback J.R. Ruffin’s rendition worthy of an Oscar.

“It’s pretty comical,” Therien said. “Coach Holt kind of wears his shorts high, above his belly button, and he’s all fired up and clapping. J.R. will come jogging into meeting rooms all fired up before Coach Holt comes in. He’s got it down.”

For a guy that always seems to be in a hurry, Holt understands rebuilding Idaho will take time. The move to the Western Athletic Conference next season will help, as will another recruiting class.

Meanwhile, Holt’s approach is taking hold.

“He’s a guy that tells it as it is,” Therien said. “If we get the dog beat out of us, he’ll tell us why and how to improve. When we lose, he doesn’t sulk, he doesn’t hang his head. It’s, ‘Let’s go on to the next game. People think we can’t do it, what do you think about that? Let’s go prove them wrong.’ ”