Vandals land transfer QB
Don’t bother mentioning the phrase “quarterback controversy” to University of Idaho football coach Nick Holt.
He won’t go there.
But a “quarterback competition?” Bingo.
That’s what Holt is looking for with the addition of junior college transfer Steve Wichman, who is on campus and will participate in spring drills. Senior incumbent starter Michael Harrington made strides last season and he started half of the 2003 campaign.
“I think it’s going to be a good competition,” Holt said. “It’s open competition; they’ll be battling it out. Mike’s the starter. Now we’ve got a solid guy competing with him.”
Wichman (pronounced Which-mun) brings an impressive resume from San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton, Calif. He was a two-year starter and was twice all-conference. He was the conference MVP and also MVP of the Holiday Bowl in which Delta upended Butte College on Butte’s home field.
“He has a real strong arm, he’s very tough and very strong in the weight room,” Delta coach Gary Barlow said. “A lot of schools looked at him, but he turned down trips and offers from other schools to go to Idaho. When his time is up, you’ll see that it was a good decision.”
Barlow said numerous schools, including Kentucky, UNLV and Maryland, were interested in Wichman, who threw for 3,030 yards and 22 touchdowns as a sophomore, earning honorable mention J.C. Grid-Wire All-America.
“He grew up in a smaller town (Tracy, Calif.),” Barlow said. “Even before his recruiting visit, he was very comfortable dealing with Nick and (assistant coach) James Cregg and he also talked to the quarterbacks coach (Jonathan Smith). When he went on the visit with the other players coming in, he saw their desire to get it turned around and he really feels comfortable.”
That doesn’t mean Harrington should necessarily feel uncomfortable. Harrington completed 68 percent of his passes for 2,110 yards last year. He had 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions while compiling a 128.7 passer rating. That represented a significant jump from his previous two seasons when he completed 46.2 percent and carried an 89.6 passer rating.
With one year in Holt’s system and three seasons of collegiate experience, Harrington should continue his upward trend, Holt said.
“We’re happy with Mike and he’s going to be so much better now after one year with us,” Holt said. “His confidence is really high and a lot of it is getting weapons around him with some other wideouts. That will help us out at all of the other positions.”
To that end, Idaho has added J.C. receivers Daniel Smith and Matt Askew. Smith is 6-foot-1 and Askew is 6-3. Tracy Ford, a Bellevue (Wash.) High product who signed last year but didn’t meet academic requirements, is now eligible.
The Vandals have signed eight J.C. players and there are indications the high school recruiting is going well. The signing date is Feb. 2.
Idaho rarely taps the J.C. ranks for quarterbacks. It’s believed Greg Robertson is the only J.C. quarterback to play at Idaho in the last two decades. Robertson, who played at Ricks College, threw for 1,279 yards as a UI senior in 1999. Ryan Fien, who passed for 3,674 yards in 1996, transferred from UCLA with a year of eligibility.
Idaho also has sophomore quarterback Brian Nooy, who was 24 of 49 in limited duty last season; Chris Joseph; and T.J. Conley, who will challenge for the punting job. Wichman helps balance Idaho’s classes at QB.
“It’s really important for (the J.C. transfers) to be here for spring, especially for the quarterback position,” Holt said. “It’s going to take some time, but Steve will learn and get better and compete and make the other guys better.”
Wichman, 6-3 and 215 pounds, led Delta to a 9-2 record and a No. 2 ranking in northern California. Barlow said Delta was No. 7 nationally.
“I can’t speak to (Idaho’s) situation,” Barlow said, “but there are very few schools in the country that I wouldn’t expect him to go and start for. We’ve done this quite a while and we’ve sent a lot of quarterbacks on to four-year schools and he’s right up there with the best we’ve had.”