Erickson trusts staff for suggestions

University of Idaho football coach Dennis Erickson has always called his own plays and he probably always will.

But he’s not afraid to call on a couple of familiar faces for suggestions. Offensive coordinator Dan Cozzetto, who has coached with Erickson at a couple of different stops, and quarterbacks coach Jonathan Smith, who played quarterback for Erickson at Oregon State, are upstairs in the coaching booth on game day. Running backs coach Jamie Christian, Erickson’s nephew, is responsible for substitutions on the sideline.

“I call most of the plays,” said Erickson, whose Vandals face Washington State on Saturday. “We try to do it as a group and we have a pretty good group going. We spend a lot of time during the week as far as what we want to call. I get suggestions and I may call for a run and they’ll give me a run. They know what I want and don’t want.”

Cozzetto held a similar role at Idaho in 1983 after offensive coordinator Keith Gilbertson left for the USFL and at Oregon State with fellow assistant Tim Lappano, another longtime Erickson aide.

“We script things, we script situations and we might be into the first two plays of the script, come off and then come back to it later,” Cozzetto said. “Once he (Erickson) gets into a groove, we’ll just alert him about things like, ‘Hey, you might get pressure here,’ just food for thought. But once he gets locked in, just keep your mouth shut and let him go.”

Erickson has adapted and adjusted through the years, Cozzetto said, but one thing remains constant.

“He’s way ahead of the situation and in anticipating situations,” Cozzetto said.

Under pressure

Idaho, which yielded six pass plays of 15 yards or longer against Michigan State’s talented receivers and quarterback Drew Stanton, faces a stern challenge Saturday.

WSU’s Jason Hill caught two touchdown passes against Idaho last year and Michael Bumpus had one TD grab among his team-high eight receptions as the Cougars defeated Idaho 38-26.

“Take all those Michigan State guys and none of them are as good as Hill, and then they have (Chris) Jordan and Bumpus,” Erickson said. “That’s the strength of their team and at quarterback (Alex Brink). We have to change things up on (Hill) and try to change coverages. Hopefully, we can keep things in front of us.”

Brother to brother

For now, the phone calls have stopped. Idaho junior receiver Ryan Heacock and Washington State graduate assistant coach Patrick Libey are brothers and usually talk several times a week.

“We talk football and a little trash, but we had to call it off this week. We talked Tuesday, but that’s the last call until Saturday,” Heacock said. “He’s a big part of why I came to Idaho. He made it so it was a good fit for me. It just makes the game that much more fun.”

Libey and Heacock are Central Valley High graduates. Their careers overlapped at Idaho when Libey was a senior linebacker in 2003 while Heacock was a redshirt freshman.

“I’ve got all my friends coming back and they’re rooting against me,” Libey said. “All my family is down and they’re all pulling for my little brother, but it’s a great opportunity for me to go out there and be part of a great staff and a great team. And try to beat my alma mater.”

Notes

Idaho should have the services of safety Lee Jones (hamstring) and receiver Tracy Ford (ribs). UI linebacker Jo Artis Ratti (shoulder) has an outside chance of playing, but he’s probably a week away. .… Vandals linebackers coach Johnny Nansen played for WSU from 1992-96. Nansen’s position coach was WSU head coach Bill Doba, who also coordinated the defense. … Erickson, who coached at Oregon State from 1999-2002, said he kept an eye on Brink during his prep days in Eugene, but “Alex committed to WSU pretty early.”