Akey backs his points with actions

SAN JOSE, Calif. – If David Vobora is honest enough to say Nick Holt was off his rocker and Dennis Erickson had a laissez faire attitude, you have to believe what he has to say about Robb Akey, the newest Idaho football coach.

“A man is only as good as his words and actions,” the Vandals star linebacker said. “When you look at him, you can see it in his eyes.”

Akey is a head coach for the first time in his 20-year coaching career, but he’s the fourth head coach for Vandals seniors that redshirted during their career.

He needed to make an impression on his team – not to show that he was capable of being a head coach, but to let them know he’s in this for the long haul.

“One thing that has been consistent for these players that have been in the program and the University of Idaho in recent years is inconsistency,” Akey said at the Western Athletic Conference football preview on Tuesday. “We need to try to establish some consistency. I need to prove to these players that I’m their coach, somebody they can trust and wants to believe in them.

“One way to build trust is if you tell somebody you’re going to do something, you back it up with actions. That’s what we’ve tried to do. A number of kids have departed the program.”

Since he was hired in December, 17 Vandals with eligibility have departed, on their own or with a push from behind.

“You’re never glad to see a guy’s scholarship taken away,” senior cornerback Stanley Roberts said. “My roommate was cut. It was difficult, but you realize that’s what he said to the team. You can’t go along with the negativity. You’ve got to rally around the team.”

Akey said every player, no matter what they had done in the past, started with a clean slate, but some didn’t take advantage of a second chance.

“What makes us buy in is that, first of all, he knows what we’ve been through,” said Roberts, who led the nation with nine interceptions last season. “He realizes it’s up to him to gain the trust of the players. We’re just not going to give in, another coach coming in and telling us the same thing.”

Akey sacrificed talent and depth to build the team from the inside out.

“I’ll tell you flat out it’s a good thing,” Vobora said. “Depth and the (graduation rate) stuff … are difficult, but the guys have to be accountable and do the right thing on and off the field.”

Now attention turns to the field, with the Vandals starting practice Aug. 3 in preparation of their Akey debut, which will come at Southern California on Sept. 1.

“Coach Holt was crazy – he’s one of those guys who is a warrior,” Vobora said. “I love the guy, but he was a little off his rocker. He’d agree with that. Coach Erickson had that NFL laissez faire attitude. He was very relaxed, just cool. I think we got a little spoiled.

“Coach Akey is a little combination of both. On the field, he really turns it on. He makes it fun, but he’s there to win football games.”

To Akey, football is more about fun than work, something he learned from his coach at Weber State, Mike Price, who brought him to Pullman eight years ago.

“He taught me how to treat people and this is a game,” Akey said. “You play games for two reasons – trying to win and trying to have fun. It can be fun.”