Group of six Idaho ‘original gangsters’ proud of growth football program has seen

MOSCOW, Idaho – Variously standing and sitting in a loose huddle on the Kibbie Dome turf, Roshaun Johnson, Logan Floyd, Dalton Cash, Nate DeGraw, Connor Whitney and Zach Borisch were the object of good-natured banter from their University of Idaho teammates passing by as they left practice. Those teammates were trying out the nickname newly bestowed on them by their first-year coach, Jason Eck.

“The OGs,” the Vandals called out. Original gangsters.

The six, who came in as freshmen and started playing for Idaho in 2018, have had their moments in previous seasons. Johnson, a running back, scored a school record six rushing touchdowns against the University of Southern Utah last fall.

“That’s something I will remember forever,” he said. “It was a team effort.”

Borisch, as an emergency quarterback, rushed for a school-record 205 yards and two touchdowns in a win against Eastern Washington in the spring 2021 season. DeGraw, a defensive lineman, had five tackles and a sack in that game.

Whitney in 2018 returned a blocked punt for a touchdown against nationally ranked North Dakota and the following year as a tight end scored a touchdown against Idaho State on a long reception on homecoming.

Cash, another tight end, in fall 2021 took a pass 46 yards for a touchdown against Portland State.

As an offensive lineman, Floyd’s contribution does not show up in postgame statistics. However, he was a Phil Steele freshman All-American in 2018, and he had started 37 games as a tackle or center for the Vandals going into this year.

A seventh player, Wyryor Noil, also came to Idaho and played in four games as a redshirt freshman in 2018. He played in 2019 and in the 2021 spring and fall seasons, as well. However, Noil, a defensive back, is not looking to conclude his career. He is petitioning the NCAA for an additional year of eligibility.

For all of them, at the close of every season, the wins never matched the losses. The best Idaho ever finished in that era was 5-7, in 2019. In 2018, the Vandals were 4-7. In the abbreviated 2021 spring season they were 2-4 and in the fall season last year they were 4-7.

Until now.

At 5-3, the Vandals are still focused on making the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. But for the six OGs, there is an intermediate goal. They have three games remaining to get one and ensure they go out as winners.

“It is special. All the hard work … we have been through, it’s nice to be able to call ourselves winners,’’ says Johnson.

“It’s a chance to be part of this changing culture,” Floyd added. “It is well deserved for these guys. We’ve put in the work, put in the hours. To see this community rally around us is something special.”

While Eck said Idaho is looking beyond six wins to securing a playoff berth, getting to six is nothing to dismiss.

“We have talked more about season goals, making the playoffs. But six wins is a step. In the last 20 years, Idaho has had two winning seasons.” Getting to six wins, “obviously that is a step in the right direction. It would be nice to not wait until the last game to get to that point.

“I really credit our players,” he added. “I really felt within our first three years we could be a playoff team. I thought that was a realistic goal. I told the guys I had a ton of confidence we could get to this place eventually. But I didn’t want to be patient and take our time because of our seniors. I have got a five-year contract. … For our seniors, it is their last shot. “They made a lot of investment in this program. Anytime you go into a situation where you know you are not going to be there forever, as a player or coach, you hope you leave it better than you found it. What a better legacy for those seniors than to have the best year of their five or six years here?”

Whitney and Floyd considered ending their careers or transferring before this season, according to Eck.

“I appreciate those guys staying with us,” he said. “I am very appreciative of those guys being good leaders for us. Roshaun has done a great job of giving great effort, playing well … even though he is not getting as many touches as he would like. He is not pouting about it. He has done a great job of embracing his role in goal line and short yardage.”

The seniors agree they had an indication this season could be different from any other right from the opening game, a 24-17 loss to Washington State in which Idaho was driving for a tying touchdown before being intercepted in the last minute.

The players also concur they are having a winning season because of a culture change the new coaching staff brought to the Vandals.

“I don’t want to say anything bad about our old coaches, but this staff has an energy, a knowledge of the game, a different perspective,” said Floyd.

“It goes all the way down to the graduate assistants,” Johnson added.

“It’s the emphasis they put on us investing in each other,” DeGraw said. “This is the closest crew since I’ve been here.”

Whitney said, “we got closer as a team. We learned about our teammates in a nonfootball sense. We are playing harder for each other, in a way.”

The players are confident they will get their sixth win against Eastern Washington University on Saturday in Moscow.

“Absolutely,” Johnson insists. “We’re hungry after last week” when Idaho narrowly lost to 3rd-ranked Sacramento State 31-28. Floyd suggested there is some payback to dispense against the Eagles, too, after EWU rolled Idaho last year 71-21.

“We’ve got a little chip on our shoulder,” Floyd said.

When they graduate, Borisch plans to pursue medical school. DeGraw will look for a sales job in Texas. Whitney wants to follow his father into teaching and coaching in Spokane. Johnson and Floyd will train for NFL pro days next spring, while Johnson also looks for sales opportunities and Floyd plans to finish a master’s degree and eventually start a career in sports marketing. Cash expects to “return to Arizona and start building a life for myself and start applying all the things I’ve learned here in football.”

None of them regrets their decision to play for the Vandals.

“I love this place,” says Borisch. “There is no other school I would want to be at.”

DeGraw is from Post Falls, and his father played at Idaho. “Coming here was definitely a good decision,” DeGraw says. “It is where I thought I would end up my entire life.”

“I’ve made friends that will last a lifetime,” Floyd says, and Johnson agrees. “Twenty years from now I will come back for homecoming. We’ll be gray and old, but I’ll remember these guys the rest of my life.”

Eck amplified the theme of team friendships as something that will push the Vandals in their final three regular season games to secure a playoff berth.

He says, “I think we have a team that really enjoys being around each other, playing with each other. You are really fighting for more time together. Play well, and you earn more time together.”

The OGs have not been there yet, but in their final go-round as college football players they have helped bring Idaho to the brink of a winning season and possibly the playoffs. If they reach those goals, at last, well, how gangster would that be?