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Idaho Football

Idaho looks to rebuild around new coach Thomas Ford Jr. despite several entrants into transfer portal

By Peter Harriman The Spokesman-Review

MOSCOW, Idaho – When former Idaho football coach Jason Eck told his team after its Football Championship Subdivision quarterfinal loss to Montana State that he was leaving to become the head coach at New Mexico, it left Vandals fans with complicated feelings.

Eck had revived an Idaho program mired in mediocrity with no winning season since 2016 with three consecutive playoff appearances. But his departure was sudden and he took most of his coaching staff with him to the Lobos. More than two dozen Idaho players also flooded the transfer portal following his announcement.

As portal season ends, though, one thing is clear: Those guys could recruit.

Of the Vandals in the portal, three have accepted Big Ten offers, three are going to the Atlantic Coast Conference, one to the Big 12 and 10 to the Mountain West, including seven who are following Eck to New Mexico.

Wide receiver Mark Hamper, with three years of eligibility, is headed to Wisconsin. All-Big Sky Conference offensive tackle Ayden Knapik is using his final year of eligibility at Illinois, and Andrew Marshall is now at Nebraska.

Defensive tackle Dallas Afalava will have two seasons of eligibility at Wake Forest. Tight end Mason Mini, with three seasons of eligibility remaining, originally committed to Michigan State but subsequently switched to California. Former Lake City High star Zach Johnson, an honorable mention All-Big Sky linebacker, will take three seasons of eligibility to Stanford.

Idaho’s leading receiver from last season, Jordan Dwyer, a sophomore and All-Big Sky second-teamer, is now at Texas Christian in the Big 12.

The Mountain West picked up redshirt offensive lineman Jack Foster, who will have two years of eligibility at Nevada; safety Dwayne McDougle, who has a year of eligibility remaining at San Diego State; and defensive end and former captain Malachi Williams, who has two years of eligibility at Boise State.

Starting quarterback Jack Layne, who will be a junior; running back Deshaun Buchanan, a sophomore; All-Big Sky linebacker Jaxton Eck, a junior; defensive lineman Xavier Slayton, a junior; defensive back Abraham Williams, a senior; center Kaden Robnett, a sophomore; and edge rusher Keyshawn James-Newby, who gained an unexpected year of eligibility when the NCAA changed a rule to not count NAIA or Division II or Division III experience against Division I players, have all gone to New Mexico.

Diezel Wilkerson, a former East Valley High standout, with three years of eligibility remaining, has switched Big Sky allegiance from Idaho to Montana.

Six Vandals who entered the portal withdrew their names after former UI running backs coach Thomas Ford Jr. was named to replace Eck. Running back Eli Cummings, offensive linemen Nathan Knapik, Nate Azzopardi and Layton Vining, wide receiver Emmerson Cortez-Menjivar and linebacker Isaiah King are all remaining at Idaho.

If the portal takes players, it also gives them. Ford, in addition to hiring a staff and moving his family to Moscow from Corvallis, Oregon, where he had been an assistant at Oregon State last year, signed 17 new players during the portal season.

“At the end of the day, you lose who you are going to lose. You have to replace them,” Ford said of the portal.

Ford also said Eck’s staff left the Vandals in a good place with habits and customs that can readily transfer to his tenure. The team culture, he said, “is not going to be much different than Eck’s.”

While Ford said he cannot announce all the new players until they are in Moscow and enrolled and attending classes, he pointed to several who are on board.

Maurice Heims, 6-foot-5 and 263 pounds, is a redshirt junior defensive end from Washington, who grew up in Germany before coming to the U.S. in high school. He played 30 games for the Huskies and will have a season of eligibility with the Vandals.

Lonyatta Alexander, who caught a pass against the Vandals in their quarterfinal loss, is transferring to Idaho from Montana State. He played at Arizona State and UW before going to the Bobcats. At 6-3 and 210 pounds, he has good size for a receiver. His brother, Xe’ree Alexander, was a freshman All-America linebacker at Idaho in 2023 before transferring to Central Florida.

William Cornelson (6-2, 230) is a linebacker from Tyler (Texas) Junior College. Ford calls him “a plug-and-play replacement” for Jaxton Eck.

Zakhari Spears (6-1, 190) can play cornerback and safety. After playing at Washington in 2021 and 2022, he entered the portal and transferred to Connecticut before coming to Idaho.

Linebacker Kai Richardson (6-4, 229) redshirted as a freshman at Oregon State in 2024 before coming to Idaho.

Oliver Fisher (6-5, 242) redshirted as a freshman tight end at Boise State in 2023 and did not play in 2024 before entering the portal and joining the Vandals.