{"id":850127,"date":"2026-04-02T22:12:26","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T22:12:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/850127\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T22:12:26","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T22:12:26","slug":"idaho-football-begins-spring-practice-with-rising-expectations-the-argonaut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/850127\/","title":{"rendered":"Idaho football\u00a0begins\u00a0spring practice with\u00a0rising expectations\u00a0 \u2013 The Argonaut"},"content":{"rendered":"

After a year defined by rebuilding, Idaho football enters the spring with something it did not have a season ago: continuity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Vandals kicked off their 2026 spring practices on March 31, beginning a five-week stretch of 14 sessions that will culminate in the annual Spring Game on May 1. Practices will be held three times per week, offering an early look at a program that appears further along\u00a0in\u00a0its development under second-year head coach Thomas Ford Jr.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cReally excited to get going with spring ball,\u201d Ford said\u00a0in\u00a0an\u00a0Idaho\u00a0Athletics\u00a0press release. \u201cOur guys have done a great job this winter in the weight room.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Spring football serves as the bridge between seasons. It is where position battles begin to take\u00a0shape,\u00a0schemes are installed and refined\u00a0and returning players have a chance to take on larger roles. For Idaho, it also\u00a0represents\u00a0the next phase of a rebuild that showed flashes but lacked consistency in 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Vandals finished 4-8 last fall in Ford\u2019s first season, navigating a roster overhaul that left them among the youngest teams in the Big Sky. Close losses and late-game struggles highlighted the growing pains of a group still learning how to win together.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a much more experienced group than we did a year ago, especially on the offensive side of the ball,\u201d Ford said. \u201cA lot of our guys have now played 500-plus snaps as opposed to 200 or less.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

That added experience starts at\u00a0quarterback with\u00a0Joshua Wood, who\u00a0emerged\u00a0as one of the conference\u2019s most dynamic dual-threat players despite missing time with injury. Wood returns after completing\u00a0nearly 60%of his passes while averaging 59 rushing yards per game, providing Idaho with a proven\u00a0option\u00a0under center entering the spring.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

He will not be alone in that room. Sawyer Teeney and Jack Wagner, both of whom saw action last season, are expected to compete for snaps.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Up front, the Vandals return four starters along the offensive line, a key factor for an offense that struggled at times with consistency in 2025. The only major loss is all-conference guard Nate Azzopardi, but the continuity elsewhere should provide stability as Idaho installs a new offensive system under coordinator Ian Shoemaker.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"UI redshirt sophomore quarterback Joshua Wood looks to take the next step in his progression and lead the Vandals to their best football come next season | John Keegan | Argonaut <\/p>\n

The skill positions also return a mix of production and potential. Ryan Jezioro, the team\u2019s leading receiver as a\u00a0freshman, is back after a redshirt season, while\u00a0Marquawn\u00a0McCraney, Tony Harste and Trais Higgins give Idaho a group of pass-catchers with\u00a0experience in game situations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For an offense that showed flashes but rarely\u00a0operated\u00a0at full strength last season, spring will be about finding rhythm and\u00a0establishing\u00a0identity under a new play-caller.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Defensively, Idaho enters the spring with a stronger foundation than it did a year ago, returning key contributors at all three levels of a unit that graded among the best in the Big Sky against the run.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mitch Jaskowiak and Titus Ringor headline the defensive front, while linebacker Cruz Hepburn returns after a 71-tackle season that\u00a0established\u00a0him as a leader in the middle of the defense. In the secondary, Tim Jackson, Zach Wusstig and Hysan Dalton provide experience in a group that saw significant action in 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m also fired up to see our new guys on the defensive side of the ball get after it with pads on,\u201d Ford said. \u201cWe\u2019ve had a great start to the 26 season and [I\u2019m] looking forward to seeing our guys improve their\u00a0consistency, and\u00a0master the fundamentals of their position.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

That emphasis on consistency reflects one of the biggest areas of focus for Idaho this spring. The Vandals were competitive in multiple games last season but struggled to close, particularly in one-possession contests. Turning experience into execution will be a central theme over the next five weeks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The defensive unit will also be adjusting to a new voice. First-year defensive coordinator Lee Stalker arrives after three seasons at Iowa State, where he helped develop multiple all-conference players. His system will be one of the key storylines to watch throughout spring practices.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"The Vandals look to have a better campaign next season after finishing 4-8 last season | John Keegan | Argonaut <\/p>\n

Special teams will see a similar transition under coordinator Joe\u00a0Begnal, who inherits a group with returning experience in kickers Owen Forsman and Cameron Pope, as well as long snapper Dylan Fischer.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

With all three phases of the game featuring new leadership, spring offers the first opportunity to evaluate how those changes translate on the field.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Beyond\u00a0scheme\u00a0and personnel, the most significant difference for Idaho may simply be time.\u00a0A year ago, the Vandals were assembling a roster and learning a system simultaneously.\u00a0Now, they return with a full offseason in\u00a0place,\u00a0a highly ranked recruiting class added to the mix and a clearer understanding of the program\u2019s expectations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For Ford, the goal is straightforward \u2014 build on the foundation\u00a0established\u00a0last season and move closer to the standard the program expects.\u00a0\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After a year defined by rebuilding, Idaho football enters the spring with something it did not have a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":850128,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2026],"tags":[24146,7,24145,116383,116384],"class_list":{"0":"post-850127","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-big-sky-conference","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-idaho-vandals","11":"tag-joshua-wood","12":"tag-thomas-ford-jr"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116337415112394980","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/850127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=850127"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/850127\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/850128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=850127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=850127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=850127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}