Because college football teams can now spend eight weeks during the summer running drills and working out, the first day of fall practice isn’t want it used to be for players and coaches.
Still, there is something special about being able to put that helmet on for the first time.
A total of 110 Idaho State football players donned a lid under a broiling sun as the team officially began fall camp Thursday afternoon on the practice field outside the ICCU Dome. No matter how much time you spend together doing drills during the summer, that first day of fall camp still has a special feeling to it. Especially if you’re doing it for the last time, like Bengal senior captains Christian Fredericksen and Calvin Pitcher.
“It’s a blessing, it certainly is,” said Pitcher, who was a preseason All-Big Sky Conference selection at safety. “I love football, everyone does and I’ve been missing this a lot. To get back to the team, we’ve got some big things ahead of us, we’ve got big plans, and it was good to finally get together as a group and start bringing that to fruition.”
Fredericksen, ISU’s leading returning receiver, seconded Pitcher’s emotions.
“It’s just exciting,” said the 6-foot-2-inch senior from Rexburg. “The vibe is just so much excitement, everyone just loves being out there.”
ISU had 116 athletes train through summer workouts, then had to reduce that number to 110 when practice began today. According to ISU head coach Cody Hawkins, the Bengals didn’t lose anybody they were counting on beginning with workouts in May, and everybody, at least through the first day of practice, is healthy.
“You spend so much time with your guys over the summer that fall camp is less about getting in shape and conditioning, and more about refining the tools and getting used to physical contact and the technique that it takes to execute at a high level,” said Hawkins, who led ISU to a 3-8 record in his first season at the helm last fall. “I thought our guys had a fantastic summer. I’m sure other people around the country had great summers, too, but I don’t know if anybody in the country had a better summer than we did. Just because our guys did a great job.”
Because they can’t don pads or hit yet, the Bengals worked on details during their two-hour session on Thursday, ranging from offensive linemen learning what their first two steps will look like when charging out to run block, to “strip drills,” where defensive players practiced ripping the ball out of the hands of runners. For Pitcher, that last drill fits in perfectly with one of the goals of the ISU defense this fall.
“Last year, especially as a defense, turnovers was something we lacked,” Pitcher said. “We were toward the bottom of the conference. So we need to be coming out popping. We need three (turnovers) a practice, we need three a game. That’s just one of the things we need to focus on.”
Fredericksen didn’t mind not hitting Thursday, either.
“There are limitations, but there is so much technique and small details that people can work on,” he said. “More so when you’re not worried about the defense hitting you. Working on the small things is going to come harder if you’re going full hitting.”
The Bengals will get more physical this weekend, when they don shells and create some live game situations.
“We’ll try to be as physical as we can be within the bounds of the rules,” said Hawkins. “We’ll go live next Wednesday and next Saturday, and then we’ll have scrimmages the 17th and 24th.”
Pitcher is certainly looking forward to being able to tackle somebody.
“Oh yeah, I’m a hitter, you know,” he said. “I love to tackle. These running backs, we like talking smack to each other, so I can’t wait to go out there and put our money where our mouth is.”
Fredericksen is ready to hit — and to take a hit — as well.
“Absolutely — I think everybody is,” he said. “It’s a little different atmosphere when the full pads go on.”
In the meantime, Fredericksen is one of several ISU receivers running routes and catching passes from the seven different quarterbacks who are competing for playing time this fall. As far as the Bengal receiver is concerned, it doesn’t really matter who’s slinging passes to him.
“You know, they are all coached so well,” Fredericksen said. “Everything is timed up, and there’s not much drop-off from 1 to 2 to 3 to 4. Really, when I’m getting lined up, I don’t really even look at who the quarterback is because I expect the same ball to be thrown, 1 through 6, or 1 through 7.”
POSITION COMPETITIONSQuarterback is the most obvious position competition during this fall camp. Returners Jordan Cooke, Hunter Hays and Jackson Sharman and transfer Koby Tracy are all expected to get significant reps in camp. Hawkins talked about the sophisticated grading system he and his staff will use to ultimately determine the winner of the starting quarterback sweepstakes. The coaches will chart quarterback performance on a wide range of factors, from reads to calling protections, from changing plays at the line of scrimmage to turnovers.
“We’ll have competitive periods that the quarterbacks will get to do, and we’ll grade those,” Hawkins said. “…There is a factor of about 15 things we’ll chart the guys on every single day… They’re all having fun competing. I really appreciate all the work that (quarterback coach) Kolney Cassel has done with all the quarterbacks in that room over the summer, and I’m excited to see how it plays out over the fall.”
Hawkins also cited two other positions where he expects there to be fierce competition for playing time this fall − running back and slot receiver. The Bengals brought in several backs to compete with their lone returning running back, Keoua Kauhi, including transfers Justice Jackson (Eastern Washington), Hunter Roddy (Army) and Donald Austin (Southwest Minnesota State). Freshmen Jackson Riddle and Carson Sudbury, along with converted linebacker Dason Brooks are also in the mix.
“There’s nobody in that room not ready to play,” said Hawkins. “But none of them have played extensively. It’s going to be interesting to see those guys compete.”
There are also a number of contenders to replace All-American Chedon James, who transferred to Fresno State after spring practice, at the slot receiver position.
“There is so much talent in that room, guys who we think could be something special,” said Hawkins. “Obviously with the production of Chedon (102 catches) leaving, there is a lot of touches in there somewhere that we have to look for.”
While conducting position competitions is critical to fall camp, Hawkins said the most important thing is building trust among the team members and the coaching staff.
“Just because camaraderie is so important throughout a football season,” he said. “Who can I count on to go make plays for me when it really matters. Whether it’s a linebacker trusting a d-lineman to stay in his gap, or a quarterback trusting his receiver to go make a catch, that’s really what you’re trying to build.”
The Bengals will continue the building process with practice on Friday at 1 p.m., followed by another session at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday. The Bengals will be outside at least on Friday as the new video board is installed in the west end zone of ICCU Dome. Once the board installation is complete and ISU can use the dome, Hawkins said he’ll probably practice inside about 70 percent of the time. The Bengals play eight games in domed stadiums this year — six at home, and two on the road at North Dakota and Northern Arizona.
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