Former East Valley standout impresses in Idaho scrimmage

MOSCOW, Idaho -- Last season Idaho was ranked No. 28 in scoring defense in FCS.

Now, they are poised to be even better in 2024.

The defense shined in the first fall scrimmage, highlighted by a huge hit over the middle of the field by former East Valley High School standout Diezel Wilkinson.

"Coach Jackson and I were talking before the scrimmage. He was telling me to play like I played in high school," Wilkinson said. Play fearless and that's what I did. So the over route came across and I had to go make the play."

It wasn't all bad for the offense as they improved during the two-minute drill situations.

Head coach Jason Eck says there are still a number of areas that need to be cleaned up before the next scrimmage.

"We got to attack this next four day block and keep making improvements and keep making sure we're mastering it," Eck said. "I want to see some improvement with some of the young guys getting lined up. I was disappointed a few times. We were having trouble getting lined up in the correct formation with our third offense and with our young guys. "We got to do a better job coaching that and getting those guys squared away."

The Vandals open the season on August 31st at Oregon.

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