Idaho’s untested offensive linemen are on an even playing field with recently hired offensive line coach Gordy Shaw, who brings some of the same inexperience to his new position.
Ilya Pinchuk | Argonaut Offensive lineman Jacob Benson stands guard after blocking defensive end Maxx Forde during practice Saturday morning in the Kibbie Dome.
The departure of seniors Sam Tupua, Tyrone Novikoff and Matt Cleveland gave way to an onslaught of players eager to come out on top of position battles before Idaho’s home-opener against Eastern Washington.
One of these is veteran lineman Guy Reynolds, has been with the program since 2008. After redshirting his freshman year, Reynolds saw back-up action in 2009 and 2011, but suffered a season-ending injury in 2010.
Though Reynolds’ experience is limited, the junior is a favorite to claim a starting spot this fall.
“As of right now we’re all inexperienced,” Reynolds said. “There’s two guys who started 12 games and the rest of us, we played every now and then. We have big shoes to fill, the O-line here has been good for years … It’ll be a battle, it’s going to be fun and that’s how you build depth.”
Although A.J. Jones, a senior, and sophomore Mike Marboe started a combined 22 games on the offensive line last season, they share similar Division I experience. A transfer from Butte College in Chico, Calif., Jones enters his second season with the Vandals. Marboe on the other hand, redshirted his freshman season after joining the Idaho program a semester early in January 2010.
Their experience, though limited, may be valuable to a historically strong offensive line that produced San Francisco 49er Mike Iupati, the No. 17overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft.
And while Shaw may be familiar with the Idaho program itself, the former Vandal defensive coordinator is still learning coach Robb Akey’s offensive schemes.
“In the protection area, they had a lot of different protections and I’ve tried to simplify things and pull it down into three or four so I think the players appreciate that,” Shaw said.
His experience with offensive line responsibilities dates back to a 13-year tenure at Minnesota, where he was the Gophers’ offensive line coach from 2001 until 2006. Shaw held the same position at Hawaii from 2009 to 2011.
Shaw has spent his first few weeks in Moscow at every one of Idaho’s spring practices and said aside from Marboe and Jones, multiple young faces have proven their worth recently.
“I think that Brady (Lisoski), Dallas (Sandberg) and Cody (Elenz) are guys who are really coming on,” he said. “I think Guy is that guy, he’s smart, he’s fundamentally technique sound, he gives us a good solid player in there — so we’re working with about seven guys.”
Marboe said position battles result in Idaho’s high intensity spring practices. A redshirt two seasons ago, he can relate to the pressure and adversity his younger teammates face.
“Nothing is set in stone so everyone, especially the kids that were redshirts are trying to prove themselves, I’ve been in those shoes before,” Marboe said. “And I think it’s been really fun and everyone is challenging each other and pushing each other to be the best we can be.”
The combination of Shaw’s knowledge, Marboe’s and Jones’ experience, and ambitious youngsters could prove to be the recipe for success for an offensive line that allowed the third-most sacks in the WAC last season.