Today, we were able to catch up with wide receiver Najee Lovett and Petrino to talk about how the Vandal offense is shaping up ahead of Saturday’s opener against North Texas.
Lovett is adamant that the team has gotten faster since last season with the addition of playmakers like fellow receiver Dezmon Epps and running back Richard Montgomery.
“We’ve definitely added speed this year, Richard is definitely the fastest guy on the team and then Dezmon is probably right there with him,” Lovett said.
It’s no surprise at this point that Chalich is taking the majority of the snaps, though Josh McCain has continued to impress at the position and fired a couple of touchdown passes today as well.
If you’re looking for any definite answers about who will start Saturday, this is the wrong place.
“Does North Texas know that we’re using six quarterbacks,” Petrino joked Tuesday.
On special teams, Idaho utilized three kick returners today — those being Montgomery, Epps and Lovett. Roman Runner, who has seen some time at cornerback during fall camp, played receiver today and was also used on the kicking team.
The special teams unit had a busy day, taking some time out to work on onside kicks. Coeur d’Alene’s Deon Watson was one of those to contribute and the lengthy receiver kept the ball in bounds on multiple occasions.
Also notable was Kris Olugbode’s role during practice. The junior has battled injury all fall but looked to be full-go on Tuesday, with a handful of carries. Fellow Californian Jerrel Brown had a mediocre outing, but the tailback dished out the biggest hit of the day, a bone-crushing block that would help send Montgomery clear into the end zone.
As Saturday approaches, Petrino is becoming more weary of a big, strong, North Texas squad.
“If you had to characterize them as something, they’re a physical team,” he said. “They like to run downhill on offense and they like to hit you on defense.”
We’ll have an update on the defensive side of things tomorrow.