With the summer strength and conditioning program in full swing, the Vandal football team is at a much different level than they were a year ago.
Not only is Paul Petrino going in to his second season as head coach, but Idaho will enter the Sun Belt Conference as football only members. Along with the new conference, the Vandals also have something many of the players lacked a year ago — experience.
“We had a lot of kids who came in and played at the Division I level for the first time — both junior college kids and freshmen,” Idaho strength and conditioning coach Jake Scharnhorst said. “Our strength has improved a ton in the off-season and we are continuing to improve strength, as well as mental toughness and conditioning to win in the fourth quarter.”
Scharnhorst said rule changes by the NCAA allow them to make summer workouts mandatory for players. Along with that, he said coaches can now participate and be around the players throughout the summer.
With the mandatory program, players workout four days a week directly under Scharnhorst and his staffs’ supervision. In addition, Scharnhorst said players will workout on their own for three days a week. All but two walk-ons are participating in the summer program, he added.
The biggest focus is on mental toughness and team camaraderie. The eight-week program introduces the new players to Idaho football and gives them an idea of what to expect when they come back in the fall.
Scharnhorst believes that working on mental and physical toughness will help players stay healthy — but if someone was to get hurt, he said plenty of players are ready to step up.
“We have more depth this year and that competition will make the team better,” Scharnhorst said. “We need guys to know that if they’re not getting it done in here or on the field, the guy behind them will be going right in.”
Courtesy of Vandal Strength Coach Jake Scharnhorst.
The rigors of the summer program are drastically different from what the players do during the season. Scharnhorst said time spent in the weight room is limited in-season, because the NCAA only allows for 20 hours of practice time per week.
Scharnhorst understands that no matter what these players do during their off time, nothing compares to how hard the players push themselves when they are surrounded by coaches and teammates, however, he said he still expects the players to come in ready to go.
Maxx Forde was a player who came back ready. The senior defensive end used his time away from Moscow to go down to Arizona and train at the EXOS Athletic Training Facility, which is where numerous NFL players trained and prepared for the NFL combine and draft. Notable players are New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan and Minnesota Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder, both were selected in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft. Forde was in good hands at EXOS, as the two returned to the training facility this summer to get some offseason work, too.
“He’s weighing just over 270 pounds, his conditioning is great already,” Scharnhorst said of Forde. “He’s done a great job working on his own in that time off … He’s gotten better in his time off, which is the biggest thing. We train in the winter offseason and spring ball, but once we hit dead week and finals, they get some time off before summer training starts.”
Along with Forde, Scharnhorst pointed out Richard Montgomery as a player who made big strides in the time off.
“He has improved night and day from last year,” Scharnhorst said of the sophomore scatback. “He was a good player last year, but he’s going to be way better this year.”
Along with Montgomery and Forde, Scharnhorst said wide receiver Dezmon Epps, defensive linemen Tueni Lupeamanu and Quinton Bradley, linebacker Tony Lashley and junior college transfer Irving Steele made big strides in the weight room, which should help translate onto the field this fall.
Video by Andrew Jenson