Idaho football opened spring practices Monday with plenty of new faces and familiar storylines heading into the upcoming season.
“It was exciting and great to be back out here,” Idaho Head Coach Paul Petrino said after Monday’s practice. “I thought a lot of people were flying around and our energy was pretty good. I’d say it was a good first day.”
Once again, all eyes will be on the quarterback competition playing out between senior Mason Petrino, junior Colton Richardson and redshirt freshman Nikhil Nayar.
Last season, Mason played in 11 games, 10 of which he started under cen- ter. He struggled throughout the season battling a lingering shoulder injury.
Mason said he feels healthier than he has in the past few seasons.
“(My shoulder) got banged up a little last year and it will probably never be at 100 percent,” Mason said. “It’s the stron- gest I have been in two and a half years.”
Richardson also had a few injuries last season that plagued his sophomore campaign, but he hopes all the health struggles are now a thing of the past.
“I’m hoping to be injury free. I am right now,” Richardson said. “Last year was kind of bad with concussions and my wrist, but hopefully I can stay healthy.”
Richardson said he hopes to continue progress on his skills that he has made throughout the offseason in the 15 spring practices before this fall.
“Right now, I just need to lose weight so I can try to make myself faster,” Richardson said. “Getting out of sacks and tackles is not a problem but I have to extend those plays and be able to throw down field or run the ball because it will help my team if I do that.”
Nayar now enters the mix of competition as he enters his second year with the program. Nayar had a chance to play in the final game against Florida last season — a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“That was the coolest thing I have ever done in my life,” Nayar said.
Now that he has his footing under him in understanding the offense, Nayar said he hopes to continue improving to have a shot at winning the starting job.
“Right now, I just know the playbook a lot better which brings more confidence to my game,” Nayar said. “My biggest thing right now is mastering the play- book. Once I do that then everything will be easier.”
Nayar said trying to implement both Mason’s and Richardson’s game can help him succeed in the future for the program.
“Mason knows the playbook better than anyone on the team and Colton has a huge arm as a pocket passer.” Nayar said. “Once I get both things clicking I can be starting. Hopefully that happens sooner rather than later.”
Each one of the quarterbacks had their moment to shine on Monday, showing signs of health while ripping the ball deep down the field on a few plays.
The three-man competition will be the storyline leading up to the first football Saturday of the 2019 season.
“They are all taking equal reps,” Paul said. “They all got the equal amount of reps today and that will continue through the spring.”
Paul said his main goal is to have each quarterback prepared to play.
“I think most of the Big Sky teams had to play with more than one quarterback, so I think most importantly we have to get them all better and have them im- prove each day,” Paul said.
Stay tuned to Vandal Nation throughout the spring for continued insight on Vandal spring football.
Chris Deremer can be reached at [email protected]