MOSCOW, Idaho — Football season is officially here in the Inland Northwest. The Idaho Vandals kicked off fall camp today in Moscow.
Heading into year two with Jason Eck in charge, there is a greater sense of comfortability among the Vandals with this coaching staff and the playbook.
"I am getting more and more comfortable each day and each practice and I feel good back there. Today was a great first day and a great start to camp. It is time to start stacking days and watching film and correcting our mistakes to come back better each day," Idaho quarterback Gevani McCoy said.
"We have just gotten closer as a team, chemistry wise. We have always known the players in this program, but I think we are just getting closer and getting better together and we are all on the same page now," Idaho defensive back Marcus Harris said.
As the returners continue the mastery of the playbook in year two, the Vandal veterans must also help lead a large group of newcomers to the program.
"Out of the 110 guys we have in camp, 52 of them were not here last fall. That's a pretty large number, so this coaching staff needs to do a good job of evaluating those guys and see who can help us this year," Eck said.
After last season's success, the blueprint is in place to help the new guys buy in.
"We are always going to buy in to this program. We saw what happened last year and how quickly we could turn things around, so it is at the point where we can say, 'Guys, it works, listen to what the coaches have to say, buy into the team, learn from the older guys and let's start building this legacy,'" Idaho wide receiver Hayden Hatten said.
Heading into year two, Coach Eck says the Vandals must limit unforced errors.
"When you look at our tape from last year when we had bad plays, it was probably five times more often that one of our guys was doing the wrong thing. It is not always the other guy beating them because he is better, it was much more of us not executing correctly. We need to raise our level in that aspect to be a better team this fall," Eck said.
The Vandals will begin the regular on August 31, on the road at Lamar in Beaumont, Texas.
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