UI running backs have a lot to replenish
Apr. 12—The running backs on the Idaho football team took a combined 23 handoffs in 2023.
But like a good season of "Survivor," a familiar face from a couple of years ago will try to bring value to a cast of mostly newbies.
Vandal junior runner Eli Cummings redshirted in 2023 after a sophomore campaign totaling 708 all-purpose yards.
After a year away from the gridiron, Cummings looks primed for a Boston Rob run — a season of redemption.
"I just approached it as a year to get better," Cummings said. "I handled it pretty well (being away from the field). My teammates lifted me up as a whole, and I was just trying to help them improve in practice."
A chunk of production to replace
Idaho lost a substantial amount of offensive production from last season.
The Vandals will be without players who have been cornerstones of their rebuild, such as quarterback Gevani McCoy, receiver Hayden Hatten and running back Anthony Woods.
Woods tallied 2,027 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns in 24 career games with Idaho.
The Palmdale, Calif., native recorded a Football Championship Subdivision-high 16 rushing touchdowns last season, and his 1,155 yards topped the Big Sky.
Woods entered the transfer portal after his stellar sophomore campaign and is now a rostered member of the Utah Utes.
Idaho running backs coach Thomas Ford also departed the program for the same position at Oregon State.
The Vandals' third-down back from last year, Nick Romano, is also no longer on the team after graduating.
All told, Idaho lost 92% of its rushing yards and all of its scores.
A new sheriff in town
Deontae Cooper is leading the running backs as the position coach. He spent the last five years as the headman at Highline High School in Burien, Wash.
This is Cooper's first time coaching a postion group at the college level. He was a recruiting assistant for his alma mater, Washington, in 2017-18.
"I think adapting to this level has been pretty seamless," Cooper said. "I've played for some quality coaches in Steve Sarkisian, Chris Peterson and Joel Thomas. So I've already been kind of acclimated with DI rigor."
Thomas connected Cooper with Eck, which helped him land the gig.
"He's been a great mentor of mine," Cooper said of Thomas. "He was able to get me an interview (with Eck) once coach Ford left and the rest in history."
Cummings loading a bounce-back season
Cummings added a nasty edge to his shifty running style. He's gained five pounds this offseason, upping his total mass to 185 pounds.
The Waco, Texas, native has been more physical between the tackles this spring — a pivotal improvement for an increased workload.
"He's been really good at eliminating wasted movement," Cooper said. "He gets vertical right now. ... And he gets behind his pads for a guy who's compact like that. He does a good job of falling forward, making guys miss, and then when a defense is out of the gap, he does a good job of making them pay and busting things out of the backside."
Cummings is a Swiss Army knife. He's a receiving option, dangerous between the tackles and hard to catch once he reaches the boundary.
"He's going to be fresh and he's explosive," Cooper said. "He can make you miss in a phone booth; he has lateral quickness; he can catch it out of the backfield; he does a lot of things that fit this offense really well."
How they'll distribute the carries
The Vandals have seven running backs on their roster and none of them have started a game in black and gold.
Cummings seems to be the starter. But the distribution of carries will probably vary more than last year.
The breakdown of the Vandals' rushing attempts will likely mirror 2022, when two or more backs share the load.
"It's going to be by committee," Cooper said. "Right now, it's early in spring camp to make that decision. I think we have a lot of time before that first game against Oregon. Right now, we just want to build skills, polish up, continue to get better and lean on each other."
What the new faces look like
Redshirt freshman Deshaun Buchanan has been the Vandals' No. 2 back for most of spring camp.
The 5-foot-11, 185-pounder has a lot of similarities to Cummings.
"He does a great job catching the ball out of the backfield and he's powerful," Cooper said. "He's added between five to six pounds, and it's a good look on him. I'm proud of the work that he's done this offseason with coach Heim and the crew."
Carlos Matheney is a big-bodied back and weighs 215 pounds. He's excelled at breaking initial contact and falling forward for extra yards.
"We need to lean on these guys and have them understand this is your body type; let's run to our strength," Cooper said. "We're going to continue to stress that with Carlos because I think he does a lot of good things in our offense and there's room for that."
Nate Thomas, a transfer from South Dakota, is also a bulky back at 5-8, 210 pounds.
He racked up 717 yards and five touchdowns as a freshman in 2021. He missed all of 2022 and some of last year due to injuries. He tallied 398 yards on 64 carries in limited action in 2023.
The South Holland, Ill., native brings DI experience and could have a breakout season for the Vandals.
"He's a natural runner — compact, strong," Cooper said. "He's a strong guy. He does a good job of catching the ball out of the backfield, too. He's shown so much promise here in the first eight practices."
Pixley may be contacted at (208) 848-2290, tpixley@lmtribune.com or on Twitter @TreebTalks
