Vandal notes Gesser makes case for keeping job

Jason Gesser said he thinks he’s done enough in his brief tenure as interim head football coach at Idaho to be considered for the permanent position.

Gesser was scheduled for a phone interview with the search committee Wednesday night, with the hopes of another, face-to-face, interview next week as one of the finalists.

“I think I’ve done a pretty decent job of keeping the guys engaged and putting a good product on the field,” said Gesser, who has gone 0-3 as interim coach after head coach Robb Akey was fired in his sixth season, following a 1-7 start. “Really, the only times we haven’t fought or competed was the first half of this last game, and at the beginning of the BYU game.”

Not only did Idaho’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach have to add head coaching duties, he had to keep a team with a losing record together through a coaching change and the loss of two players kicked off the team for rules violations — including the starting quarterback.

“Handing the whole situation the way we handled those things, and the pride that we’re putting out there is showing that we are making steps, we are going in the right direction, that I can handle this job, not only handle it, but be successful at it, if given the time and given the opportunity,” said Gesser, 33.

“I feel I’ve done pretty well. It’s been a great experience, a situation that I don’t think anyone ever wanted to be in, but at the end of the day, the big man upstairs puts you through things he knows you can handle, and will put you through them for a reason. I think he put me through this because he knows I can handle it and he knew I was going to grow from it.”

If he is not selected as the next head coach, Gesser said he would love to remain at Idaho as an assistant.

“Obviously I’ve got a lot invested over here, I care tremendously about these players, about this team, about the program and the university, and would love to be here,” he said. “When you start something and you start to change things and you start to push things in a different direction, you don’t want to bail out on it when times are tough.”

Gesser, who excelled as an undersized quarterback at Washington State, said he’s overcome naysayers before.

“I don’t mean to be boasting, but most things that I have been told I couldn’t do in my life — I was too small, I couldn’t play this, I couldn’t do that, I couldn’t be successful ... I proved a lot of people wrong,” he said. “I’ve been successful in a lot of things I’ve done in my life, and I want to continue to show that I can continue to be successful at this too.”

Davis to start season finale: Based on his play last week, junior Taylor Davis will start for Idaho in its season finale Saturday at Utah State.

Davis completed 18 of 29 passes for 223 yards and three touchdowns, with one interception, in a relief role in last week’s 34-27 loss to UTSA in the Kibbie Dome.

“Taylor’s had a rebirth and a new life over the last 3-4 weeks,” Gesser said. “He wants to go out there and show he can be a Division I starting quarterback.”

Senior Logan Bushnell, who started the last three games, “got dinged up,” vs. UTSA, but has passed the requisite concussion tests and has been cleared to play this week. He will be the backup.

Davis started three games last year, but has played very little this season until the last few games.

This year, the Vandals are redshirting a pair of freshmen quarterbacks, Chad Chalich (of Coeur d’Alene High) and Austin DeCoud, and even if Idaho recruits a junior college QB, they figure to be in the mix for the starting job next season.

“He (Davis) knows, no matter what, there’s probably going to be a competition for the quarterback spot for next season,” Gesser said. “So he wants to put his best foot forward right now, so people can see he can do this.”

Turkey plans: Gesser said players who lived in the area could go home for Thanksgiving after practice on Wednesday if they wanted, and a few teammates who live far away were expected to join them. For those remaining in Moscow, a Thanksgiving dinner is planned for today after practice at the University Inn.

The Vandals leave for Logan, Utah, on Friday.

Gesser on Price: Mike Price recruited Gesser to Washington State. Gesser’s final game as a Cougar, in the Rose Bowl vs. Oklahoma following the 2002 season, was also Price’s last game in Pullman.

Price went 83-78 in 14 seasons at WSU, and took the Cougars to five bowl games before that ill-fated stint as Alabama coach. He resurfaced at UTEP, where he coached the last nine seasons before announcing his retirement earlier this week at age 66.

“That guy means the world to me,” Gesser said of Price. “A lot of my coaching style comes from him. When I have a question about something, he’s the first guy I call. I’ve talked to him numerous times over the last three weeks. He’s always a guy I’ve leaned on for advice. And he’s a guy that I’m going to lean on for years and years to come.”