Vandals' first scrimmage today

MOSCOW - Scrimmage No. 1 is just a few hours away for the University of Idaho football team and coach Paul Petrino knows exactly what he wants to see in today's 10 a.m. session.

"I want guys to be able to do what they're coached to do when they're tired," Petrino said. "I want them to be physical the whole scrimmage. It'll be a long one - a lot of hitting. I'm looking forward to it."

While Petrino and his staff have been working at implementing their schemes as spring practice has unfolded, there is another key element that is a must for the Vandals in the eyes of their new coach.

"So far," he said, "we've done a great job of flying around. But we're still hitting a spot in practice sometimes where they're not used to grinding through the whole thing. They kind of hit a wall, get tired and then regroup. We have to be able to fight through the whole practice and have a great tempo the whole time."

Once the Vandals were in full pads, Petrino had the opportunity to see them in full contact. He liked what he saw in Wednesday's first fully-padded practice.

"The last practice we did a lot of hitting," he said. "Guys were trying to hit. Guys were trying to fly around. That was impressive."

The Vandals are scheduled to go Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday next week at 4 p.m. each day.