VANDAL NOTES: Vandals' depth takes a hit

It’s not like Ohio State depth, where a third-string quarterback was good enough to lead the Buckeyes to a national title last year.

But the consensus was that this year, in Paul Petrino’s third season as Idaho football coach, the Vandals had more depth than in the previous two.

However, that depth has taken a hit this season, as some key players have been sidelined in the first half of the season.

“I think that hurt in the second half against Georgia Southern and Arkansas State,” said Petrino, referring to games the Vandals were in in the fourth quarter, only to come up short. “If they only got to play 11 guys and we only got to play 11 guys, it maybe would have came right down to the wire. But yeah, that depth has hurt at times. We’ve just got to keep getting the younger guys better enough so we can give guys a spell enough. You’ve got to play the cards you’re dealt. We’ve just got to keep improving, and keep getting better. Hopefully we get some guys back, and some injuries have been total fluke injuries.”

Coming off a bye, Idaho (1-4, 0-2 Sun Belt) returns to action Saturday with a conference game at Troy (1-4, 0-1).

One of those injuries is to starting quarterback Matt Linehan. The sophomore suffered an ankle injury vs. Georgia Southern, and missed the Arkansas State game two weeks ago. Linehan and backup Jake Luton split reps in practice earlier this week, and it appears both will see action on Saturday.

Luton, a redshirt freshman, made his first college start vs. Arkansas State. He ran for three touchdowns, tying a school record for single-game rushing TDs by a quarterback. He also completed 24 or 42 passes for 166 yards, with three interceptions.

“His short-yardage running ability was very good,” Petrino said. “It’s tough, I always grew up, in my

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practices the quarterback was always live; my dad’s practices, the quarterback was always live, I had ‘em live when I first got here, and now I don’t do it. And when you don’t do it, you don’t know about (how a quarterback can run). He did a great job of running the ball, great job on the zone read … I thought he had good composure, did a good job of not getting rattled.”

Back to injuries, safety Jordan Grabski and cornerback Jayshawn Jordan are also hobbled. Petrino said Linehan has a better chance of playing Saturday than Grabski and Jordan.

Receiver David Ungerer, who left the season opener with Ohio early with an injury and hasn’t played since, could return this week, Petrino said. But injured linebacker Leonard Hazewood will likely redshirt this year, and tight end Khalin Smith has moved to linebacker -- though Petrino said Smith might have to pull double duty if something happens to tight ends Deon Watson and Trent Cowan. Watson has already missed one game this season due to injury.