Coffey filling those shoes well so far

The Idaho Vandals were blessed from 2013-16, when former Central Valley High standout Austin Rehkow handled the punting and kicking chores all four seasons.

He was good enough to be in the conversation for national honors as a punter, good enough to draw interest from NFL teams.

Last year, the Vandals turned the punting and kicking duties over to former Lakeland High standout Cade Coffey, basically saying, “Just go out and do what Austin did.”

Sure, no problem.

“There was a lot of pressure, but I knew I was able to go out there and do a good job,” Coffey said Friday night, after the Vandals’ spring football game at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow.

All he did was average 44.6 yards per punt, ranking ninth nationally and first among freshmen. Roughly one-third of his punts traveled 50 yards or more, including a long of 68. He was named the punter on the USA Today freshman All-American team. He also connected on 12 of 17 field goals and 29 of 30 PATs.

Coffey, who booted a 57-yard field goal for Lakeland in a state 4A playoff game in 2014, grayshirted following graduation, then redshirted at Idaho during the 2016 season.

He said there was “a little bit” of rust during that time, “but it was also nice to sit and learn behind Rehkow.”

Coffey also said Rehkow helped him out last fall, during Coffey’s redshirt freshman season.

“Probably more with the mental aspect of it,” Coffey said, “because he kinda struggled early on with field goals, and I kinda struggled early on with field goals. So he helped me get over that mental hump.”

And now, he’s looking forward to an even better sophomore season this fall.

He said his confidence level is “definitely a lot higher, after going through last season, knowing I’m the man. It’s all about getting better and improving for next season.”

As a local product, Coffey is excited the Vandals are back in the Big Sky again, beginning this fall.

“It’ll be nice to get those Montana and Eastern rivalries going again,” He said. “My dad (Travis, a former Bonners Ferry High standout) played in the Big Sky for Idaho (from 1993-96), so obviously my family’s pretty excited about that, too.”

QB THREE: Idaho was also blessed the last four years, being able to plug in Matt Linehan at quarterback with few worries.

With Linehan gone, three QBs are vying to fill his shoes — junior Mason Petrino, from Pullman High and son of Idaho head coach Paul Petrino; sophomore Colton Richardson from Lewiston High; and redshirt freshman Dylan Lemle.

Petrino and Richardson started games late last season, after Linehan went down with what turned out to be a season-ending thumb injury.

None emerged as an obvious No. 1 quarterback in the spring — Lemle missed some time following the death of his grandmother, and Richardson sat out some with a foot injury — and it could be that all three see action this fall.

All three bring something a little different to the table.

“Dylan, I think his biggest strength is his quick release, and at times his accuracy — that’s what he needs to improve on,” Paul Petrino said. “I think Colton throws the quick game, that’s the thing he does best — the hitches, the quick stuff and the underneath stuff, he’s accurate on it. And Mason, it’s probably his movement.”

For a second opinion, we turn to senior Kaden Elliss, who starts at linebacker for the Vandals, but also plays a lot at tight end as well. So here is Elliss as a quarterback evaluator:

“It’s been so cool to see those guys grow,” Elliss said. “Mason’s played unbelievable. He’s shown great mobility, he’s shown accuracy … he’s making great reads. Colton’s showing those flashes he showed last year; just that cannon of an arm. Dylan is just a freak athlete, and he’s got a cannon.

“Just the way those guys have grown is awesome.”

OTHER THOUGHTS: If the Vandals are able to get some consistent play out of their quarterback(s), they should figure to be competitive in the Big Sky.

With several key players back on defense, Idaho should be tough on that side of the ball. And they seem to have a few potential playmakers at receiver. In addition to returnees Elliss and David Ungerer, the Vandals have at least three other weapons in newcomers Cutrell Haywood and DJ Lee, both redshirt freshmen, and Jeff Cotton, a junior college transfer.

Several key returnees missed the spring game with injuries, opening the way for more reps for the newcomers.

One thing’s for sure — the Vandals will be prepared when they return to the Big Sky this fall for the first time since the 1995 season.

“We’ve already game-planned the first four conference games, and when they (the assistant coaches) get off the road from spring recruiting, we’ll game-plan the rest of them,” Paul Petrino said. “It’s our first time playing them, but we’ve put in a whole lot of time studying them, and we’re going to put in a whole bunch more. What I’m hoping is we’ll put in more time studying every single one of them, than they’re going to put in studying us.”

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter@CdAPressSports.