Vandals progress in the trenches

MOSCOW — Idaho’s football team used Friday and Saturday to focus on live situations, pitting the offense against the defense for much of Friday’s practice, while focusing on special teams for the majority of Saturday’s officiated scrimmage.

The team will enter its final week of fall camp today, with game week preparations beginning the following week for the opener Aug. 31 at Penn State.

The fall camp conversation continues to focus on the Vandals’ improved play in the trenches. The offensive line, which returns four starters, ranks among the team’s most experienced position groups. The defensive line, though vastly new from a year ago, is arguably the most talented. The two units have spent the month of August sharpening each other in competitive drills and team situations.

Emerging as a highlight has been the one-on-one battles between 2018 Freshman All-America tackle Logan Floyd and defensive end Kayode Rufai, who joined the team in the summer after transferring from Boise State.

Defensive line coach Luther Elliss’ position group has also been aided by the recent addition of two interior linemen, including his son. Noah Elliss, who stands 6-foot-4 and 347 pounds, originally signed with Mississippi State out of high school. He enrolled at Idaho last year and passed his final summer class in July to earn full eligibility for the coming season. He has been flanked by Jonah Kim on the defensive line for the last week of practice. Kim, at 6-foot-3 and 353 pounds, arrived in Moscow a few days into fall camp after finishing his academic obligations at Santa Rosa Junior College.