A tough foe for Vandals to tackle in opener

Penn State’s going to complete passes and make big runs — Idaho knows that.

But what the Vandals hope to do is limit the damage when Idaho visits State College, Pa., for the season opener today — the first meeting between the two teams.

Especially when K.J. Hamler has the ball for the Nittany Lions.

The shifty junior led the team with 42 catches for 754 yards last season and chipped in five touchdowns. Hamler added 523 yards on kickoff returns and was close to breaking one for a score on multiple occasions.

“We should tackle well. We tackled a lot in fall camp,” said Paul Petrino, beginning his seventh season as Idaho coach. “If No. 1 (Hamler) gets the ball lin hands, we better have everybody flying to the ball because he’s super fast and a big-time playmaker.”

Penn State, ranked No. 15, will have several new faces on offense, beginning with redshirt sophomore quarterback Sean Clifford, who will be making his first start, replacing Trace McSorley, the program’s all-time winningest quarterback.

“He’s not the runner the last quarterback was,” Petrino said.

Penn State returns most of its defense, led by junior defensive end Yeter Gross-Matos, who “will be one of the top defensive linemen in the country,” Petrino said.

As for Idaho, Petrino said both quarterbacks — senior Mason Petrino, his son, and junior Colton Richardson — will play, whether it be series by series, or quarter by quarter. He said earlier in the week he was “not sure” who would start, though Mason Petrino saw more of the playing time last year.

Paul Petrino was asked this week if it would be a win of sorts to keep the game close against Penn State, which is paying Idaho $1.45 million for this game.

“You never talk like that,” Petrino said. “I think the very first goal is every single guy wants to go out there and play the very best they can play. Every guy wants to go out there and be disciplined, do everything exactly right, assignment wise, have their eyes in the right place, take the right first step, play with great effort, play with toughness. If everyone does that, you always have a chance.”

Idaho wide receiver Jeff Cotton has family in New York and said he would have some relatives at the game today. He said he’s looking forward to taking on the Nittany Lions’ secondary.

“They’ve got some athletes, but I feel they’re beatable,” Cotton said. “I feel we can get after them if we have time.”