THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: Stoppers in many ways — McCormick, James-Newby are key figures in experienced Vandal defense

While most of Idaho’s offensive firepower from last year is gone this year, to either NFL camps or the transfer portal, the bulk of the Vandals’ defensive standouts return. 

That explains the presence of two nattily attired defensive players, safety Tommy McCormick and rush end Keyshawn James-Newby, representing Idaho at the recent Big Sky Football Kickoff at the Northern Quest Casino and Hotel in Airway Heights. 

“I’d say I’m a fast and physical player,” the 6-foot-1, 210-pound McCormick said. “I like to fit that run fast; that’s my game, is being big in the run game, like an extra linebacker. “ 

“Everyone takes their own path, and this is my path,” said the 6-2, 240-pound James-Newby, a transfer from NAIA Montana Tech in Butte. “This is what God’s got for me, and I’m going to follow it.” 

BOTH HAVE interesting futures ahead of them. 

McCormick wants to be an orthopedic surgeon someday. 

James-Newby wants to build dams. 

But first things first. 

Both seniors are part of an experienced defense that hopes to lead the Vandals to their third straight appearance in the FCS playoffs. 

After four interceptions as a sophomore, McCormick earned all-Big Sky honorable mention on defense last season, where he was second on the team in total tackles. The Vandals have a “boundary” safety and a “field” safety, and McCormick usually plays boundary safety, which puts him in the box more, for tackling and to help with run stopping. 

“Tommy’s a veteran,” third-year Idaho coach Jason Eck said. “He’s very smart; he’s applied to med school — it was a thrill for me as a coach to write a letter of recommendation. He’s a great leader … smart, he’s continued to make a jump physically. I think he’s gotten faster this offseason, and is a guy that can continue to grow in coverage.” 

“Watch out when he hits anyone; it’s bad,” James-Newby said of McCormick. “He’s a hard hitter. Every time he hits someone, I get juiced up. All I know is he’s a big hitter, and he’s a great foundation for the defense.” 

James-Newby, who switched his uniform number from 44 to 1 this season, had five sacks last season. 

“He’s got great get-off speed,” Eck said. “His speed rush of running around guys is probably one of the best in our conference, and one of the better ones I’ve seen in FCS football. I think he can really win around the edge better than guys we had at South Dakota State, on those good teams.” 

McCORMICK CAME to Idaho in 2020, from Churchill County High in Fallon, Nev., one year after his brother, Sean, came to Moscow. Both were recruited by Paul Petrino, the Vandals’ previous coach. 

“(Petrino) coached my dad a little bit in college, so we had a little bit of a connection,” McCormick said.  

Idaho went 2-4 in Tommy McCormick’s first season at Idaho, the COVID-fueled spring 2021 campaign. The Vandals went 4-7 in the fall 2021 season, and Petrino wasn’t retained after nine seasons as head coach. 

“I never had any thought of leaving, ever,” McCormick said of the coaching change. “But when you get that whole new coaching staff, you’ve got to prove yourself all over again. These coaches didn’t recruit me out of high school at all, so you’ve got to prove yourself to them, earn that trust with them, and make sure they can trust you out on that field, and off the field. It’s like going through recruiting again, but you’re already there.” 

Under Eck, Idaho has gone 7-5 and 9-4 the past two seasons, and Idaho is ranked No. 7 in this year’s FCS preseason poll. 

“It’s very cool to be someone that was here for the two years before we got coach Eck to see the lows of Idaho, and now see the highs that we’ve been on,” McCormick said. “It’s really cool to see how the program’s turned around, and to be one of the guys who got to see both angles of it.”

Despite the early struggles in Moscow ... 

“I have nothing but love for Petrino,” McCormick said. “I love the guy; he’s done a lot for my family. I have nothing but love for that guy.” 

JAMES-NEWBY was born and raised in Pocatello, and eventually moved to Helena, Mont., where he graduated from Helena High. 

He said out of high school, his only offers were from NCAA Division II and NAIA schools. 

“I know, it’s kind of crazy to think,” James-Newby said. “It was an ‘I’ll show them’ moment. I don’t want that to take over my personality or anything, but yeah, I was for sure overlooked.” 

After notching four sacks as a freshman at Montana Tech, he led the Frontier Conference with nine sacks as a sophomore in 2022, and was first-team all-conference. 

Landon Gammell, a defensive grad assistant at Idaho in 2023, played against James-Newby at the College of Idaho. While on staff at Idaho, Gammell recommended him to Eck.  

Watching James-Newby shine last year at the FCS level, you wonder what kind of havoc he wreaked at the NAIA level. 

“I’ve got a lot of NAIA ties too,” McCormick said. “Both my parents were Carroll people. When he told me he was from Helena the first week he got here, I was talking to my friends who played at the College of Idaho and they were like, ‘Yeah, he was really like that on the field.’ Keyshawn in the NAIA was doing some crazy stuff.” 

A handful of North Idaho players dot Frontier Conference rosters. One of James-Newby's teammates in Butte was Matt Whitcomb, formerly of Lake City. 

“He was a good player; I loved playing with him,” James-Newby said of Whitcomb; “Great energy, and he was a great outside linebacker/strong safety for us.” 

James-Newby was pursuing a degree in civil engineering at Montana Tech. When he transferred to Idaho, he said not all the credits transferred over, so he went into political science in Moscow. 

After he’s done playing with the Vandals, he plans to go back to Montana Tech and finish his civil engineering degree — and possibly end up with two degrees. 

Then what? 

“I want to build dams,” James-Newby said. “I want to go across the country and build dams. I like large pools of water, and dams hold up large pools of water, and it’s cool to build them. I want to drive by one day with my wife and kids and say, ‘I built that dam.’” 

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @CdAPressSports.