Petrino praises quarterback, defensive line play

MOSCOW — The Idaho Vandal football team completed its first scrimmage of fall camp on Sunday, concluding the second week of preparations for the Aug. 31 home-opener against Sacramento State.

“I thought (senior quarterback) Matt Linehan played really well,” head coach Paul Petrino said. “I thought Matt was on fire. He was hitting people’s hands, playing really good. I thought our receivers were pretty darn good. I thought our defensive line played really good.”

Linehan took a majority of the offensive snaps, continuing his impressive fall camp. Sophomore Mason Petrino had a busy day. He lined up as a wideout with Linehan as the passer and also took his share of snaps at quarterback.

Aaron Duckworth and Isaiah Saunders shared an even number of carries at running back. Alfonso Onunwor and Jacob Sannon were two of the top targets downfield for the quarterbacks.

“I feel like our offense is running at a good pace right now,” Linehan explained. “I think we are running at a good tempo. A lot of guys are stepping up. We are starting to see guys form into their positions. We look good.”

“I think our offense took a little at the beginning to get going,” Duckworth added. “For the most part, I think we are getting better. We are starting to look a lot better.”

Defensively, the front seven commanded attention throughout the scrimmage. The defensive line was quick off the ball and into the offensive backfield, forcing the quarterbacks to scramble out of the pocket on occasion.

Coach Petrino was quick to note the performance of his defensive front.

“The defense was great up front. I think Aikeem Coleman is playing unbelievable. I think D.J. Henderson and Arie Anderson make those three guys very hard to block. Charles Akanno is doing good things at the end and our three linebackers, Kaden Elliss, Ed Hall and Tony Lashley, are just really good football players.”

The collective speed on defense has been the talk of the summer and fall camp. The defensive unit put its quickness on display all over the field on Sunday.

“They are fast,” Linehan expressed. “They are the fastest defense we have had since we got here. I think that shows out there on the field. They close in on balls. They break hard. They are in the backfield. They are just fast.”

Practice will continue this week, building up to a second scrimmage on Saturday.

Fans can stay up-to-date on all things Idaho football by following the team by visiting GoVandals.com.