April 14 – MOSCOW, Idaho – Ah, the good old days of 2023, when Idaho reached a 9-4 record and the second round of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.
The Vandals were ably led by redshirt sophomore quarterback Gevani McCoy, winner of the 2022 Jerry Rice Award as the nation’s top freshman, supported by promising redshirt freshman Jack Layne.
At the time, it seemed like Idaho was good but too young at quarterback. Now, you can bet any amount that the four QBs going through spring ball with the Vandals won’t be able to find a strand of gray hair among them.
McCoy is gone, transferring to Oregon State. Layne, a redshirt sophomore with two games under his belt, is the heir apparent. Behind him are three redshirt freshmen: Jack Wagner of Tualatin (Oregon) High; Nick Josifek, College Place High in Walla Walla; and Hogan Carmichael, Summit High in Bend, Oregon.
Layne has played in 11 games over the past two seasons, completing 49 of 69 passes for 693 yards and nine touchdowns and rushing for 68 yards. He also has two wins against Idaho State when he started in place of the injured McCoy, including last year when he went 20 of 26 for 275 yards and six TDs.
Wagner entered the ISU game last year and completed 4 of 5 passes for 41 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 42 yards.
Barring an injury to one of them, according to Vandals coach Jason Eck, this is a pat.
Eck said he won’t look in the transfer portal as long as at least one of the two is healthy.
Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Luke Schleusner offers an even stronger endorsement. Evaluating all four quarterbacks, he said, Idaho coaches decided they would be drafted as running backs.
“They’re doing a great job every day,” Schleusner said.
Eck and Schleusner point out that Idaho’s offense is in a true youth movement, without senior starters.
“(Layne) is wise beyond his years,” Eck said. “He’s like a 40-year-old man in the body of a 20-year-old man.
“Jack has many leadership qualities.”
Layne points to a more collaborative effort. Looking at the Vandals’ depth, where seniority is measured in months, Layne said the QBs are all learning from each other.
“We all push each other in practice,” Layne said. “A guy makes a great play… I have to make a great play.”
“We all support each other,” Wagner said.
Based on his experience, Layne said the wisest advice he can offer other defenders is to trust their preparation and technique.
All four are remarkably similar. There are 3 centimeters between the shortest, Josefik, at 6-1, and the tallest, Carmichael and Wagner, at 6-4. The slenderest, Wagner, weighs 187 pounds, and the heaviest, Carmichael, weighs 202.
While Eck praises Layne’s understanding of the game and says Wagner “has a lot of raw talent, but he needs to be better at making decisions,” in practice all four seem almost interchangeable in terms of footwork, accuracy and and speed.
Layne, Wagner and Josifek have almost the same three-quarter shooting motion. Carmichael brings a little more weapon.
All four can throw a 50-yard pass with the expectation that they will have enough to beat a defender and get caught by a receiver.
All four also tell similar stories of being lightly recruited by everyone but the Vandals and being lured to Idaho not just by an offer to make the team, but to play for Schleusner.
In Saturday’s Idaho game, Wagner completed a 9-yard touchdown pass to redshirt freshman wide receiver Mark Hamper for the only passing TD, and he had another long throw ruled out.
Josifek threw a pick-six to redshirt sophomore Jacon Scobis, a transfer from Washington State, which allowed Scobis to share the daily practice award with kicker Cameron Pope, who made a 49-yard field goal.
Carmichael, who threw a touchdown to end practice the week before, had the misfortune of having a four-play quarterback play from the 10-yard line that ended at the 1-yard line. He and the rest of the offense finished the practice with a run as the defense rejoiced loudly.
“We made some good plays, but we need to finish better in the red zone,” Eck said of the offense’s display in the 87-play game.
Without any seasoned veterans ahead of them, Idaho’s young quarterbacks could certainly look at the Vandals’ compressed hierarchy, their own similarities and allow themselves to dream of starting.
Schleusner said the coaches haven’t decided how many and which quarterbacks are likely to play next fall.
“It’s still so early,” he said. “We’re competing every day. I always tell these guys they determine the depth chart.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct Layne’s career touchdown total.
