Hatten, who played linebacker for his first four seasons in Moscow, has shifted his focus to snapping exclusively. He was already consistent in his job and has taken it to the next level after shifting focus.
“It's kind of a position that no one really thinks about until you're bad at it, and no one's thought about that position at Idaho for the last five years,” Ford said. “Hogan has done a phenomenal job with his consistency. Now that he's focused on solely snapping, he's been excellent, he's really a guy that I think could play at the next level, at that position.”
Kicker/punter Ricardo Chavez was one of the best in the Big Sky a season ago and was named a preseason All-Conference honoree for field goal kicking in August. As good as he was a year ago, Ford believes he can take another step this season.
“This offseason, he has really done a nice job improving on his leg strength, doing a really good job improving on his accuracy with his field goals,” Ford said. “I think he's going to be a weapon for us on punt as well.”
In the kickoff game, the Vandals recorded 50 touchbacks last season and averaged over 62 yards per kick. A lot of those stats were because of Prescott.
“He's done a nice job. He was one of the best kickoff guys in the nation last year,” Ford said. “He does a nice job just really putting our special teams in a great spot, booting it out of the back of the end zone.”
Redshirt freshman Cameron Pope may challenge for the kickoff spot this season after taking a big step during the offseason.
“Pope had an okay spring but really focused this summer and has an awesome fall camp,” Ford said. “He's really done a nice job not only getting the ball in the end zone on our kickoff stuff, but getting it up in the air. His hang time is right around 3.75-4.10 (seconds). So, he's become a really dangerous weapon on kickoff.”
On the return side, Jackson is one of the most explosive players in the FCS and one of the only players in the FCS returning with a punt return TD and a kick return TD in 2022.
“Jermaine Jackson is lightning in the bottle every time he touches the football,” Ford said. “After his season last year, you should see him back there in both kick return and punt return. He is just a big play waiting to happen.
Joining McCormick on all four phases of special teams is Isiah King. The two have taken a leadership role in the special teams meetings.
“The two guys that really come to mind that I know are starting on all four are Sean McCormick and Isiah King,” Ford said. “Those two guys have really done an excellent job, not just being good in the physical drill work, but just being locked into meetings, focused on the details. They've done a really nice job.”
Spencer Fischer, Jordan Velasquez and Hayden Kincheloe have also been impressive in fall camp and will also be key players across the board in kick and punt games.
