Vandal Football Preview - Receivers

BREAKDOWN

Idaho Football is the only team in the FCS with two 1,000-yard receivers returning this season in Preseason Big Sky Offensive MVP Hayden Hatten and Preseason All-Conference honoree Jermaine Jackson. When you add a first-team All-Big Sky Receiver from 2022 in Terez Traynor, a physical prototype receiver in Michael Graves, a redshirt freshman who impressed in his limited action last fall in Jordan Dwyer and a talented freshman class, the Vandal receiving corps is the deepest group on the team. 

The position group, led by second-year position coach Matt Linehan, is building on last season’s success, and is ready to keep climbing the ladder. 

“We're going into year two of this offense,” Linehan said. “We should be able to be very reactive instead of having the learning curve that we had last season. You've got to see a step offensively. And you can tell from our group that they're not satisfied. They’ve got to continue to work on things every day. There's a lot of camp left before our first game against Lamar.”

KEY RETURNERS

The two-headed monster of Hatten and Jackson dominated the Big Sky a season ago, combining for 2,260 yards and 20 touchdowns. The senior duo leads both on and off the field and have put in the work to be even more productive this season. 

“Obviously with Hayden and J.J. having the years that they had last year, they're pretty special,” Linehan said. “They came back and continue to want to get better, want to develop. They want to play at the next level, they know that it's going to take another step from last year. They're not resting on their laurels, they're hungry for more and they want to come back and even get to have a better year this year.”

Hatten and Jackson will be important players for Idaho, but every single wide receiver that caught a pass for the Vandals last year has returned. Idaho receivers caught 170 passes for 2,663 yards and 22 touchdowns all that with an inexperienced offensive line and a freshman quarterback. 

2022 WIDE RECEIVER STATS

“Terez being out last year, obviously Jordan Dwyer getting hurt last year after his great start, and then Michael Graves playing a lot of snaps for us last year. We’ve got three guys that want to play right now,” Linehan said. “They’re competing with each other for more playing time, but they all support each other at the same time. I think, we’ve really got five guys that'll play a lot and, utilize their skill sets in all different ways.”

KEY NEWCOMERS

Freshmen receivers Mark Hamper and Emmerson Cortez-Menjivar have shown flashes already in fall camp and walk-ons Cooper Hiday, Brayden Rice and Seth Shook have all played well, but it will take a lot to unseat the All-American caliber veteran receivers. =

“Mark Hamper and Emmerson Cortez, both those guys showed a lot of promise in high school,” Linehan said. “We’re looking forward to what they can do. There's still a lot of development to be made. There's still a lot of learning to do. They're smart. I think they pick things up quickly. They've got to continue to get more reps and keep developing. Seth Shook, Cooper Hiday and Brayden Rice, have showed some promise and we are excited about where they're going to be.”

The Vandals continue fall camp ahead of the season opener on August 31 against Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas.