I was lucky enough to play for three head coaches during my five-year tenure at the University of Idaho. I was lucky because I was able to learn different cultures, procedures, and values from each one of those coaching staffs along with the sports business.
Read MoreRecruited: Pt. II - Did Pete Carroll Win? Universities deceive Student-Athletes
The first room that they brought the recruits to was full of girls, video games, and snacks. The coaches described this room as the Players’ Lounge and that is where we all were assigned our hostesses who were our tour guides...
Read MoreRecruited: Pt. 1 - Pete Carroll and Nick Holt Compete For Long Beach Poly
I remember the overwhelming feeling that brought me to tears, it was receiving my first recruiting letter from the University of Texas. Football recruiting letters were common at the football powerhouse, Long Beach Polytechnic High School, but it was a grand accomplishment for an inner city kid...
Read MoreThrowback: Tiny Hurdler Defies Gigantic Odds
Have you ever looked to the other side of the court, field, or to the lanes beside you and think ‘wow, they look good.’ We size up competition with sometimes no other information than how they look and I have been guilty of this too..
Read MoreThrowback: Who Do You Play For? One Athlete's Story of Inspiration During Trying Circumstances.
Every second I played volleyball for the University of Idaho, I was there for my family. But my senior year was different. Whether I was in the weight room, the gym or playing in a match, I was there for my mother...
Read MoreThrowback: Vandal Team BBQ's, How Traditions Begin.
At the time, I was just an 18-year-old homesick kid. No friends, no family. But all of that changed soon...
Read MoreThrowback: Greatest Football Comeback in my Career. Brian Reader, QB - Iowa Barnstormers
By Brian Reader
Twitter: Breader14
One of my greatest comeback moments as a football player was when I played for the University of Idaho. I was the backup quarterback at the time in my sophomore season with the Vandals to Nathan Enderle, current AFL Portland Thunder quarterback and ex-Chicago Bear. We were playing in my home area of California, versus San Jose State University. As I remember correctly, we were ahead most of the game, but had been just short of capitalizing on a few plays which could have really blown open the score. Well, long story short, we were down 22-25 with a little over 6 minutes to play. Nate was having a good game, but a few balls bounced the wrong way, so Coach Akey (our head coach) decided to give me the nod to try and have the game winning drive.
That year Vandal football had a strong offensive line behind our guards Mike Iupati (49ers pro bowl guard), Bryce Sinclair, Matt Cleveland (CFL lineman), Irvin Stevens, and last but not least, Adam Juratovac (Spokane Shock/ SJ Sabercats). I honestly wish I could have thrown the ball all the way down the field, but there was no need to. With an O-line that good, my job was to get the offense in the right play every time. We executed each play perfectly, and finished in the end zone. In our offense, the quarterback was given a package of plays in a certain formation, which then he deciphered at the line of scrimmage, and put the offense in the best play against the look the defense was giving. I believe the drive sequence went something like: run, pass, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, touchdown!
We ended up scoring with 30 seconds remaining on the clock. San Jose State kept giving us the same look over and over again, so I basically called the same play over and over… and sure enough, it worked like clockwork. Final score, Vandals 29, Spartans 25. That game was definitely a highlight of my college career. The odds were against us and yet we were able to come from behind to win the game in my own back yard of the Bay Area, my entire family there to watch. It couldn't have been
any better.