The Vandals are set to unleash a three-headed monster out of the backfield on their opponents in 2024. Despite losing most of their rushing yards from last year, running backs like Elisha Cummings, Nate Thomas and Art Williams are ready to pick up where the Vandals left off. Last year, Anthony Woods had a fantastic season for Idaho with 1,155 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns on 206 attempts.
That included a 211-yard, five-touchdown, performance against Eastern Washington. Woods is now with the Utes of Utah. His backup, Nick Romano, was a senior last year.
Romano had 109 rushing attempts and 540 rushing yards. With Woods and Romano both gone from the program, the Vandals lost 91% of their running back carries and 95% of their yards gained on the ground from the running back position. New running back coach Deontae Cooper believes that they have the players for the job.
“I think the running game from last year and what they (the coaches) did, they did a good job and they had a great back,” Cooper said. “I think these guys here are great in their own way, too. They’re gonna bring a different dimension to it.
” Cummings, the expected starter, played in 21 games in his first two seasons with Idaho. The Waco, Texas, native had 802 yards rushing during that time before missing all of 2023. The time away has made him hungry to get back onto the field.
“Cummings missed last year and he’s been chomping at the bit,” Cooper said. “(He is) an explosive, lateral, shifty guy.” At 5-foot 8, Cummings does a good job of sneaking behind the bigger offensive linemen and showing the patience to wait for a hole to open up.
Once he finds where he wants to attack, look out because he is going at full speed and is ready to run through any defender in his way. “It’s a special mark on the defense if they remember you after a game,” Cummings said. The other member of the one-two punch in the backfield is Thomas, a South Dakota transfer.
Like Cummings, Thomas saw playing time early in his college career. As a freshman for the Coyotes in 2021, Thomas recorded 717 yards on 114 carried, a 6.3 average and five touchdowns.
Unfortunately, injuries forced the South Holland, Ill., native to miss all of 2022 and limited action in 2023. The redshirt junior said that it is all behind him and he is feeling the best he has ever felt.
“I’m above 100% right now. This is probably the best I’ve ever played throughout my whole football career, man,” Thomas said. “It’s crazy how much coming in, working out with (strength) coach (Caleb) Heim, just trusting the process with him.
He developed my body pretty well, and everything is carrying over to the field. I feel way stronger, way faster. My body developed beyond what I even imagined and expected.
” Thomas is another back that loves to play through contact. During the final scrimmage of the fall he pleaded with coach Jason Eck to allow the defense to go 100% and allow tackling. He was visually frustrated after a play was whistled dead when he believed that he would have been able to break the tackle if tackling was live.
Thomas said that working with Cummings this offseason has been very beneficial for both backs as they work together to grow and improve. He also knows how important it is to have multiple options in the backfield. “I had something similar at the University of South Dakota with Travis Theis,” Thomas said.
“So I’m familiar (with) how powerful that one-two punch can be and how tiring that can be for a defense to stop.” Art Williams is a redshirt freshman from Meridian, Idaho, who had eight carries last year for 30 yards, but ended up redshirting for the season. Now, he’s ready for a role in the backfield.
“Mr. Versatility,” Cooper said. “He does a lot from catching the ball out of the backfield, playing running back and being able to line up out wide and empty set.
But he does a really good job.” Throughout camp there has been one thing you quickly notice about the freshman — he is going to fight for every yard. During the first scrimmage of the fall, every time he was getting tackled he was able to fall forward and gain an extra yard or two, that is if he was tackled at all.
In high school, playing for Rocky Mountain, Williams scored 51 touchdowns. In that fall scrimmage of the fall, it was Williams who ended up getting the Battle Axe honor for the offense after finding a hole and scoring the first touchdown of the day. Redshirt freshmen Carlos Matheney and Deshaun Buchanan hope to add to the backfield production this year.
Matheney had nine carries for 50 yards in limited action last season. Buchanan is dealing with a thumb sprain and has missed time this fall. “I tell them all the time that there’s only one thing that’s more dangerous than one set of legs, and that’s four,” Cooper said.
“It feels good to kind of have the luxury to look behind me and know I got quality backs that can go in and spell guys and also make plays and be creative.” The running back room and the rest of the Vandals have been itching to get the season started. The countdown is down to nine days before Idaho will take on No.
3 Oregon on Aug. 31. “I’m ready for Oregon and (to) continue the rest of the season,” Thomas said.
“I hope the fans start to see the confidence in us and I hope they have the same confidence in us that we have in ourselves." Isbelle can be reached at 208-848-2268, [email protected] or on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyIsbelle.
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