POCATELLO, Idaho - Idaho State football held its 2026 Spring Game on Saturday afternoon inside the ICCU Dome, and the defense made a statement in front of a Junior Day crowd.
"Defense looks really good. Thought they kicked our butt today," quarterback Jordan Cooke said.
Head coach Cody Hawkins echoed the assessment, calling the defensive performance impressive across the board.
"You can see just how stout our defense is gonna be. We're really good upfront. We're really long and fast in the secondary, and I'm really excited about what that unit is gonna do in the fall," Hawkins said.
The Spring Game featured a structured, situational format designed to test both sides of the ball. The Bengals opened with kickoffs from Mason Lindberg and Billy Hewitt before the first-team units took the field for drives starting from the 25-yard line. The defense set the tone immediately, forcing a three-and-out on the opening drive. Second-team units followed, and after punts and field goal attempts, the teams moved to drives starting from the 45.
At the end of the first quarter, the Bengals shifted into backed-up scenarios with the offense trying to push past the 25 from its own goal line. The action then moved to the goal line, where both sides had their moments as the offense punched in touchdowns and the defense came up with stops.
After a halftime break, the Bengals returned to kickoffs before resuming drives from the 25, followed by more punt and field goal work. The practice closed with clutch scenarios, giving the offense under a minute to move into field goal range and convert. Noa Calaycay blocked the first attempt, but the Bengals connected on their second chance after a successful drive.
Hawkins said the spring game was about getting situational reps and evaluating younger players. "We just wanna get a lot of situational work in, and I think for us it was about getting a lot of younger guys reps and continuing to build that cohesion on both sides of the ball," Hawkins said.
He pointed to the quarterback room as one area where the reps were particularly valuable. With Jordan Cooke and Davis Harsin entrenched as the top two, the spring game gave younger signal callers a chance to show what they can do.
"It was fun to see some of the young quarterbacks get some reps. Kepa and Wyatt, we really haven't seen them do anything. Wyatt being hurt most of the last fall and Kepa being new, we know the quarterback position is gonna be really important for our future here. I was excited to see them get a lot of reps," Hawkins said.
Hawkins credited defensive coordinator Grant Duff and his staff for the defense's growth, singling out several position coaches by name.
"It's the standards and the attitude in the room. The excellence that he expects, the way that he prepares, and then what he allows the rest of the staff to do. Bobby Jay's a great coach. Ricky Lee is a great coach. Devin Holiday, great coach," Hawkins said. "He kinda holds them to the standard and paints the vision and then allows them to kind of color within the lines a little bit. It allows guys like Ricky and Bobby to be super creative on the back end. And then you've just seen that room that Devin has put together, which is really impressive."
On the defensive side, linebacker Jacob Perez and defensive lineman Beau Jaques said the unit's improvement starts with a commitment to stopping the run.
"The most important thing is we're focused on stopping the run now. When we can stop the run, then we can add these exotic blitzes. And that's why you see all these interceptions happening on the back end," Perez said.
Jaques agreed, adding that the run-stopping foundation has opened up the playbook. "Stopping the run has definitely been able to open a lot for our playbook and just to mix things up," Jaques said. "The thing that I've noticed the most is just holding a defensive standard. And also just the unity on the team. Our team, I feel, has never been as close as it is now."
When asked about the identity they want the defense to carry, the answers were direct. "Put goose eggs on the board," Jaques said.
"After every game, the offense needs to know that they played the Bengals. They need to feel it. You need to hear the pads click. That's basically what we want," Perez said.
On the offensive side, Cooke said spring ball has been critical for building connections with a new group of receivers, but emphasized that the real work happens in the summer.
"Spring is super important for development and them just learning the playbook and getting that connection down. But summer is definitely the most important time because the coaches aren't gonna be around as much. It's gonna be more player-led stuff. That's really time to hone in on the chemistry and the playbook and just get ready for the fall," Cooke said.
Receiver Tommy Poe said the offensive chemistry is building daily. "Offense is definitely coming together. The QBs and receivers are building that connection every day at practice," Poe said. He added that the summer will be key for the new receivers to lock in the details of the playbook. "We got a lot of transfers and I think it's gonna be huge just getting in the playbook, dialing in every play and really getting the details of each play fine tuned, and then just getting a lot of reps during the summer with the QBs," Poe said.
Both Cooke and Poe pointed to the team's core values as the foundation for the 2026 season. "Our core values are tough, discipline, together. That's definitely what we're gonna stand on this season. You gotta be a tough football team, especially in the Big Sky. Discipline teams win championships, and that's our goal. And obviously we're not gonna go far by ourselves, so we gotta be together and bring everyone with us," Cooke said.
Poe echoed the sentiment, emphasizing the importance of relationships beyond the field. "Really building that brotherhood and even the things we do off the field, just those relationships, even if it's an offensive guy with a defensive guy, just that whole team bond is really huge for us," Poe said.
Hawkins said practicing against such a strong defense will ultimately benefit the offense, even if the process has been challenging for some of the newer players.
"It can be tough for some of the new guys just because you're trying to explain to them how to do basic math and they're seeing calculus on a daily basis. It makes the games easier than what they're gonna see throughout the week," Hawkins said. "We know that there's a standard here of how we play offense. And to win a championship here, we need to be able to lead on defense. And we're getting darn close to that, and we just need to make sure we can keep pace on offense."
With the spring game in the rearview mirror, Hawkins said the final weeks of spring ball will shift toward developing depth and evaluating younger players for fall camp.
"We've done what we need to do with a lot of the vets. Now we can kind of turn our focus to developing the depth around those guys," Hawkins said. He noted that several key contributors, were held out of the spring game, allowing the younger players more opportunities.
Hawkins said the competition remains wide open at several positions. "Right now it's about as open as open gets upfront on the offensive line. I could tell you that Will Davis and Messiah Johnson are gonna play, but every other spot is up in the air by a good margin," Hawkins said.
Perez said the linebackers will stay focused on the fundamentals as spring ball continues. "Our two goals this spring are stay healthy and get better. We're doing good on most of the big things. We just gotta keep hammering the little things. The young guys are gonna keep stepping up and the old guys are gonna keep leading them," Perez said.
Jaques said the defensive line will continue refining its technique. "We focused a lot in the beginning of spring ball just playing with violence and urgency and making sure that the effort piece is not something we have to coach on, but just the fine details and our technique is just something that we can always improve our craft on," Jaques said.
Idaho State's next spring practice is scheduled for Tuesday, April 14, inside the ICCU Dome. All practices are open to the public and held in the morning unless otherwise noted.
