Team preview: Idaho

The Blue Ribbon College Football Yearbook previews the 2007 Idaho Vandals, exclusively on Insider.

Updated: July 9, 2007, 3:20 PM ET
Blue Ribbon Yearbook
Editor's Note: ESPN Insider has teamed with Blue Ribbon College Football Yearbook to provide a comprehensive look at all 119 Division I-A teams. To order the complete 2007 edition of Blue Ribbon College Football Yearbook, visit www.blueribbonyearbook.com or call 1-866-805-BALL (2255).

(All information as of June 20, 2007)

COACH AND PROGRAM

First-year Idaho coach Robb Akey didn't have to look too far to land his first head coaching job. The former defensive coordinator at Washington State has moved eight miles east to Moscow, Idaho, where he'll try to provide stability and rebuild the Vandals' program.

Akey already has put his stamp on the program. Hired in December, he has dismissed 15 players who have broken team rules, failed to make academic progress or got in trouble off campus.

"It's unfortunate," Akey told the Spokesman Review newspaper. "That's not why you coach football, to go through those things, but that's part of the deal. Being able to build a team, you have to put things together the right way."

Akey also is relying on an old boss to help him make the transition from being a top assistant to a head coach. One of Akey's first hires was Steve Axman, who Akey worked under at Northern Arizona.


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