Idaho State football held its third spring practice on March 31, with the team moving outside to the ICCU Practice field for its first session in shells and light contact. The day marked an increase in energy and intensity, especially among the cornerbacks group, as players continued early preparations for the upcoming season.
The importance of this phase lies in building a strong foundation for the team’s defense, particularly at cornerback where returning veterans are expected to play key roles. With many experienced players back, both coaches and athletes have highlighted camaraderie and competition as driving forces behind their progress so far.
Cornerbacks coach Devin Holiday said he is pleased with how spring ball has started. “Man, I love it. I’m enjoying being back, being around the guys, spending time with the guys,” Holiday said. “We returned a lot of guys in the group, so guys have a lot of camaraderie together. It has been a fun spring ball so far.” He added that attention to fundamentals remains central: “The main focus for us is always gonna be the fundamentals, the techniques and the details,” Holiday said. “We play a lot of man, so we’re on islands. We gotta make sure we’re doing a good job consistently with our technique day in and day out.”
Returning cornerback Noa Calaycay also emphasized daily competition within the unit as essential to improvement: “Iron sharpens iron. We are just competing every day trying to get better,” Calaycay said. “Just pushing each other every single day to the limit.” He later added: “I think just making plays. We all playmakers in our group,” Calaycay said. “But what we need to work on is just being consistent, showing up every single day and doing the right things.”
Reflecting on last season’s finish, Holiday noted that increased confidence was one positive development but pointed out communication as an area needing further growth: “The biggest thing is the guys’ confidence. The confidence grew throughout the season,” Holiday said. “Now we’ve got to clean up the communication so we’re never busting coverages.” He also stressed that consistency must remain top priority: “Consistency, consistency, consistency,” Holiday said. “We can play good for 99 plays but if that 100th play is a touchdown that’s all people remember.”
New transfers such as Kai Callen, KJ Johnson and Tre Parks have already made their presence felt during practices by raising competition levels within an already deep group of corners.
“It’s been really well,” Holiday said regarding newcomers’ integration into drills alongside returning starters.
Calaycay agreed: “Kai KJ and Trey were great additions to our corner group,” he said.
As Idaho State continues through its schedule of spring practices leading up to their Spring Game on April 11 at 2:00 PM., players say they will keep focusing on sharpening technique improving communication—and competing at high level every session.
