Idaho quarterback Joshua Wood lifted by support of parents Victor, Renee: 'It's a blessing'

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Apr. 18—MOSCOW, Idaho — The Palouse, at least on the eastern side, is the domain of University of Idaho starting quarterback Joshua Wood, who threw for 1,898 yards and 14 touchdowns and ran for another 589 yards and seven TDs as a redshirt sophomore last season.

His parents, Victor and Renee Wood, came across the Cascades from Graham, Washington, to watch him in one of Idaho's spring football scrimmages Saturday. They sat unobtrusively in a largely empty Kibbie Dome, except for a couple of occasions when Victor first jumped up into the aisle, then stirred in his seat when his son threw incomplete passes.

"Sometimes I go into coach mode," he said. "I've got a different lens."

Joshua's mom "is like, 'it's practice,' " Victor said.

Four decades ago, though, Victor began to shape his lens on the western side of the Palouse at Washington State University. An unlikely 5-10, 162-pound walk-on receiver and kick returner in 1984, he concluded his career in 1988 as a member of a storied Cougars team. WSU beat top-ranked UCLA, led by future Dallas Cowboys three-time Super Bowl winning quarterback Troy Aikman, and then took down Houston and Heisman Trophy quarterback Andre Ware, 24-22, in the Aloha Bowl on Christmas Day.

Victor's handiwork was all over that game. He returned a bobbled handoff between quarterback Timm Rosenbach and Steve Broussard 5 yards for a touchdown to give WSU a 7-3 lead. Five minutes later, he caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Rosenbach to put the Cougars ahead 14-3. For the game, he registered 48 receiving yards, returned punts for 52 yards and ran for 123 yards on kickoff returns to become the game's MVP.

Yeah, Dad could play.

"I got lucky. It was a great season. We got on a run," he said.

Now, Joshua's parents have fully embraced the role of fans of their son, and, it seems, of most of the Idaho team, whom they hugged on the sidelines following Saturday's practice.

"We don't live through our kids. We let them do their thing." Victor said.

"A lot of the players we knew from the past," when they played with Joshua on youth and high school teams, Renee said. "We are like mom and dad to the players."

"Vic and Renee are awesome." Vandals coach Thomas Ford Jr. said. "They are huge supporters of the Vandals. They are fun people to be around, too."

Joshua came to Idaho last summer after three seasons at Fresno State. The opportunity to play close enough to his parents for them to be able to see him regularly may have been persuasive in making him a Vandal, Ford suggested.

"It's wonderful for them to be able to make a quick drive and be able to watch me. It's a blessing," Joshua said.

When he was at Graham-Kapowsin High School, the Wood house was where high school teammates gathered.

"We were just talking about that," Victor said. Joshua organized weekly film sessions for his teammates, skill players one week and linemen the next. Dinner was included. For Renee, it must have been like cooking for a logging camp.

"My kitchen was full of baking pans. I would start cooking about 2 p.m.," she said.

Joshua's parents have known each other since the second grade, and although his mom was not a Cougar, she followed Victor's career in Pullman.

These days, Renee works in medical billing, and Victor is a child protective services investigator for the state of Washington. When they journey to Moscow to see Joshua, they regularly conclude the visit with a ritual.

"We try to do a Sunday breakfast meal for him," Renee said.

Following Idaho's practice, Ford was pleased with the way the offense rallied back from being dominated by the defense a week ago. A standout was junior running back Damonte Bias, a 5-11, 180-pound transfer from El Camino College. He finished off 25-yard and 30-yard drives with 5-yard bursts to the end zone.

"We are excited about Damonte," Ford said.

Lighter than Idaho's other running backs, "he has got a skill set that is different. He has faster top-end speed," Ford said.

Injuries are beginning to bite the Vandals, however. Wide receivers Ryan Jezioro and Daveon Superales and running backs Art Williams and Carlos Matheney were all on the sidelines doing rehab work, and running back Hayden Kincheloe exited the field with a slight limp about two-thirds of the way through the workout.

The most worrisome injury occurred to redshirt junior offensive lineman Howard Stedford, a Pace University transfer. Stedford has been working with the first team as both a tackle and guard. But on the second play of practice, a short pass from Wood to tight end Mason Culmer, Stedford did not get up after the play. He was eventually helped off the field dragging his right leg with his arms around the shoulders of two trainers, and after they examined his right knee, Stedford left the field on crutches.

Ford said it was too soon to know how badly Stedford was injured, but the Vandals have good depth across the line.

"We have six or eight guys who can really help us up front," he said, including Moscow High School graduate Tyler Skinner, a redshirt junior who has been starting at left guard.

"He is really having a great spring for us," Ford said .

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