It didn’t take Idaho quarterback Matt Linehan long to realize what kind of athletic weapon Idaho had at its disposal in Joshua McCain. It actually happened during a bowling trip the two Vandal quarterbacks took shortly after arriving in Moscow for the first time last summer. That’s when Linehan told his offensive coordinator, Kris Cinkovich, about the freak athlete Idaho had.
“I remember Matt Linehan when they both got here this summer, and they went bowling and Matt told me after that Josh was the best athlete he’s ever seen. I said ‘You went bowling?'” Cinkovich said. “He goes, ‘Believe me.’ We saw it, you can see it in his ball skills — he’s very athletic.”
At the time, the two were coming in as new Idaho quarterbacks, slated to compete with each-other this spring for positioning on Idaho’s quarterback depth chart.
Instead, McCain has now become the weapon of choice for the two quarterbacks competing for the starting position, Linehan and Chad Chalich.
McCain began the transition to wide receiver after a conversation with coach Paul Petrino shortly after the 2013 season ended. Now, one week into spring practice he is staking his claim for a top spot in Idaho’s depth chart at the position. McCain led all receivers with 218 yards and five touchdowns in the first scrimmage at his new position.
“He’s just a great all-around athlete. He has everything you want at receiver — he’s fast, has great feet, he can get open whenever you want, he has great hands,” Chalich said. “He’s a great receiver, he made plays like you saw today.”
Prior to this spring, McCain had never played receiver. His experience on offense was exclusively as a quarterback through the high school and junior college levels.
He had interest from FBS schools coming out of De Anza College as a wide receiver but Idaho was the only school to give McCain an opportunity to play quarterback at the highest level, De Anza coach Dan Atencio told The Argonaut shortly after his commitment last year.
The experiment turned out to be a struggle for McCain. A running-threat, he was a special package dual-threat quarterback but only rushed for one touchdown and never had a rushing day of over 50 yards. Three interceptions to two touchdowns in the passing game didn’t help his cause.
“I knew I wanted to get on the field, didn’t want to sit on the bench,” McCain said. “I wanted to have my talents out there to help the team out. I knew if I’m on the field I can help the team out, it’s all a team aspect, that’s all it is.”
Giving McCain that opportunity could pay off for Idaho in 2014, which appears to have added a playmaker on the outside with the position change.
“You know what he can do is he can just play the ball in the air so well, whether it’s a little underthrown in the air, it’s a deep ball in the air, he has great natural skills,” Petrino said after McCain’s five touchdown performance on Saturday. “It makes me look like a big dumb, whatever you call it, for not playing him there last year. He looks pretty special.”
He received all five of his touchdowns from Chalich, ranging from a deep sideline route down the right side for a 65-yard score to following Chalich to the sideline for a tip-toeing touchdown in the corner of the end zone.
Throughout all of his eight receptions, McCain looked like a natural at the position on Saturday.
“He’s really fast for one,” receiver Jacob Sannon said. “He likes to pump his arms, that’s basically what coach emphasizes to do is pumping our arms, running after the catch which he’s really good at.”
McCain is battling senior Dezmon Epps and sophomore Deon Watson for one of the top two starting positions, but regardless is in good position to continue getting a lot of snaps. McCain will have two more scrimmages and the April 25 Silver and Gold spring game to solidify that position. So far, so good for the former quarterback.
Sean Kramer can be reached at [email protected]