The term “legacy game” comes to mind when looking at Ryan Jezioro’s performance against Montana State last Friday. A career-best 147 receiving yards would be impressive enough on its own in such an important game.
Jezioro took his performance to the next level, hauling in Idaho’s first and last touchdowns of the game in its insane upset over Montana State.
The first offensive play from scrimmage for Idaho would result in Jezioro’s opening touchdown. Quarterback Joshua Wood escaped a collapsing pocket to his left and exploited a blown coverage to find Jezioro wide open along the left sideline.
Jezioro beat the last defensive back in the race to the goal line and gave the Vandals their first lead of the night. The 75-yard game-opening statement was his longest career reception and first touchdown of the season.
Wood would find Jezioro again a few drives later for a 15-yard completion and a first down on a drive that would lead to a tying field goal in the early second quarter.
The pair would link up again on a 21-yard completion up near midfield with Idaho trailing by seven in the early third quarter. The drive would end in an interception, however, but Jezioro’s number would be called once again.
Trailing 34-27 with 49 seconds left and no timeouts, the Vandals executed an extraordinary comeback. From around midfield, Wood would complete a deep pass to tight end Noah West-Baranco at the Montana State 25-yard line, with West-Baranco being ruled down with a single second remaining on the clock.
After a Bobcat timeout, Idaho set up for one final play. The Bobcat line looked slightly unsettled, as linebacker Cole Taylor motioned from a blitz look back into the middle of the field as the ball was snapped.
Wood immediately faced a collapsing pocket to his right but was able to step up and look for the end zone. Taylor being positioned too far underneath and a missed coverage pickup from defensive back Brian Harris left Jezioro wide open in the middle of the end zone.
The ball was slightly underthrown, but Jezioro was able to adjust and dive forward to haul it in for the score. His touchdown would prove to be the eventual game-winner, as on the next play, Wood kept it himself on a designed quarterback draw to secure the stunning comeback victory.
As the play broke down, Jezioro was there for his quarterback in the most important moment.
“You know, it’s a progression read. I knew that I had time,” Wood said. “We were six-man protection. So, I was going to be able to go through that … being able to step up in the pocket and then find Ryan, who was my second read … Ryan just snuck over the top …”
Coach Ford also had very high praise for the junior receiver’s performance.
“I thought he had the best game of his career. He made some, not just … down-the-field plays and … the touchdowns, but some gritty plays where he caught the ball and broke some tackles … And so, I think that the receiving corps is really starting to come into their own.”
Jezioro graduated from Liberty High School in Peoria, Arizona. He received an honorable mention for the Peoria All-Region squad, and his team won the Open Division state championship during his senior season in 2023.
He appeared in just one game in his freshman season for Idaho but would follow that up with 347 receiving yards on 27 receptions, along with four touchdowns in nine games played last season.
In just five games played so far this season, Jezioro has already nearly equaled his mark from last season yards-wise, sitting at 327 yards and two touchdowns on 21 receptions after Friday’s contest.
Jezioro’s confidence in his overall game is showing clear progression as each game goes by, and he has proven that he can show up for his teammates in the biggest of moments. He has become a core piece of the Vandal offensive attack.
After their monumental comeback, Jezioro and his teammates will look to carry on their positive momentum through the rest of the season and finish strong.