The University of Idaho Vandals football program has announced the signing of 20 new student-athletes during the early signing period, marking what is being called the highest-rated recruiting class in school history. According to 247Sports, this group is also ranked as the top class in the Big Sky Conference and second-highest among all Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) programs.
Head Coach Thomas Ford expressed enthusiasm about the incoming class. “I couldn’t be more fired up about our 2026 class. We developed deep relationships with these student-athletes and their families, some of which have spanned over two years. We are not only bringing in high-level athletes, but also high-character young men. This class has multiple prospects that had FBS offers but chose Idaho because they value our program’s culture and the relationships we’ve built. I’m proud of our coaching staff for the job they’ve done building the top class in the Big Sky. The future of Vandal football is very bright, and I won’t be surprised to see some of these guys battling for playing time next fall!”
The list of signees includes Kingston Kerkhoff from Tacoma, Washington, who received offers from several Power Four schools such as Arizona State and Michigan State; Kenny Golston from Oklahoma; Tau Mareko from Washington; and JJ Homuth from Minnesota, among others. Nine recruits had offers from Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) programs before choosing Idaho.
Of note, half of this year’s recruiting class comes from the Pacific Northwest region. Two signees are local: Nash O’Kelley from Boise and Dominic Wolthuis from Eagle, both state champions who first connected with coaches at a university camp. O’Kelley represents a fourth generation in his family to play for Idaho.
Idaho also signed six players from Washington state this year, continuing a strong pipeline—35 players on their current roster hail from Washington. The team managed to sign ten recruits who were also pursued by other schools within Washington.
This year’s offensive line continues to be a focus for Idaho’s recruitment strategy; four three-star offensive linemen have joined—a number matched only by linebackers among position groups recruited this cycle.
Several new recruits bring notable athleticism based on track times recorded in high school competition: Wolthuis posted an 11.33-second 100-meter dash; Tristan Baker ran it in 11.25 seconds; Landon Schrom achieved an 11.05-second mark along with a strong showing in the 200 meters; Geovoney Burks posted an 11.13-second 100m time and a 22.40-second 200m time; Jermell Green recorded times of 11.15 seconds (100m) and 22.61 seconds (200m).
Geographically, this recruiting class draws athletes primarily from Arizona (2), California (2), Colorado (2), Hawaii (1), Idaho (2), Minnesota (1), Oklahoma (1), Oregon (2), Utah (1), and Washington (6). By position groupings: there are two quarterbacks, one running back, two wide receivers, one tight end, four offensive linemen, two defensive linemen, four linebackers, two cornerbacks, one safety, and one athlete classified as multi-position.
With this recruiting success—ranked just behind Nebraska nationally at present—the Vandals have surpassed many FBS teams in terms of recruit ratings for their incoming class.
