MOSCOW - Coach Robb Akey is fairly certain of one thing as the Idaho Vandals head into their final football practice of the spring in the form of the Silver and Gold Scrimmage today at 10 a.m. on the SprinTurf Field east of the Kibbie Dome.

The defense, he says, likely will have the upper hand if for no other reason than it has been largely intact through the course of spring football while the offense has battled one injury after another - particularly in the front.

"Our defense has been able to operate as a whole," Akey said. "They were able to come together."

Ironically, it is the defensive unit that sustained the one injury this spring that likely will sideline a player next season when senior safety Thaad Thompson was injured prior to last Saturday's scrimmage. Offensively, the nicks and bumps have occurred largely in the offensive front, which put those players in position to not only adjust without their veterans, but to adapt to a new coach.

"That's gone fantastic," Akey said of the arrival of John McDonell as the Vandals' offensive line coach this spring. "They've responded great to him. He's responded great to them. I really think Coach McDonell and that group have come together really well."

Ever the optimist, Akey found the silver lining in the injury cloud.

"We got a lot of youngsters, inexperienced guys, a lot of reps this spring," Akey said. "You're building your future; you're building your depth as well. We really did a great job of making the most out of it."

Injuries aside, the strides Akey wanted to see by and large have been there.

"The goal we talked about at the beginning of the spring - getting better fundamentally, we achieved," Akey said. "We got better. We gained some ground. Our defense got to operate as a whole. They were able to come together. I don't know if we gained as much ground on offense, but I know everybody who was practicing got better."