Idaho football coach Paul Petrino hasn’t had to worry about his punter and placekicker his first four seasons with the Vandals, because they were one and the same — the nationally acclaimed Austin Rehkow.

Rehkow is gone, looking to earn a spot in the NFL. And his heir apparent for both punting and kicking duties is Cade Coffey from Lakeland High.

“Cade Coffey is probably the guy you would look to step forward,” said Petrino, whose Vandals open spring football practice today at 3:30 p.m. “There will be competition at both positions, but I would have to say right now, Cade would be the frontrunner to do both.”

Sophomore Sam Fenlason is the only other kicker listed on the roster.

Idaho will have an open scrimmage April 8 at 10 a.m., and another scrimmage April 14 at 5:30 p.m. at Bengal Field in Lewiston. Spring ball will be capped by the Silver and Gold Game on April 28 at 6 p.m. at the Kibbie Dome.

Zion Dixon, a redshirt sophomore from Lake City, is vying for a spot on the offensive line. Dixon played in 10 games last year, starting two.

The Vandals have two returning starting linemen in senior Jordan Rose and sophomore Noah Johnson. Petrino said Dixon is a frontrunner for one of the other three starting spots.

“I’ve been real happy with Zion Dixon, the way he’s improved this offseason,” Petrino said. “Zion can play all three spots — center, guard and tackle. I think (redshirt freshman) Conner Vrba has really improved. If we played today, there’s no question in my mind that those two would probably be starting.”

Petrino said true freshman Carlos Collado of Sandpoint, who greyshirted last fall, is among the newcomers with “great upside.”

“Carlos is really talented, and very athletic,” Petrino said.

Another former Bulldog, Kyle Perry, is a linebacker who also grayshirted last fall.

Gunnar Amos, a redshirt sophomore from Coeur d’Alene, has moved from quarterback to safety, Petrino said. Last year he and Mason Petrino, the coach’s son, saw some action backing up starting quarterback Matt Linehan, who will be a fifth-year senior this fall. Coach Petrino said sophomore Mason Petrino will still get some reps at quarterback, but will get most of his reps at receiver.

The Vandals are coming off a 9-4 season, capped by a victory in their first bowl game since 2009, and are looking for even more in their final season in the Sun Belt, before dropping to FCS and the Big Sky Conference in 2018.

“There’s no question our guys are walking around with more confidence, and ready to have a great year,” Petrino said.

One goal for spring ball is to “fill some holes,” he said. “We’ve got to find that guy to go to on third down, losing (tight ends) Trent (Cowan) and Deon (Watson).”

Among the candidates are returning receivers Jacob Sannon, Alphonso Anuwar, Reuben Mwehla and David Ungerer, along with newcomers Mason Petrino and Michael Gardner, and Brandon Luckett, who was hurt last year in fall camp.

Running backs Isaiah Saunders (junior) and Aaron Duckworth (senior) return.

Sophomore Denzal Brantley, who was part of the running back rotation last year, has been moved to safety, Petrino said.

“Denzal wants to get on the field,” Petrino said. “It was kinda funny — I was thinking about the best way to talk to him about it (moving to safety), and how I could make him feel excited and feel good about moving over there, and he came to me and talked to me about it. That made it pretty easy.”

Petrino said the Vandals should be strong on the defensive line, led by senior Aikeem Coleman, as well as at linebacker with juniors Kaden Elliss, Tony Lashley and Ed Hall, and sophomore Ty Graham. Junior cornerback Dorian Clark, perhaps the Vandals best player in the secondary, is back after missing last year due to injury. But there are questions elsewhere in the secondary as senior Armond Hawkins is the lone returning safety with experience.

“I think our defense has a chance to be way better,” Petrino said.

Petrino said Graham (elbow) and junior defensive back Jordan Grabski could miss spring ball due to injuries.