Idaho
Eck leaving Idaho to coach New Mexico; 4 Vandal stars hop into portal
“We are grateful for everything that Jason has done to elevate Vandal football, Idaho Athletics, the University of Idaho, our community and state,” Idaho athletics director Terry Gawlik said in a statement. “We wish Jason, Kimberly and the entire Eck family the best of luck. Jason took over a struggling team and built a culture, brought excitement and winning back to the dome immediately. We now look to the future to find the next leader of the Vandal football program. The foundation for success has been laid and we will look to the future with the goals of winning Big Sky and national championships.”
Four key Vandals enter transfer portal
In the hours following Eck’s departure, at least four Vandals put their names in the college football transfer portal, including Layne and star wide receiver Jordan Dwyer.
Layne and Dwyer made their announcements on social media.
Layne started eight games for the Vandals over the past three seasons, beating Idaho State three times and leading the Vandals to a 6-2 record with him under center. His two losses were to Oregon and Montana State, the current No. 1 teams in the FBS and FCS, respectively.
The sophomore from Lake Oswego, Ore., passed for 1,477 yards, 14 touchdowns and four interceptions through six starts in 2024.
Dwyer, a sophomore from Puyallup Wash., entered the portal with two years of eligibility remaining. In three years at Idaho, Dwyer played two full seasons after playing just four games as a true freshman, making 109 catches for 1,651 yards and 18 touchdowns total.
Dwyer broke out in ‘24, making 78 catches for 1,192 yards and 12 touchdowns in a season that saw him become a feature of an Idaho offense that lost two star wideouts to NFL training camps in Hatten and Jermaine Jackson.
He wasted little time Saturday in announcing offers from Eck’s New Mexico, Nevada, Montana and Washington State among others.
A pair of Idaho All-Big Sky-Conference defenders also hit the portal on Saturday in defensive lineman Dallas Afalava and defensive back Dwayne McDougle.
The pair also made their announcements on social media.
Afalava anchored a dangerous unit and accounted for 31 tackles and 4.5 sacks through each of Idaho’s 14 games this season.
The Rainier Beach High School (Seattle) alumnus spent two years on the Palouse, accounting for nine sacks and 56 total tackles.
After three years in Moscow, McDougle also hit the portal on Saturday. McDougle redshirted in 2022, then played in 26 total games over the next two seasons, including each of Idaho’s 14 games in ‘24. The sophomore from Oakland made 87 total tackles with two interceptions and 11 passes defensed.
More Vandals could hit the portal in the coming days as Idaho searches for its next coach.
PAYETTE — A Payette mom’s bond was revoked Tuesday after she was charged with suffocating her twin children earlier this month and is believed to pose a danger to the life of her newborn child.
The case, which has drawn national headlines, concerns Andrea Renee Shaw, a 23-year-old Payette mother who in May 2025 said her 18-month-old fraternal twins died the same day, after receiving routine childhood vaccinations. In January, Shaw joined as a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit filed by Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccine organization founded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., with several other plaintiffs claiming vaccine injury or death.
Kennedy, who now serves as secretary of Health and Human Services, is no longer part of the group after taking on the cabinet position, as was reported by the Associated Press.
In Idaho, the twins’ deaths prompted a 14-month investigation by the Payette County Sheriff’s Department. On June 29, the investigation yielded a grand jury indictment of Shaw on two counts of first-degree murder by suffocation. If convicted, Shaw can be punished by up to life in prison or the death penalty, and the court would have the ability to order the penalties be served consecutively, or back to back.
Tuesday’s arraignment at the Payette County Courthouse was primarily attended by Shaw’s relatives and members of the media. Payette County Judge Kiley Stuchlik, who serves Idaho’s Third Judicial District, presided.
A key consideration for Stuchlik on Tuesday was a request from Joseph Filicetti, the legal counsel for Shaw, to have her bond reduced from $2 million to $100,000. Filicetti said this would allow for Shaw to care for a newborn girl, who, according to court documents, was born by caesarean section on June 25, four days prior to Shaw’s grand jury indictment.
State prosecutors objected to the motion for bond reduction, noting at hand was a potential death penalty case and asserting, unlike her husband, Shaw’s story repeatedly changed during questioning. Prosecuting Attorney Mike Duke said releasing Shaw would ultimately put the newborn’s safety at risk.
“That child is the most at risk. We do not think she should be allowed to be anywhere near any children, let alone her own children,” Duke said.
Stuchlik decided to revoke bond entirely, stating Shaw posed a “risk of safety” to the newborn child that was not known to Stuchlik or prosecutors when the $2 million bond was initially set.
Also for consideration Tuesday was a request to have grand jury transcripts of witness testimony provided to prosecutors and defense counsel to prepare their respective cases.
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