Denim Millward

Sports Editor

In collegiate football, the dawn of spring should harbor in a fresh new wave of optimism.

For the Idaho State football team, the kickoff of spring practices has produced uncertainty and potential controversy.

In the last sentence of a press release from ISU Sports Information on March 19, Head Coach Mike Kramer announced that sophomore wide receiver Chad Hansen, sophomore defensive back Pat Carter and freshman wide receiver Cristian Morris were no longer with the football program.

The Bengals are coming off an improved but still disappointing 3-9 season that saw flashes of improvement intertwined with inconsistent play.

While a key factor for optimism going into the 2014 campaign is the return of the vast majority of starters on both sides of the ball, the wide receiver position was noticeably hurt by the departure of two seniors, Cam Richmond and Luke Austin, who were far and away the most consistent and explosive offensive weapons that quarterback Justin Arias had at his disposal.

The ISU wide receiving corps, a critical component of Kramer’s pass-heavy offensive scheme, was faced with an experience deficit prior to the departures of Hansen and Morris.

Now, a large part of the success of the Bengals’ offense will be placed on the shoulders of Broc Malcolm, the only returning receiver who played significant time last season, and a handful of wideouts.

On-field impact aside, the departure of three young players, two of whom saw significant playing time last year and largely performed well, raises a red flag in addition to myriad questions.

Hansen tweeted, “Finally! I’m done with these guys,” on March  one day after it was announced he was no longer with the team. The context and timing of the tweet is hard to brush aside as coincidence.

There was no comment from the coaching staff or players to establish the reasons Hansen, Carter and Morris are no longer with the team.

It’s difficult to say whether or not the departures are due to innocuous reasons or are indicative of an underlying problem within the football team.

With the loss of three key players, whispers are circulating and eyebrows are being raised months before the 2014 season begins.

For a team desperate to climb out of the Big Sky Conference cellar, a distraction of this nature is the last thing they need.