MISSOULA — Idaho quarterback Joshua Wood leads the Big Sky Conference in passing yards per game and total offense. But it's not his strong arm or elusive rushing ability that makes him special — it's his mental makeup.
Physical traits are often only a slice of what determines success, or failure, at the quarterback position. Wood processes the game at an elite level, and a deliberate focus on mental training plays a key role.
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"I have a mentalist, Brett from Elite Sports Mentality, that's my guy," Wood told Scripps Sports at the Big Sky Kickoff over the summer. "We get on the phone about almost every month just to communicate and talk and then just write down the thoughts and just how I feel, how the day went and what's going on through my head."
When he's not on the football field, Wood turns to his notebook.
"A lot goes on throughout the mental throughout the game. It's a mental process," Wood said of playing quarterback. "So just being able to get those thoughts out or get out, you know, what I've done that day and what I need to improve on or what I don't need to improve on and keep focusing on the main thing."
For all his physical gifts, the 6-foot-3, 215-pounder is as much in tune with his brain as his body — so much that even Wood's hobbies trend toward mental acuity.
"I'm a big chess player. … When I was in second grade, my dad taught me how to play chess. Got a little chess board set up in our living room, so it's a big thing," Wood said.
He can also juggle.
At quarterback, Wood is in his second season at Idaho, having transferred from Fresno State. He joined head coach Thomas Ford Jr., a mentor he has known since middle school.
"Coach Ford, the relationship I have with him, knowing each other since I was in sixth grade, so being able to know that I'd be seeing him every day in the office and he'd be my head coach, that was mainly the the decision (to transfer to Idaho)," Wood said.
Wood leads the Big Sky with 283.8 passing yards and 327.7 total yards per game. He's thrown nine touchdowns and four interceptions on the season, while adding another seven rushing TDs.
"Joshua's a phenomenal young man. One of those guys that just everybody wants to be around," Ford said of his QB. "I think anytime your quarterback can truly lead the way by example, you got a chance because everybody kind of rallies around him. And there's no question about, you know, who that Quarterback 1 is for the Vandals."
Wood and the Vandals take on rival Montana at 1 p.m. Saturday. The game will be broadcast by Scripps Sports and air on CBS affiliates across Montana.
