You never really know what to make of spring football intrasquad games because, well, you’re playing yourself.

Was the defense really good, or the offense really bad? Or vice-versa.

But each year there seems to be the emergence of a few players who the casual fans may not be aware of, but who make a statement about their intent to be impact players.

During last year’s spring game, the biggest statement was made by wide receiver Jeff Weimer, a transfer from UNLV, who made several acrobatic catches. Weimer’s performance pre-saged his emergence as a first-team all-Big Sky Conference receiver for the Bengals, catching 75 passes for 1,016 yards and six touchdowns.

This year’s game put the spotlight on a couple of other offensive skill players for the Bengals: wide receiver Jonah Burton, a transfer from Baylor, and Brett Spencer, a jack-of-all trades player who played a little bit of quarterback and a little bit of running back on Saturday — and has seen action at receiver this spring as well.

Burton, a 5-foot-10-inch, 200 pound redshirt sophomore, played in 10 games at Baylor, catching nine passes for 110 yards before redshirting last season and hitting the transfer portal. He led the Bengal receivers with eight catches on Saturday, including two touchdowns.

“Jonah’s a hard-working kid,” reported fellow Bengal receiver Ian Duarte, who had six catches of his own on Saturday. “He’s a good kid to have in that slot room, a great addition. He just came in and put his head down. He’s constantly asking questions in film. I knew of him from California. He’s a helluva player — excited to play next to him.”

Spencer, meanwhile, has been making a statement pretty much all spring. The 6-foot, 206-pound redshirt freshman from Weiser, is one of five competitors in the quarterback room, but he’s such a good athlete, ISU head coach Cody Hawkins said earlier this spring that he’s going to get on the field somewhere, even if it’s not under center.

“He’s a straight Swiss Army knife,” Duarte said of Spencer. “From every live practice, he’s hard to tackle.”

“Catch, run, throw — Brett Spencer, give him a chance,” chimed in ISU running back Dason Brooks. “He is fun to watch. It’s always funny when I see him go in the game — you don’t know who is going to run.”

Hawkins calls Spencer, “Triple threat Brett.”

“He can do it all. He’s even played some receiver this spring, but with the injuries we’ve had at running back and the depth at wide receiver, he needs to stay at quarterback and tailback today,” added Hawkins. “He’s an elite competitor. He’s the guy when he’s in there and you give him the ball, something good will happen.”

Naturally, Hawkins compares the former Class 3A Idaho Player of the Year with Hunter Hayes, last year’s short-yardage specialist at quarterback. Hayes was often inserted at quarterback when ISU faced short yardage situations, or moved inside the “red zone.” He ran for six touchdowns and threw for seven more.

Hawkins feels like Spencer may not have the arm strength of the taller Hayes, but he may be a more explosive athlete.

“He’s got to play football for us, he’s too good a football player not to,” said Hawkins. “We’re going to package some things for him similar to what we did for Hunter Hayes. Except he’s a little bit more dynamic — he could play wide receiver.”

There’s nothing more fun than a player from a small Idaho town (or, in Hayes’ case, a small Wyoming town) breaking into the spotlight. The fans love it, and I suspect Spencer will quickly become a Bengal fan favorite.

He played for former Pocatello High School coach Tom Harrison at Weiser, leading the Wolverines to the 2022 state championship. He threw for 2,227 yards and 27 touchdowns, ran for 825 yards and 12 TDs, and was an all-state defensive back as well, intercepting eight passes and returning four for touchdowns.

“Spencer reminds me of Patrick Mahomes,” Snake River Coach Jeb Harrison, son of Tom, told the Idaho Statesman after his senior season. “He runs around, makes phenomenal plays, throws it sidearm, behind his back. And his ability to improvise was just incredible.”

Spencer made such an impression that he beat out Gooding tight end Colston Loveland, who was the Gatorade Idaho Player of the Year, for the state’s Player of the Year, which is voted on by the coaches. Loveland went on to an All-American career at Michigan.

After graduating from Weiser and signing with then-Idaho State Coach Charlie Ragle, Spencer went on a mission in Colorado for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He returned to the program last fall, and played in one game, maintaining his redshirt status.

Spencer has made a big enough impact at Idaho State this spring that even the defensive players are impressed. When asked about plays from Saturday’s spring game that made an impression, linebacker Junior Damuni mentioned Spencer’s efforts, which included running the ball five times and catching three passes.

“Brett Spencer has been getting the ball a lot — it’s always exciting to see him run around and break tackles,” said Damuni. “It’s just cool to see him run around.”

Bengal fans will be looking forward to seeing Spencer “run around” a lot next fall. They may also see another Spencer on the field in the near future. Brett’s brother Brock is currently on an LDS mission, but plans to walk on to the ISU squad when he returns in the spring of 2026.

Brad Bugger has been following athletics in southeastern Idaho for 46 years as a sports writer, broadcaster and fan. He can be reached at bpbugger@gmail.com.