Cruz Hepburn is Idaho’s tone-setting, homegrown linebacker for 2026
In the 2025 season, Cruz Hepburn emerged as a reliable middle-of-the-defense piece for Idaho, finishing with 71 tackles and adding a sack, forced fumble, and fumble recovery touchdown; he enters 2026 as the Vandals’ most experienced linebacker and a preseason second-team All-Big Sky selection. His biggest differentiator is feel: he plays with energy, leadership, and instincts that showed up even before the numbers did, and his coaches and teammates view him as a steady, count-on-him defender. If you want toughness, production, and local-guy fire, he’s your guy.
