Kickoff is 1 p.m. Pacific time in a game not televised but available via subscription on ESPN+. The contest will also be broadcast on 700-AM ESPN and 105.3-FM in the Spokane/Cheney area. Larry Weir returns for his 31st season calling the play-by-play, with analysis handled by Paul Sorensen for the 19th season. Broadcasts begin one hour prior to kickoff and include an expanded post-game show.
The Eagles are a member of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision and the Big Sky Conference, and are coming off a 63-14 win versus NCAA Division II Central Washington. Before that, EWU picked up a 35-33 victory in two overtimes over UNLV in EWU's season opener on Sept. 2 in Las Vegas. The Rebels are a member of the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and the Mountain West Conference. Eastern has now won four of its last 11 games versus FBS members.
Eastern Washington is 2-0 for the second time under head coach Aaron Best and for the first time since the 2018 season when the Eagles defeated Central Washington and Northern Arizona, the same year they finished runner-up at the FCS National Championship game. With a win over Western Illinois, the Eagles will start the season 3-0 for the first time since 2007 under former head coach Paul Wulff.
Western Illinois is currently 0-2, falling 31-21 at Ball State on Sept. 2 and then falling at Montana 42-7 on Sept. 11. Eastern was scheduled to play the Leathernecks at Roos Field in the fall of 2020, but the game was postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic and will be re-scheduled.
Entering 2021, Eastern is 10-15 all-time versus current members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference, having also not played Indiana State and Missouri State. Five of those victories (and no losses) came versus North Dakota when it was a member of the Big Sky Conference. Eastern is 1-3 versus North Dakota State, which has won eight of the last nine titles in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision.
Eastern's last games versus a MVFC foe were both versus North Dakota State – a 42-20 loss in Fargo on April 24, 2021, in the first round of the FCS Playoffs, and a 38-24 loss on Jan. 5, 2019, in the 2018 NCAA Division I Championship Game. Eastern did beat North Dakota 35-20 on Sept. 28, 2019, in the final Big Sky match-up between the two schools.
Like Eastern, the Leathernecks did not play in the fall of 2020. But they played a six-game winter/spring schedule in the MVFC, finishing 1-5. Western lost its first five games before beating Youngstown State 27-24 in its season finale.
The Eagles are a member of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision, and are ranked sixth in the AFCA Coaches Top 25 poll and seventh in this week's Stats Perform Top 25 poll after being ranked 14th and 11th, respectively, entering the season. Other preseason polls had EWU ranked eighth (College Football America), 10th (College Sports Madness), 16th (Hero Sports) and 19th (Athlon Sports).
With all 22 starters returning and a whopping total of 67 returning letterwinners, Eastern is seeking its 11th Big Sky Conference title and 15th appearance in the FCS Playoffs. The Eagles won the 2010 NCAA Division I title and were runners-up in 2018, and advanced to the first round of the playoffs in the abbreviated 2020-21 campaign.
Eastern returns a total of 14 players who have previously earned All-Big Sky Conference honors, with 13 of them being honored during the 2020-21 campaign when eight of the league's 13 schools took part in the league schedule. Quarterback Eric Barriere was the runner-up for the 2020-21 Walter Payton Award, and joins offensive tackle Tristen Taylor, wide receiver Talolo Limu-Jones and kicker Seth Harrison as preseason All-Americans.
The Central game began the best home schedule in school history for the Eagles, including four formidable Big Sky Conference foes at Roos Field – Montana, Idaho, Weber State and Montana State. Eastern has won 18-straight games at "The Inferno" with the second-longest active home winning streak in the FCS. Returning All-America quarterback Eric Barriere is a perfect 14-0 as a starter at "The Inferno." Barriere is coming off of a 20-31 performance with three touchdowns, 264 passing yards and 21 rushing yards in EWU's win against Central Washington. The performance earned him his seventh career Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Week award.
Following this week's game at Western Illinois, Eastern opens its Big Sky Conference schedule on Sept. 25 at 5 p.m. Pacific time. Eastern's next home game is Oct. 2 when Montana visits for a game at 7:30 p.m. Pacific time and televised by ESPNU.
Game Notes
Eagle Football Tidbits
* Eastern finished 5-2 overall in the unique 2020-21 spring season and advanced to the first round of the NCAA Division I playoffs where it lost to North Dakota State. The Eagles ended the season ranked No. 10 in the Stats Perform Top 25 poll, marking the 16th time Eastern has finished the season nationally ranked, including 12 times since 2004. The other seasons were in 1985, 1992, 1993, 1997, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018. Seven times the Eagles have finished in the top four – fourth in 1997, 2012, 2014 and 2016; third in 2013; second in 2018; and first in 2010 after winning the NCAA Division I title.
* Eastern closed the 2020 regular season with the best offense in FCS, and finished the season third at 524.9 yards per game. The Eagles were also fourth nationally in passing (367.3) and eighth in scoring offense (37.7). Eastern's passing average was the third-best in school history and the average of 524.9 yards per game of total offense was fourth, just ahead of the 2019 average of 524.8 which led FCS.
* In EWU's last 17 seasons (2004-2020/21), EWU has ranked in the top 10 in FCS in passing 14 times, total offense on 13 occasions and scoring eight times. In school history, EWU has won a trio of FCS titles for total offense (2019, 2001, 1997), as well as three passing offense titles (2016, 2015, 2011) and two for scoring offense (2014, 2001).
* Eastern entered the fall season with a total of 36 players returning with 318 games of starting experience, including 18 players on defense with 136 starts and 18 on offense with 182 starts.
* Headlining Eastern's cast of returning players are a trio of All-Americans – Barriere, offensive tackle Tristen Taylor and wide receiver Talolo Limu-Jones. They helped Eastern lead FCS in total offense during the regular season, and Barriere went on to finish as the runner-up for the Walter Payton Award given to the top offensive player in FCS. He won first team recognition on six FCS All-America teams, including the FCS Athletic Director's Association which picked him as its top offensive player nationally.
* Of the total of 67 returning letterwinners, fifth-year head coach Aaron Best has them evenly split with 31 back on both offense and defense, plus five specialists. The adjusted, abbreviated schedule in 2020-21 did not count against the eligibility for all student-athletes.
* Three of the returning players will be back for their seventh seasons as Eagles. Following the conclusion of the 2019 season, offensive tackle Tristen Taylor, linebacker Jack Sendelbach and running back Dennis Merritt were granted a sixth year by the NCAA to complete four years of eligibility because of seasons lost because of injuries. Also receiving a sixth year was University of Washington transfer Jusstis Warren, who played in just one game for EWU in 2019 and only one in 2020-21.
* Consistency has been a cornerstone of EWU Football, and the Eagles have cemented a 17-year run of winning the league title and/or advancing to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs at least every other year. Eastern has achieved that feat ever since its last back-back-empty seasons in 2002 and 2003.
* In 2018, Eastern secured its 10th Big Sky title. Two years later, the Eagles secured their 14th appearance in the FCS Playoffs in what is now 37 years as a member of the FCS (formerly I-AA). Since 2010 when EWU won the NCAA Division I title, the Eagles have won league titles six times (2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018) and advanced to the playoffs all six of those seasons plus in 2020-21. While the Eagles were making their 14th appearance overall in the FCS Playoffs in the 2020-21 season, head coach Aaron Best made his 11th as an EWU player or coach.
* From 2004 to 2009 Eastern advanced to the playoffs four times (2004, 2005, 2007, 2009), and won the league title twice (2004, 2005). Eastern has three other playoff berths in school history (1985, 1992, 1997) and two other titles (1992, 1997), and has only had two multi-year stretches in which they accomplished neither. Those were both six-year stretches from between 1986-1991 and 1998-2003.
* The Eagles have been impressive – if not dominant – in the Big Sky Conference in the last 14 years (2007-2020/21), winning 80 percent of their games (88-22) and six titles. In that span, Eastern has had no league finish below 5-3 and five of them have included 7-1 or 8-0 records.
Eagles Now 61-10 on the Red Turf with Record 17-Game Winning Streak
Having won all five of its regular season home games in 2019 and all eight in 2018, Eastern was 3-0 at home in the 2020-21 season and is currently 1-0 in 2021 to give the Eagles a school-record 18-straight wins at Roos Field. The Eagles entered the 2021 season as one of three teams with the longest active home winning streaks in FBS with 18 consecutive victories.
The other schools who entered the season with 17-game home winning streaks included James Madison, which extended its streak to 19 with a 55-7 win over Maine on Sept. 11. North Dakota also has a 17-game streak and plays its home opener Sept. 18 versus Drake.
Eastern is now 61-10 (85.9 percent) overall at "The Inferno" since 2010. The stadium has been known as Roos Field since 2010 when a new red synthetic Sprinturf surface made its debut. Eastern's last home loss came on Nov. 4, 2017, versus Weber State.
At its current site, the previous school record was 11 consecutive home wins set between 9/16/78 and 9/27/80 (between losses was from 11/19/77 to 11/1/80). Overall, the school record is 21 set from 1935-40. Eastern had a nine-game winning streak snapped in a 36-21 loss to Montana State on Sept. 24, 2011. The Eagles also had a nine-game winning streak at that venue snapped against Sacramento State on Oct. 21, 2000, when the Hornets made a 23-yard field goal with no time remaining.
Eastern has lost just six regular season games at "The Inferno" – 47-6 (88.7 percent), plus are 13-4 (76.5 percent) in playoff games. The only regular season losses at home for EWU since 2010 are to conference foes Montana State (2011), Portland State (2011 and 2015), Northern Arizona (2015) and Weber State (2017), as well as North Dakota State (2017).
Eastern finished a perfect 8-0 in its debut season at "The Inferno," including three playoff victories. Eastern has won 85.1 percent of its games since the red turf was installed in 2010 – including a 4-0 record versus rival Montana. The original red turf at Roos Field was replaced in summer of 2020 by a new AstroTurf surface.
The North Dakota State game on Sept. 9, 2017, was the 50th at Roos Field since the red turf surface was installed in 2010. In 2016, Eastern finished 7-1 in the 50th season of football at EWU's current stadium location, which opened in 1967. Eastern has a 173-65 record (72.7 percent) in 238 games at Roos Field (formerly Woodward Field) since 1967, with the Eagles utilizing Joe Albi Stadium in Spokane as the school's main home field from 1983-89.
During Eastern's 18-game winning streak at Roos Field, the Eagles have had just three games decided by less than double figures and all but four decided by at least 21 points. In fact, Eastern has more than doubled its opponents 940-407. The margin of victory in 14 of the 18 games has been at least 21 points, nine of them have been by at least 30, four by 40 or more and a pair have been won by at least 50 points (52 and 53, both versus Cal Poly).
In EWU's last 10 home games, it has won by an average score of 53-24 (525-243). Those games came after EWU's 34-29 victory over UC Davis in the 2018 FCS Playoffs. The only other games decided by less than 10 points was a 53-46 victory over Portland State to end the 2019 campaign and 38-31 over Idaho on April 10, 2021, to end the 2020-21 regular season.
Hewa-Baddege, Brown and Williams Make Starting Debuts Versus Central Washington
A pair of tackles – one on each side of the ball – and a linebacker made the first starts of their careers against Central Washington on Sept. 11. Redshirt freshman Matthew Hewa Baddege started at offensive tackle, while another freshman, Matthew Brown, started at defensive tackle. In addition, Ahmani Williams made his first career start at linebacker.
Hewa Baddege is from Port Coquitlam, B.C., and Brown is out of Hoquiam (Wash.) High School. Williams is a 2020 graduate from Skyline High School in Vancouver, Wash., and is the son of former Eagle All-America safety Julian Williams.
The Eagles entered the season with 18 players on each side of the ball with starting experience, including 182 total starts by offensive players and 136 by the defense for a total of 318. Among players listed as starters on this week's two-deep for the UNLV game, all have previously started games.
In the abbreviated 2020-21 season, 20 players made the initial starts of their careers – 12 on defense and eight on offense. Eastern entered that year with a total of 20 players returning with 191 games of starting experience, including 10 players on defense with 86 starts and 10 on offense with 105 starts.
Here are the current starts by EWU players:
Current Starts on Defense (158 starts by 19 players): Calin Criner 21, Tre Weed 20, Jack Sendelbach 19, Mitchell Johnson 19, Darrien Sampson 12, Joshua Jerome 9, Ty Graham 8, Jacob Newsom 7, Darreon Moore 7, Brock Harrison 6, Marlon Jones Jr. 5, Anthany Smith 6, Keshaun King 4, Cale Lindsay 3, Debore'ae McClain 3, Caleb Davis 3, Ely Doyle 3, Jusstis Warren 1, Matthew Brown 1, Ahmani Williams 1.
Current Starts on Offense (204 starts by 19 players): Tristen Taylor 49, Eric Barriere 31, Andrew Boston 26, Johnny Edwards IV 12, Conner Crist 11, Talolo Limu-Jones 11, Freddie Roberson 10, Dylan Ingram 9, Wyatt Musser 9, Matt Shook 8, Tamarick Pierce 6, Wyatt Hansen 7, Anthony Stell Jr. 4, Dennis Merritt 4, Brad Godwin 2, Efton Chism III 2, Blake Gobel 1, Gunner Talkington 1, Matthew Hewa Baddege 1.
Streak of At Least One Road Win Extended to 53 Seasons; Two Road Wins at 27 Seasons
Against UNLV, extended EWU's current streak seasons with at least one road win to 53. That streak now includes all 38 seasons Eastern has been a member of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA). The last time Eastern was winless on the road was 1969 when the then-Savages were 0-4 away from home and finished 4-5 on the season.
In the 2020-21 season, Eastern extended its streak of seasons with at least two road wins to 27. Eastern has had at least two road wins in all but six seasons (1974, 1975, 1976, 1988, 1989, 1994) since 1969, including a current streak of 27-straight seasons with at least a pair.
Eric Barriere is on Watch Lists for the Walter Payton Award as well as the CFPA Performer of the Year
Eric Barriere has the opportunity to finish what he started as he was named to the prestigious Walter Payton Award Watch List by Stats Perform on Aug. 4. Later in August, Barriere was named to the College Football Performance Awards (CFPA) FCS National Performer of the Year Trophy Watch List.
The Walter Payton Award is given to the national offensive player of the year in college football's Division I subdivision. Barriere is no stranger to the list, as he's been a finalist the past two seasons. Last year, Barriere finished runner up to Southeastern Louisiana's Cole Kelley, coming just six votes shy (137-131) of the award. In 2019 as a junior, he finished fifth. He is one of 35 players on the list, along with Sacred Heart's Julius Chestnut who finished behind him in voting. More players can join the list during the regular season and a national media panel will select the winner at the end of the year.
Barriere is among 44 returning players across the FCS on the watch list for the CFPA award, including two others from the Big Sky Conference in quarterback Hunter Rodrigues from UC Davis and running back Josh Davis from Weber State. The award will be announced on January 22, 2022.
Barriere, a native of Inglewood, Calif., has a long list of preseason honors that include the Big Sky Conference Preseason Offensive MVP, and first team preseason All-America honors by Stats Perform, HERO Sports. Most recently, Barriere was named a first team FCS Preseason All-America quarterback by Phil Steele Publications.
He is coming off of a season that saw him lead Eastern Washington to the NCAA FCS Playoffs and was named a first team All-American by six different organizations, including being named the FCS Offensive Player of the Year by the FCS ADA.
The senior made a case for the Payton Award last year by passing for at least 300 yards in five of six regular games and having at least 400 yards of total offense in three of them. Barriere ranked in the top 10 in the FCS in total offense (fifth, 369.0 per game), passing offense (fifth, 348.4), passing touchdowns (third, 19) and points responsible for (ninth, 17.4 per game). He completed 61.8 percent of his passes for 2,439 yards, 19 touchdowns and 2,583 total yards of offense.
More on Eric Barriere: In his illustrious 40-game career, Barriere is now 22-9 as a starter, including 14-0 at home. He went over the 10,000-yard mark for total offense in his career with a current total of 10,793 – including 9,377 through the air. He ranks fifth in school history in both categories, as well as his career total of 81 TD passes. He's now fourth with 100 total touchdowns responsible for. Eastern career records in those categories are 13,308, 12,616, 110 and 121. Barriere has completed 60.8 percent of his passes in his career (695-of-1141), good for 9,377 yards, 81 touchdowns and 23 interceptions, and has rushed 305 times for 1,416 net yards and 19 more TDs. He had a passing efficiency rating of 146.9 as a sophomore, 151.6 in 2019 and a 149.3 mark in his career to currently rank fifth in school history. Barriere has surpassed the school record for rushing yards by a quarterback -- he now has 1,416 with Vernon Adams Jr. closing his career with 1,232. Eastern is 21-1 when Barriere has rushed for at least 21 yards, with the lone loss coming at Sacramento State (10/5/19) when he finished with 103. Besides the Sac State game, he's rushed for at least 98 yards on four other occasions (98/Southern Utah/2018, 99/Portland State/2018, 101/Northern Arizona/2019, 164/Cal Poly/2019). Barriere now has 11 career performances with at least 400 yards of total offense, and 20 with 300+. He also has had 14 performances with at least 300 passing yards (five with at least 400). He has now been honored seven times in his career as Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Week, including once in 2021, three times in 2020-21 and twice in the 2019 season.
Eight Current Eagles Have Completed Coursework Toward Degrees
Eight Eastern players have already completed requirements toward their bachelor's degree, including a pair of recent graduates in quarterback Eric Barriere and long snapper Cody Clements. Barriere earned his degree in communications and Clements was an English major.
Previously, linebacker Jack Sendelbach graduated following spring quarter of 2019 in marketing, and is now in a graduate program for sport and recreation administration. Linebacker Ty Graham is now working toward his master's degree in business administration after having already received his marketing degree from EWU with a minor in sports management. Linebacker Jusstis Warren has also received his bachelor's degree and is now a graduate student in communications studies. Cornerback Darreon Moore has received his management degree and is now working on his MBA like Graham. And offensive tackle Tristen Taylor has completed his criminal justice degree and is now working toward a second degree in psychology.
The eighth graduate is quarterback Ryan Kelley, a graduate transfer from Arizona State. He earned his bachelor's degree at ASU and is now working toward his master's in business administration at EWU.
Since 2001, Eastern has annually averaged more than 20 selections to the Big Sky All-Academic team. Eastern has had a league-most 475 selections from 2001-2020/21, and Eastern has won a total of 674 Big Sky All-Academic honors since joining the league in 1987. A total of 26 were honored in 2019, and a program-best 34 were recognized in the 2016 season. In the abbreviated 2020-21 season, 52 Eagles were honored, however, because of the Covid-19 pandemic, there were no participation requirements to be named to the team.
Senior Calin Criner Wears No. 4 Legacy Jersey for Eagles
Eastern senior safety Calin Criner is continuing the legacy of wearing the No. 4 jersey for the Eagle Football team, a tribute that has existed for more than 10 years. Since the 2008 season when senior Jason Belford had the number, the coaching staff has selected a leader on defense to wear the jersey. It symbolizes the defensive player who most embodies the characteristics of defense at Eastern -- grit, toughness, effort, leadership and academic success.
In his career, Criner now has seven interceptions, 202 tackles, 11 passes broken up, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery in his 43-game career (21 as a starter). He has four performances in his career with at least 10 tackles. The 2016 graduate of Rocky Mountain High School in Boise, Idaho, missed EWU's first four games of the 2020-21 spring season, then started in the final three to close the year with seven tackles and a pass broken up.
Criner has deep collegiate football roots. His father is a former player at Boise State (1990 graduate) and is now an assistant coach at Southern Miss with previous collegiate tenures at Idaho, Portland State, Utah State, Minnesota, Eastern Michigan, Cincinnati, Middle Tennessee State, Lamar, and Colorado State Pueblo. Calin is the grandson of former Boise State University head football coach Jim Criner (1976-82), who guided the Broncos to the 1980 NCAA Championship Subdivision (then I-AA) title and later was head coach at Iowa State (1983-86).
Although the honor isn't necessarily given to the most talented defensive player on the team, Eastern has had 11-straight players in that number earn All-Big Sky honors, and 13 of a possible 14 since Eastern joined the league in 1987. Below is the list of players who have worn that number since EWU became a member of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision in 1984 (Big Sky in 1987).
Name – Year - Pos. - Hometown / Previous School
Hunter, Darryl - 1983-84-85-86 - DB - Tacoma, Wash. / Foss HS
%Corr, Dominic - 1986-87-88-89 - RB - Seattle, Wash. / Garfield HS
%Wright, Harold - 1990-91-92-93 - RB - Tacoma, Wash. / Lakes HS '89
Givens, Roderick - 1995 - DB - Auburn, Wash. / Auburn HS '94
#%Brightful, Lamont - 1998-99-00-01 - WR - Everett, Wash. /Mariner HS '97
%Williams, A.J. - 2002-03 - DB - Lacey, Wash. - North Thurston HS '01
%Dotson, Anthony - 2005-06-07 - DB - Federal Way, Wash. / Federal Way HS '03
%Belford, Jason - 2005-06-07-08 - DL - Tacoma, Wash. / Lincoln HS '04
#%Sherritt, J.C. - 2007-08-09-10 - LB - Pullman, Wash. / Pullman HS '06
%Brown, Allen - 2010-11-12-13 - DB - Tacoma, Wash. / Foss HS '09
%Raynes, Todd - 2012-13-14-15 - DB - Kenmore, Wash. / Inglemoor HS '11
%Zamora, Miquiyah - 2013-14-15-16 - LB - Pasco, Wash. / Chiawana HS '12
%Havili, Albert - 2013-14-16-17 - DL - Federal Way, Wash. / Federal Way HS '13
%Fettig, Mitch - 2015-16-17-18 - DB - Olympia Wash. / Olympia HS '14
%Ledbetter, Dylan - 2016-17-18-19 - DL - West Seattle, Wash. / O'Dea HS '15
Criner, Calin – 2017-18-19-20 – DB – Boise, Idaho / Rocky Mountain HS '16
#All-America selection (Brightful was first team in 2001, second team in 2000 & second team in 1999 as return specialist, and honorable mention in 2001 as a wide receiver; Sherritt was the Buck Buchanan Award winner in 2010, and first team in 2009 and 2010 as a linebacker).
%All-Big Sky Conference selection (Corr was first team in 1989 & second team in 1989 as return specialist; Wright was Big Sky Newcomer of the Year in 1989, and first team in 1991 & second team in 1992 as a running back; Brightful was first team in 2001 as a wide receiver and return specialist, first team in 2000 as a return specialist, second team in 2000 as a wide receiver and first team in 1999 as a return specialist; Williams was honorable mention in 2003 and 2002 as a safety; Dotson was second team in 2007 as an outside linebacker; Belford was second team in 2008 and honorable mention in 2007 as a defensive end; Sherritt was the Big Sky Defensive MVP in 2010, first team in 2009 and 2010 as a linebacker & honorable mention in 2008 as a linebacker; Brown was second team in 2012 & honorable mention in 2013 as a safety; Raynes was third team in 2015 as a safety; Zamora was first team in 2016 & honorable mention in 2014 as a linebacker; Havili was second team in 2017 as a defensive end; Fettig was third team in 2018 & 2017 & honorable mention in 2016 as a safety; Ledbetter was honorable mention in 2018 and 2019 as a defensive tackle).
More on EWU Returning Offensive Players
Besides Eric Barriere, Gunner Talkington was the only player of the three to throw a pass in 2020-21, all when he made the first start of his career versus Cal Poly and finished with career highs for completions (6), yards (132), touchdowns (2), rushing yards (14), long rush (14) and total offense (146). He has completed 26-of-56 passes for 325 yards and four touchdowns in his career. He's seen action this season against Central Washington, completing 5-of-9 passes for 58 yards.
Andrew Boston returns for his junior season after catching 26 passes 391 yards and three scores in 2020-21. A freshman All-America selection in 2018, Boston has 127 receptions for 1,812 yards and 14 touchdowns (13 receiving, 1 rushing) in 34 career games (26 as a starter) as an Eagle.
Talolo Limu-Jones now has 44 games of experience (11 as a starter), and has 101 career catches for 1,706 yards and 15 touchdowns – an average of 17.3 per reception (currently sixth in school history). He has averaged a touchdown every 6.7 career catches. Jones has had 10 receptions of at least 40 yards in his career, including six as a junior in 2019 and three more in the abbreviated 2020-21 campaign. Limu-Jones earned second team All-America honors in 2020-21 from three organizations. He ended the regular season with three-straight performances with at least 140 receiving yards, and had a least a 66-yard catch in all three games
Also returning to the receiver position are Roberson and Anthony Stell Jr., a pair of former high school teammates who were impressive as redshirt freshmen in 2019 and then developed into standouts in 2020-21. Roberson started six games, finishing with 33 grabs for 470 yards and three touchdowns, and also had a 42-yard touchdown rush. He now has 20 games of experience (10 starts) in his career with totals of 56 receptions for 758 yards and four touchdowns, with a pair of 100-yard receiving performances. Stell had four starts in 2020-21, and finished the season with 17 catches for 282 yards and three scores. He now has 22 catches for 323 yards and three scores in his 20-game career.
Senior Johnny Edwards IV did not play in the 2020-21 winter/spring season. He now has 38 games of experience (12 as a starter), and has career totals of 54 receptions for 850 yards and seven touchdowns. As a junior in 2019, he was third on the team with 32 catches for 553 yards (17.3 per reception) and three scores.
Eastern also has a trio of experienced tight ends, led by returning starter Dylan Ingram. Mostly used as a blocking tight end, the junior has 34 games of experience (nine starts), and has caught eight passes for 99 yards and three scores in his career.
Sophomore Aiden Nellor is also back with 20 games of experience as an Eagle and two career catches, as well as redshirt freshman Blake Gobel. Gobel now has 13 games of experience, and has 10 career catches for 106 yards and five touchdowns after leading the tight end corp with four receptions for 26 yards and two scores in the 2020-21 season.
The running back position returns a pair of seniors in Pierce, the returning starter, and Merritt. Both returned from injuries to earn All-Big Sky honors in the 2020-21 season and help keep the Eagle offense productive.
Pierce, forced to redshirt in 2019 while recovering from a knee injury at the end of the 2018 season, started six of the seven games he played in the 2020-21 season to earn first team All-Big Sky accolades. He finished the season with a team-high 462 yards rushing with five touchdowns and an average of 5.4 yards per rush. He also caught eight passes for another 31 yards, and had his first career 100-yard rushing game with 105 and two scores versus Northern Arizona.
Pierce now has a 5.98 career average per rush which currently ranks sixth in school history (Merritt is fifth at 6.1). Pierce has rushed for 1,476 yards and 23 touchdowns in 46 games as an Eagle (six as a starter) with 21 catches for 138 yards and another score.
Merritt also returned to be highly productive in 2020-21 after suffering a serious lower leg injury versus Lindenwood on Sept. 7, 2019, and missing the remainder of the season. He earned All-Big Sky Conference honorable mention after playing in all seven Eastern games (one as a starter) as a running back. He had 287 yards and four touchdowns rushing for EWU, and caught another 10 passes for 123 yards and three more scores. He scored a team-high seven touchdowns, including three in EWU's final regular season game versus Idaho. He passed the 1,000 career rushing yards mark against Central Washington and now has 1,039 career yards (6.1 average per rush) and 10 touchdowns rushing, and another 23 catches for 329 yards and five scores in 39 games (four as a starter). Merritt has also averaged 20.7 yards on 30 career kickoff returns.
Sophomores Silas Perreiah and Micah Smith also return after seeing action in both 2019 and 2020-21. Perreiah played in EWU's first three games in 2020-21 and then missed the rest of the season. He has now played in 13 career games, and has 268 yards rushing with a touchdown, and three catches for seven yards and another score. Smith has played in 15 Eagle games in his career and has 204 yards rushing and a score, plus four catches for 34 yards.
Sophomore Isaiah Lewis now has a total of 10 games of experience as an Eagle, he played in two games early in the 2019 season and had 64 yards and a touchdown rushing versus Lindenwood, but shortly after that left the team. As a redshirt freshman in 2018, he played in three games and had 52 yards. He has appeared in both Eastern games this year, collecting two catches for 28 yards.
The biggest priority for EWU in 2020-21 was replacing four starters on the offensive line, a group which had combined for 193 games played and 141 starts in their careers through the 2019 season. One of the new starters was senior center Conner Crist, who now has 31 career games of experience and 11 starts under his belt. He recovered a fumble in the endzone against Central Washington for his first career touchdown, just the fourth offensive lineman in EWU history to score a touchdown.
Entering his seventh season with the Eagles, Tristen Taylor, a Stockton, Calif., native and a 2015 Stagg HS graduate, has started all 49 games he's played in. Last year, he helped Eastern rank third in total offense in the FCS with an average of 522.7 yards per game. Eastern was also fourth nationally in passing (366.7) and eighth in scoring offense (37.7). The Eagles led the FCS in total offense during the regular season. Taylor missed the last 12 games in 2018 with a knee injury, but has started all 21 Eagle games since then. He had started 28-of-28 games as an Eagle until the season-ending injury kept him out of the lineup on Sept. 22, 2018, versus Cal Poly. He could establish new school records for games played (55, Shaq Hill, 2012-14) and games started (52, Chris Schlichting, 2016-19). Already a four-time All-Big Sky selection, Taylor enters the 2021 season with the most starts on the offense and the most overall.
Wyatt Musser now has 34 games worth of experience in his career with 10 starts. Junior tackle Matt Shook was injured in 2019 and did not play, but returned to start all seven games in 2020-21 and now has 17 games worth of experience with seven starts.
The fifth starter back from 2020-21 is Wyatt Hansen, a freshman who has started all seven games he played as an offensive guard. Sophomore Brad Godwin started the other two games in 2020-21, and now has 16 total games of experience with two career starts.
More on EWU Returning Defensive Players
Anthany Smith is a returning starting safety and had a stellar season in 2020-21 to earn first team All-Big Sky honors. The junior finished with a team-leading 44 tackles in six games played (all as a starter). In EWU's last regular season game versus Idaho, Smith had 17 tackles -- equaling the 19th-most in school history. He made his starting debut earlier in the season versus the Vandals (2/27/21) and had 10 tackles, a pass broken up and a 71-yard interception return for a touchdown which was the 18th-longest in school history. Smith has 71 career tackles, three interceptions and three passes broken up in 24 games (six as a starter). Smith played in just three games in 2019 before being lost for the season with an injury and has not yet played in 2021.
Junior Keshaun King started EWU's first four games in 2020-21 before starting safety Calin Criner returned, and King finished with 33 tackles on the season. In the second game versus Idaho, he had nine tackles and his first career interception that led to EWU's game-winning score. King now has 45 tackles and an interception in his 23-game career (four as a starter).
Tre Weed and sophomore Darrien Sampson were both seven-game starters at cornerback for EWU in the 2020-21 season. Weed, honored on the All-Big Sky Conference second team, has now played 25 games as an Eagle (20 as a starter). He has career totals of 70 tackles, three interceptions and 10 passes broken up.
Sampson finished with 13 tackles and a pair of passes broken up in 2020-21, and has now played in 23 career games (12 starts). A former high school teammate of wide receivers Anthony Stell Jr. and Freddie Roberson, he now has 36 tackles, two interceptions and four passes broken up as an Eagle.
The fifth starter back in the secondary is nickel back Marlon Jones Jr., who saw action in all seven games as a redshirt freshman and started four times. He finished the year with 17 of his 24 tackles in EWU's last three games, including a pass broken up in the final game of the year versus North Dakota State. He also played in three games in 2019, and he now has a total of 11 games of experience (five starts) and has a career total of 32 tackles.
Also back for the Eagles in the secondary is 2019 starting cornerback Darreon Moore, now a junior. Moore has played in 26 career games (seven as a starter), and has 41 tackles with three passes broken up and a sack. He played in just one game in the 2020-21 season and one in 2021 so far.
Arizona State transfer Ely Doyle provided a big boost in 2020-21 for Eastern after playing in five games in 2019 for the Sun Devils. He had 36 tackles in six games played to rank fourth on the team, including no tackles while playing sparingly in EWU's opener versus Idaho. But he quickly bumped himself up the leaders list, with 30 tackles during EWU's four-game winning streak. He also had two passes broken up in the 2020-21 season, and missed the rematch against Idaho which extended EWU's winning streak to five. In two games this season, he has eight total tackles including one for loss to bring his total to 44 in eight games with the Eagles.
Jack Sendelbach, a three-time team captain, and Graham headline a linebacker corp that includes five returning letterwinners. Graham was also a co-captain during the 2020-21 season when the University of Idaho transfer was playing his first collegiate games after a stretch of 833 days without.
Sendelbach finished with 33 tackles to rank sixth on the team despite playing in just three games. An Eagle since the fall of 2015 when he redshirted, Sendelbach now has 195 tackles in his 40-game career (19 as a starter), and has had 10 performances in double figures. He also has five career sacks, 17 total tackles for loss, four fumble recoveries and three forced fumbles.
Graham had 42 tackles after starting all six of the games he played as a linebacker to earn honorable mention All-Big Sky honors. Graham had a then career-high nine tackles in his Eagle debut versus his former team, then in the rematch played just the first series versus Vandals before being lost for the season with an injury. The local product of Cheney (Wash.) High School played in 27 games at Idaho and had 133 tackles, 2 1/2 sacks, an interception, two passes broken up and a forced fumble in those three seasons for the Vandals. His father, John, is EWU's former defensive coordinator. In Eastern's season-opener at UNLV, he had a career-high 14 tackles for his first performance in double figures.
In two games with the Eagles in 2021, he has 20 total tackles, four for loss, a pass broken up, and one interception that he returned 43 yards for his first career touchdown.
Also back at linebacker is junior Cale Lindsay, who had 16 total tackles in seven games in the 2020-21 season. He made the first two starts of his career that season, and now has 54 tackles in 27 career games (two starts) along with three tackles for loss.
Now at linebacker is Warren, who transferred to EWU in 2019 from the University of Washington. He played in EWU's opener against his alma mater in 2019, but missed the rest of the season. In the 2020-21 season, he also played just one game as a starter at end before being lost for the remainder of the season. Thus, entering 2021 he had played in only two games as an Eagle (one start) and has four tackles. In his 31-game career as a Husky, he had nine tackles, 1 1/2 sacks, a forced fumble and caught a 2-yard touchdown pass.
On the defensive line, freshman end Brock Harrison returns as a 2020-21 starter, as does Joshua Jerome and freshman tackle Jacob Newsom. Jerome earned honorable mention All-Big Sky honors.
Jerome started all seven of Eastern's games and had 41 tackles to rank third on the team, and also had a team-leading three sacks and a pair of quarterback hurries. He has played just 23 career games (nine as a starter), but already has 90 career tackles with 6 1/2 sacks, three quarterback hurries, a pass broken up, a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.
Harrison took over as the starter at an end position in EWU's second game of the season and finished with a team-high five quarterback hurries to go along with 15 tackles. He's played in a total of 13 career games as an Eagle and has 23 tackles. Newsom also started all seven games as a tackle, and finished with 22 tackles in his debut season. He has two sacks, a pass broken up, a quarterback hurry and 26 total tackles in his career.
Four other returning lettermen are back with starting experience, including junior Caleb Davis who missed the entire 2020-21 season. He now has 47 tackles and a pair of sacks in 24 games (three as a starter), including 21 stops and one sack as a sophomore in 2019.
Junior Debore'ae McClain started once as a defensive end in the 2020-21 season and finished with 12 tackles in seven games. He now has 38 stops in 36 career games, including 1 1/2 sacks.
Sophomore Emmanuel Osuoha is the only other non-freshman returning, and was a linebacker in the winter/spring. Osuoha had a pair of tackles in six games played and now has 10 career stops in 11 games played.
More on EWU Returning Special Teams Players
Besides kicker Seth Harrison, sophomore punter Nick Kokich and sophomore long snapper Cody Clements return with two years of experience under their belts.
Harrison made the first 12 field goal attempts of his career, and is now 22-of-29 for .759 accuracy which currently ranks second in school history. The career leader is Tyler McNannay, who was 11-of-12 (.917) in his two-year career from 2014-15. He is also 85-of-90 kicking extra points in his career and has a 54.5 kickoff average (eight touchbacks). Harrison became just the seventh Eagle in school history to have at least three career field goals of 47 yards or more, and just the fourth with two of at least 50 yards. There have been just 44 total field goals of 47 yards or more and 22 of at least 50 all-time at EWU. This season, he is 4-of-8 kicking field goals and 10-of-10 on extra points. In the 2020-21 season, he was 6-of-9 kicking field goals, 25-of-27 on extra points and averaged 59.9 per kickoff (two touchbacks). Harrison ended his debut season in 2019 as the FCS leader in field goal percentage, and was the only kicker in FCS with at least one field goal attempt per game to make all of his field goals. He was 30th in field goals with an average of 1.09 per game) and earned Freshman All-America accolades. Twice Harrison kicked four field goals in a single game.
As a true freshman in 2019, Kokich made his season debut four games into the season and has held the punting position ever since. In 2020-21 he averaged 39.2 yards in 20 punts, with five downed inside the opponent 20-yard line and two of at least 50 yards with a long of 55. He averaged 39.0 yards in 2019, and now has a 39.2 career average with 16 downed inside the opponent 20-yard line and a long of 59 to equal the 38th longest in EWU history. His longest this season is 56 with an average of 41.3.
Eastern Now 59-0 Since 2010 When Winning the TO Battle
In the last 13 seasons (2008-20/21), the Eagles are now 68-1 when they've won the turnover battle, 24-9 when they've been tied and 25-35 when they've lost (total of 117-45). The last time EWU lost a game when it won the turnover battle came in the 2009 FCS Playoffs at Stephen F. Austin when EWU had two miscues and forced four in the 44-33 loss.
Thus, EWU is 59-0 since 2010 when they've won the turnover battle, 21-9 when they've been tied and 23-28 when they've lost. That's a collective record of 103-37 (73.6 percent), with 28 of those 37 losses (76 percent) coming in games EWU has lost the turnover battle and 57 percent of EWU's wins coming when they've won the turnover battle (77 percent when including ties).
In 2020-21, EWU opened the year by falling to Idaho 28-21 after losing the turnover battle 2-1. Eastern beat Northern Arizona 45-13 on March 6, but also lost the turnover battle in that one, 3-0. Eastern beat Idaho State by both score (46-42) and the turnover battle (3-2). Eastern won the turnover battle 2-1 against Cal Poly on March 27, but lost 1-0 at UC Davis in a 32-22 victory on April 3. The Eagles closed the regular season by registered two four-quarter interceptions – the only turnovers of the game – in a 38-31 win over Idaho on April 10. In the FCS Playoffs, the lone turnover was an Eagle interception on offense as North Dakota State won the turnover battle 1-0.
Series Notes
Eastern will play its first-ever non-conference meeting on the road versus Western Illinois in Macomb, Ill., on Sept. 18. Eastern was scheduled to play the Leathernecks at Roos Field in the fall of 2020, but the game was postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic and will be re-scheduled.
Entering 2021, Eastern is 10-15 all-time versus current members of the Missouri Valley Conference, having also not played Indiana State and Missouri State. Five of those victories (and no losses) came versus North Dakota when it was a member of the Big Sky Conference. Eastern is 1-3 versus North Dakota State, which has won eight of the last nine titles in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision.
Eastern's last games versus a MVC foe were both versus North Dakota State – a 42-20 loss in Fargo on April 24, 2021, in the first round of the FCS Playoffs, and a 38-24 loss on Jan. 5, 2019, in the 2018 NCAA Division I Championship Game. Eastern did beat North Dakota 35-20 on Sept. 28, 2019, in the final Big Sky match-up between the two schools.
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