Preview #2 - Eastern Washington

Change of plans. I know I promised a preview on ISU, but instead am going to focus on Eastern.

Eastern Washington
'05 Record (7-5, 5-2)
'05 Rating - A-
Starters returning: 6 off, 6 def, 2 spec
Letterwinners returning/lost: 39/21

2005 Review:
Last year's Eagle squad featured one of the most profilic QB/WR tandems in the history of the Big Sky. QB Erik Meyer won the most prestigious award an offensive player can win in I-AA, the Payton Award. Meyer would throw for 3,616 yards in the regular season, including 26 TDs and only 5 INTs. A big part for his success was the play of Payton watch list WR Eric Kimble. Kimble would haul in 78 receptions for 1264 yards during the regular season, including 10 TDs. Together, the Erik to Eric combo would lead to 201 completions, 3,169 yards and 35 TDs in their careers. This high-powered offense would finish 2nd nationally in passing yards, and third in total offense. Transfer standout Ryan Cole would add 879 more yards on the ground, with 14 scores. Defense would be the ultimate demise for the Eagles, though they were not a bad bunch by any means. But they did blow a substantial lead in the first round of the playoffs to UNI, losing in the final minutes to eventual I-AA National Champion runner up, Northern Iowa. They would finish 61st overall in total defense. This team truly had the tools to be a NC contender, but slipped up in a harsh environment at the Panther Dome. This was the most exciting team to watch in the Big Sky for two years straight, and I know I for one will miss seeing the Erik to Eric combination, no matter how devastating they were to my beloved Bobcats.

Key Losses: QB Erik Meyer, WR Eric Kimble, WR Craig McIntyre, WR Raul Vijil, LB Joey Cwik, CB Jesse Hendrix, FB Lars Slind,
Key Players Returning: OG Matt Alfred (1st/2nd team All-America), S Bryan Jarrett (1st team BSC), RB Ryan Cole (2nd team), Tim Calhoun (2nd team), S Brandon Keeler (2nd team), OG Rocky Hanini, LB Nick Denbeigh, LB David Eneberg, K Sheldon Weddle, RB Dale Morris, RB Toke Kefu, QB Chris Peerboom, DT/OG Harrison Nikolao
Transfers: WR Shane Hoffman (Orange Coast CC)

2006 Outlook:

Offense:
Without sounding like a broken record, the obvious question here is how do you replace a Payton winning quarterback, and a 1st team All-American wide receiver? The answer is simple - you don't. Meyer was one of the best pure passers in I-AA history and it will be a long time before another QB like that graces the Sky. But the shelves are certainly not empty over in Cheney. Star running back Ryan Cole will return for his senior season, where he saw great success last year as a first-year player in the BSC, transferring from I-A Oregon State. With two quality OL back, as well as the move of Harrison Nikolao to OG, the running game should be more than adequate. Dale Morris was impressive in his debut season as an Eagle, and look for him and Cole to pound defenses. Losing BSC 2nd team FB Lars Slind won't be easy, but the offensive line should prove enough to overcome that. So with a decent line and a quality backfield, what do the Eagles do for a passing game? The quarterback position is up for grabs, as all three competing players have looked average to good during the spring. Junior Chris Peerboom is the only one with experience as an Eagle, but saw very minimal time behind Meyer. Others competing for the job are a pair of redshirt freshman, Matt Nichols and Josh Powell. Unfortunately, no one has stood out in spring practice. Nichols played well in the 2nd scrimmage, but tossed 3 INTs in the final scrimmage, although he had 3 TDs to go along with those. As far as I can tell, the job is still wide open, with maybe a slight nod going to Peerboom on experience in the program alone. The receiving corp is also very inexperience. Except for junior Tyler Coleman, who caught 22 passes last year, only one other letterwinner returns. Charles Searcy will switch from DB to WR, where he played in junior college. Beyond that, there are some redshirt freshman that will compete. JC transfer Shane Hoffman will most likely not play this year. But the Eagles do return a 2nd team BSC selection, in TE Tim Calhoun, who has garnered BSC honors twice in his two fully healthy seasons, though he isn't used much as a receiver.
Grade - B-

Defense:
There is plenty of experience returning on the Eagle defense, but lost a lot of their talented players to graduation (Cwik, Hendrix, etc). The secondary looks fairly strong, as it returns 8 letterwinners there, but the play has to be elevated. A pair of talented safeties look to make things happen, in Bryan Jarrett and Brandon Keeler. Jarrett had a great year last year, his first as an Eagle, and earned first-team honors. There are plenty of players who saw action last year, but did not start. They will have to step it up to replace a talented secondary from last season. Linebacker is a position that is going to have to step up in a big way. Two honorable mentions return, but losing Joey Cwik will be huge. Nick Denbeigh and David Eneberg both had good seasons last year, but will have to emerge as leaders on this young Eagle defense. Consistency will be the key, as the Eagles defense played awful in their four losses last year, and great in their 7 wins. Defensive line will be young and untested, but there are some potentially great players coming in in Lance Witherspoon and Gene Piffero, both sophmores. The line will be anchored by a pair of seniors who both played sparingly last year. Overall, there are a lot of question marks on a defense that was underrated last year, but they have yet to prove that they are as capable as last years group.
Grade - C+

Overall Grade - B-

Final Thoughts:
Head coach Paul Wulff has built a very successful program at EWU, and he has done it the old-school way - molding high school recruits. He hasn't relied on transfers as much as most I-AA schools. He has shown that you can still be successful by teaching young players. He has built a solid program that has had winning seasons every year since 1999. While replacing Meyer and Kimble will be an arduous task, I think there is enough talent in the wings to have another winning season, even if just 6-5. I think the Eagles will finish middle of the pack; there is just too much talent in the rest of the league for this young, rebuilding Eagle squad to take the crown. But that certainly doesn't mean you should count them out...