Quarterback A Big Hit As Eagles Scrimmage
The blow came just a few plays into Saturday evening’s scrimmage at Woodward Stadium. The helmet of a defender cracked against the outside of Harry Leons’ planted right knee.
There was some initial pain from the impact, but nothing even resembling a grimace on Leons’ face.
“Actually, I was smiling afterward,” admitted Leons, Eastern Washington’s senior quarterback, who underwent surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in the knee last December. “I took a shot and the knee held up. I was happy about that.”
So Leons went on to celebrate by putting on a passing clinic that highlighted the Eagles’ first full-contact scrimmage of fall camp.
Working with both the first and second-string offensive units in long-field, red-zone and two-minute-drill situations, the 6-foot-1 senior completed 21 of 31 passes for 221 yards and three touchdowns.
Leons’ performance was remarkable, considering he had not been in a game-type situation since injuring his knee in Eastern’s fifth game last fall.
“The first time you play live action again, you’re going to run into a lot of different situations you don’t anticipate,” Leons said, when asked to evaluate his progress. “But overall, I think it went pretty well. I’m not content with where I’m at, but I’m not discouraged, either.”
Eagles coach Mike Kramer was even more upbeat - not only over Leons’ sharp, crisp passing, but Griffin Garske’s, as well.
Garske, who took over for Leons as a redshirt freshman last fall, completed 10 of 19 passes for 124 yards and two TDs in Saturday’s scrimmage.
“I really felt like the tempo and timing of our quarterbacks was something we needed to evaluate and something that looked pretty darned impressive to me,” Kramer said. “Both of them were very accurate and poised under pressure.”
Kramer said he was particularly impressed with the way Leons and Garske moved the No. 2 offense against the No. 1 defense.
“That’s indicative of good quarterbacking,” he said. “I don’t know if we’ve got a dilemma or not, but I do know we’ve got two darned good quarterbacks.”
The scrimmage was the last the Eagles will have prior to Saturday night’s 6:35 season opener against Rocky Mountain College in Woodward Stadium.
Starting defensive end Steve Mattson and backup defensive linemen Adam Chambers and Jonas DeWeber were held out of the 90-minute scrimmage after suffering concussions during practice earlier in the week. Offensive linemen T.J. Ackerman and Justen Wochnick also watched from the sidelines while continuing to recuperate from off-season knee surgeries.
, DataTimes