Weber RB Chournos was a special kind of player
There are always players on opposing teams you come to admire for the way they play and the things they accomplish.
Weber State running back Nick Chournos is of one of those.
The bruiser torched Eastern Washington for 194 yards and three touchdowns last year and threw a back-breaking touchdown pass for good measure.
This year, obviously hobbled by injuries, he managed just 81 yards but battled until the end of a 51-7 whipping.
That’s why it was disappointing to see the season end for the Wildcats’ all-time leading rusher prematurely.
Late in WSU’s season finale, fighting for yards on a screen pass that ended up gaining one yard, Chournos was leveled by a clean hit that broke his ankle.
Before Portland State coach Tim Walsh talked to the media after the 34-15 win, he said, “Nick Chournos has had a tremendous career here. And to see it end that way, our whole team felt for him. I definitely want to make sure he understands he has our respect. Great kid. Great player.”
No doubt the Eagles would second that.
More bad news
It was also sad to see Jerry Graybeal resign after Weber’s 1-10 season, the school’s worst.
“The administration wants to move on in a different direction to see if they can’t find that consistency when it comes to winning,” he told The Ogden Standard-Examiner. “Our football program, historically, has struggled with that bottom-line consistency.”
Graybeal, a long-time assistant at EWU, was 32-46 in seven years. Just last year he was the Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year after going 8-4 and received a new contract from then athletic director John Johnson, former A.D. at Eastern
“It just appears we’re not moving forward, we’re not progressing,” said new athletic director William Weidner, who just started his job last week. “This year, for us to drop off as much as we had – even with injuries – I felt that we dropped far below expectations.”
Graybeal’s contract was a three-year deal with the final year as an option. Weidner said WSU will honor the second year of the contract but would not exercise the final year.
Graybeal can remain at Weber for one year as assistant to the athletic director, but he said he would be interested in another coaching job.
His assistants will be paid through the end of the year and are expected to keep recruiting.
“I will require of whoever our finalists are, and ultimately whoever we select, that they must interview all of our assistants,” Weidner said.
That includes offensive coordinator J.D. Sollars; defensive coordinator Rick Redden; receivers coach Ray Williams, who coached at Eastern; running backs coach Steve Correa, who played for the Eagles; and Tom Everson, who coached at Idaho.
Among the names thrown out to replace Graybeal are Washington State assistant Robb Akey, UTEP assistant Lawrence Livingston, former Weber State coach Dave Arslanian and former Utah coach Ron McBride.
Quick kicks
Another coach in limbo is Washington secondary coach Jimmy Lake, who joined the Huskies this season after playing and coaching at Eastern. … Montana is looking to claim at least a share of the Big Sky title for the sixth straight season and 10th time in 12 years by beating Montana State in the 104th meeting, now called the Brawl of the Wild. … For the seventh time in 12 years, both UM and MSU have winning records entering the game, something that only happened nine times from 1897 to 1992. … Portland State, Idaho State and Sacramento State all face teams Saturday from the new Great West Conference, which is 6-5 against the Big Sky this year. … Sacramento State wide receiver Fred Amey caught eight passes for 106 yards against Montana to replace former Idaho great Kasey Dunn as the Big Sky’s all-time leader in receiving yards with 3,906. Dunn, who is still No. 1 in receptions with 268 – 29 more than Amey – had 2,843 yards. … Amey will join Eastern offensive tackle Michael Roos in the Shrine Game in January. … NAU punter Paul Ernster is set to become the second straight Lumberjack to lead the nation in punting with his 48.1 average. Mark Gould led I-AA last season.