August 13, 2008 in Sports

Eagles pick up pieces after Jones hurts leg

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The bad news is that Eastern Washington University will be down two projected defensive starters when it opens the football season Aug. 30 against Texas Tech. The good news is that the Eagles aren’t short on depth.

Football Championship Subdivision schools rarely have the luxury of well-stocked two-deeps, but the Eagles appear better equipped to handle an injury or two than most of their FCS counterparts.

Nose tackle Shawn Powell is out for the season with a torn ACL suffered before EWU opened fall camp. On Monday, probable starting cornerback Taiwan Jones went down with a fractured fibula. The injury won’t require surgery or a cast, but he’s on crutches and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks.

“It’s a non-weight bearing bone,” head coach Beau Baldwin said. “He just came down funny with a receiver going for a ball. The good thing is I feel very comfortable that he’ll be back early in the season. He’s been running with the 1s, but we have about five corners that are rotating and I feel very confident with those guys. I feel more for the player that gets injured, but as far as the team goes the next guy in has to be ready to go. That’s the way it is throughout the season. You’re going to have injuries and the next guy has to be ready to go.”

Jones, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound redshirt freshman, also was expected to contribute on special teams. Lonnie Hosley (eight games in 2007) and Ryan Kelley (five) both have starting experience at cornerback. Senior Adam Macomber and sophomore Dante Calcote also are in the mix.

“Taiwan has great ability,” Kelley said. “When he comes back he’s going to do some damage on the field. He has tremendous speed.”

Kelley said he is back to 100 percent after his scary bout with bacterial meningitis in March.

“I had the whole summer training, just to get everything out of my system,” he said. “I was still a little sluggish. Now, I’m fine. My ear (partial hearing loss) is still the same, but I’m still able to communicate and function right.”

Kelley, who was put into an induced coma during his weeklong stay in the hospital, said he received incredible support throughout the ordeal.

“I tip my hat to my coaches,” he said of the staff, several of whom joined the program in January when Baldwin was hired. “They’d only been around me for a maximum of 2-3 months and they were supporting me the whole time. (Defensive backs coach) Torey Hunter was in the hospital the majority of the time, (associate athletic director) Pam Parks, coaches, calls from alumni, support from my teammates, my family flew up. It felt good to feel like you’re among family.”

Minus Powell, Ray Falelaulii and Rennard Williams are among those bidding for playing time at nose tackle. EWU has returning starters at the other three line spots in seniors Greg Peach, Jason Belford and Lance Witherspoon.

“The biggest thing on both sides of the ball is eliminating the (practice) days where you come out and stay the same,” said Belford, who had seven of EWU’s 26 sacks last season. “You have to keep moving forward.”

Baldwin said he feels “really good about our 1s, 2s and 3s. It’s a fortunate situation and that to me has been built over time. Honestly, without good depth, I don’t think you can ultimately win a championship.”

Another function of EWU’s depth is that is gives Baldwin the option of redshirting most if not all of the newcomers.

“I don’t know yet if any will play this fall, which is fine just because we’re so deep coming back,” he said.

Notes

Senior center Charlie Wulff, nephew of ex-EWU coach Paul Wulff, said he talked to the first-year Washington State head coach the other day. “It’s not really weird (without Paul at EWU practice),” Charlie said. “It’s just different coaching, but the game is still the same.” … EWU practiced in pads for the first time Tuesday. The Eagles will have their first session of two-a-days today. … Linebackers Makai Borden (bruised knee) and Zach Johnson (hamstring) and offensive lineman John Rice (ankle) didn’t practice. Receiver Aaron Boyce, returning from off-season shoulder surgery, wore a blue “no-contact” jersey for precautionary reasons.

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