Eastern Washington football redshirt freshmen ready to put lessons to use

Xavier James must be the luckiest redshirt freshman at Eastern Washington.

Usually that’s an oxymoron – what former high school football star wants to sit on the bench? – but James had something special going for him last fall.

He got pointers from Cooper Kupp, who not only set every major receiving record in college football but also pointed to way for others to succeed.

Kids like James, who never played a down last year.

Instead, James played the sponge, absorbing hits on the scout team but also some valuable lessons. So did the other 11 redshirt freshman at Eastern, but they weren’t getting tips from the best receiver in school history.

“I knew I wasn’t going to play last year,” said James, a three-star recruit from Arizona who hopes to play for real this fall. If he does, he can thank Kupp.

“He did everything right, and he made sure you did it right, too,” James said during practice Wednesday at Roos Field.

“Even if you didn’t think you did something wrong, he would point it out to you. He was such a great example for us,” said James, who also learned by watching 1,000-yard receivers Kendrick Bourne and Shaq Hill.

“I have to put that into my craft,” James said. “I have to stand out, catch every ball, beat the corners, work hard, know my playbook and stay focused.”

Do all that and James is likely to see the field for the first time since the fall of 2015. That’s an eternity when you’re 19.

“It’s a humbing experience,” said Conor McKenna, an all-state linebacker who helped lead Gonzaga Prep to a State 4A title in 2015 but redshirted last fall.

“But I learned a lot from redshirting, getting used to the speed of the game. Now I have to prove myself and play the game I know I can play,” McKenna said.

Like James and McKenna, offensive lineman Connor Crist made the most of his redshirt year.

“I knew from watching games that everything was going to be a lot faster,” said Crist, a three-star recruit from Tigard, Oregon, who hopes to see action at guard this fall.

“There’s so much to look for with blitz pickups and coverages, but I’m embracing it,” Crist said.

Notes

Continuing its rivalry with the Missouri Valley Football Conference, Eastern Washington University will play its first games against Western Illinois in 2020 and 2021, Eastern athletic director Bill Chaves said.

The Eagles and Leathernecks will meet on Sept. 12, 2020, in Cheney. The return game will be played on Sept. 18, 2021, in Macomb, Illinois.

The Eagles are 5-12 against current members of the MVC, including a 40-38 home loss to Youngstown State in last year’s FCS playoffs.