Eastern Washington linebackers enjoy running downhill

This is the sixth of an eight-part series on spring football at Eastern Washington. Today: the linebackers

Miquiyah Zamora is gone, but he’s still offering pointers to the returning Eastern Washington linebackers.

Among other things, says Eagle assistant coach Josh Fetter says that film shows “how hard he played and defeated blocks.”

That’s a point of emphasis this spring for the Eagle ‘backers, who are facing more run offense in practice than in years past.

“If you see more run, you should in theory get better at defending the run,” said Fetter, who’s in his seventh year coaching the Eagle linebackers.

The Eagles did that last year, settling into coordinator Jeff Schmedding’s 4-2-5 scheme and giving up 193 rushing yards per game (down from 253 in 2015).

“There’s less reacting now,” junior Alek Kacmarcik said. “Going into the third year, guys are playing downhill.”

However, opponents still picked up 4.6 yards per carry, so there’s room for improvement.

The Eagles employ middle (“Mike”) and strongside (“Sam”) backers in their base scheme. The departure of Zamora (109 tackles last year) at the Mike spot leaves Fetter with several players who can play at either spot.

The heir apparent in at Mike is redshirt junior Kurt Calhoun, a 6-foot-2, 225-pounder from Zillah, Wash.

Playing with the first-unit in last week’s first scrimmage, Calhoun made the play of the day with an interception of All-American quarterback Gage Gubrud.

Also in the mix are juniors Ketner Kupp (6-0, 225) and Kacmarcik (6-1, 225), who figure to split time on the strongside as well as see action in the middle.

Both saw heavy action last year; Kacmarcik finished with 82 total tackles and Kupp had 67.

“We’re just trying to lead by example,” said Kupp, adding that he likes to play the run. “When it’s third and short, you know you can pin your ears back and go.”

Andrew Katzenberger, a 6-1, 225-pound sophomore is contending for playing time in the middle and classmate Jack Sendelbach (6-3, 225) is doing the same on the strongside.

Two local players are competing this spring: sophomore Roy Hyatt (6-2, 200) from Mead High School and Conor McKenna (6-1, 190) from Gonzaga Prep.

“We’re developing a lot of depth,” Fetter said.

Coming up: part seven, the secondary