Eastern Washington football puts its (Aaron) Best foot forward for spring practice

Eastern Washington football coach Aaron Best and six of his assistants really did spend three nights in a Gainesville, Florida, garage last month.

Call it male bonding with a higher purpose : the betterment of EWU football.

Their host was former Eastern player and current Florida coach Jim McElwain, who provided blowup mattresses, Southern hospitality and a wealth of football knowledge. That was the main attraction for Best, who took over the Eastern program barely two months ago from Beau Baldwin.

“We learned a myriad of things,” said Best, who gleaned valuable knowledge from McElwain on the jump from assistant to head coach. Meanwhile, Best’s assistants talked schematics and recruiting with the Florida staff.

“We took back a lot of fruitful information,” said Best, who also has relied on Baldwin for advice since the changeover on Jan 21.

The practicum begins on Tuesday, when Best presides over his first spring practice at Roos Field.

He’s already making a few tweaks. The biggest is that the Red-White Spring Game on April 29 will be a real game instead of a glorified scrimmage.

Also, the spring game will mark the end of spring drills. There will be no added practices.

“Our brains will be fried by that time anyway,” Best said.

Certainly, Best’s mind has been on overdrive since the longtime offensive line coach was promoted to his dream job on Jan. 21.

Since then, he’s been tasked with preserving a standout recruiting class, hiring five assistant coaches and preparing for spring ball – all while trying to stay focused on the big picture.

Good luck with that.

“The biggest challenge is that someone always wants to talk,” Best said. “You’re about to go into a meeting, and someone asks, ‘Do you have a second?’

“I’m not really surprised, but the whole time management piece is a big part of this job.

“The biggest adjustment is that you spend more time in your office, the emails and the phone,” said Best, who added that he appreciates “how much the head coach deflects” for his assistants.

The next step for Best will come on Tuesday. For a decade and a half, his practices began and ended in the south end zone, with the O-linemen. Now Best will be surveying the entire field.

He should like what he sees. The Eagles will have about 85 players in spring drills, including 56 returning letterwinners and 14 starters from a team that went 8-0 in the Big Sky Conference and 12-2 overall.

Quarterback Gage Gubrud – the Big Sky’s co-Offensive Player of the Year along with graduated wide receiver Cooper Kupp – is back to run the offense.

Gubrud will be protected by a veteran line and supported by a solid running game. The defense, much improved from the year before, returns seven starters.