Garske Becomes A Pawn

The next time Mike Kramer drops the word “loyalty” on the collective consciousness of his football team, the players might want to ask for the definition.

For Eastern Washington University’s football coach has distended, if not distorted, the concept with a bold bit of December chess at the quarterback position.

It may turn out to be brilliant. It may be a new standard in square-shooting. It may be the best tonic for a team and for a young man who no longer has one.

At the moment, however, it doesn’t seem like any of those things. Perhaps it’s just the season.

In any case, the chess: Checking in is Fred Salanoa, a gifted transfer from Snow College who signed his letter-of-intent on Wednesday and is already penciled - chiseled, rather - in as EWU’s 1999 starter.

Checkmated is Griffin Garske, a junior from Spokane with four years invested in the program, 17 career starts to his name and an open invitation from Kramer to find a new school to play for - or stay at Eastern with no hope of playing another down. None. Not even in an emergency.

“He feels for some reason that the best part of my game is gone - that I can’t get any better,” Garske said. “I don’t buy that.”

Checkmated, as well, is Scott Mitchell, the only other quarterback in the program with varsity experience. He’s already bounced to Western Washington.

So what’s going on? Discipline problems? Somebody allergic to the weight room? Bad attitude? Bad actor?

Not even, insisted Kramer.

Bad player.

“We just don’t believe Griff is the guy we can win with at quarterback,” Kramer said. “It’s really that simple.”

Hmm. With just eight seniors on the roster, the Eagles went 5-6 this year - respectable, you’d think, if not acceptable. Garske threw for 2,219 yards and had a quarterback rating of 137.29, 20th-best in the nation. Statistically, then, 100 other Division I-AA teams would love to have him.

“But we did an extraordinary job as a coaching staff getting him those 2,200 yards,” said Kramer. “We literally tore ourselves apart on the inside to get him to that point. There were several instances when we were just shaking in our boots, getting to where we just considered ourselves average at quarterback.”

No argument here. Kramer and his guys are the ones burning holes in their corneas studying video and wearing out greaseboards with game plans and fine-tuning technique on chilly practice fields. Surely they were good enough at it that we couldn’t see the marionette strings stretching from the press box to Garske’s fingers.

It was because they were so intent on coaching up Garske, I presume, that they forgot to call the running plays which would have won the Montana game and possibly changed the whole season.

Sorry. The point here is that there’s plenty of blame to go around, but that it seems to have come down in one spot.

“You get used to that,” said Garske.

“Coach Kramer is going to speak his mind to the press, whether it makes a player look good, bad or indifferent. He wasn’t real kind to me or some other guys in the newspaper, but our relationship off the field was fine.”

And it still is, mostly.

Though he’s still working through the shock of being told his quarterbacking days at EWU are over, Garske admitted to admiring Kramer’s up-front approach. That Kramer first told him his full scholarship would get cut back to tuition and then backtracked doesn’t earn him any sensitivity points, but since when is football for the sensitive?

“At least he did it right away and didn’t lead me on through spring ball,” Garske said.

But he’s confused, and rightfully so.

Let’s go with the assumption that Garske is a better quarterback than EWU’s two returning redshirts, Lance Hattemer and Chris Samms. If he’s not, then Kramer did this year’s team a disservice by not playing one of them. And if he is, isn’t he doing next year’s team a disservice by not keeping Garske around in case Fred Salanoa breaks his leg in the first scrimmage?

Maybe. Garske said a couple of assistant coaches told him they’re not in tune with Kramer’s thinking on the subject.

“He’s already had his chance to compete for the job for three years,” Kramer reasoned. “Every time we sent him out there, it was always with some angst on our part.

“Griff does everything else the way you want it done. He’s a hard worker, a credit to his school and his family. But from the hand hold to the end of the play, he’s not dependable enough for us. That doesn’t mean I don’t love the kid.”

Pretty tough love.

Pretty tough game.

“If you don’t make personnel decisions to increase the quality of your football team, then you’re not going to last,” said Kramer. “It’s something I learned having been fired on a staff at Montana State. And it’s something I learned here from Dick Zornes. He used to make it clear - players get one year and if they don’t get better, they get out of the way.”

Fine. For freshmen. For a guy with four years invested, it’s not so fine. And if it took Kramer four years to figure out Garske isn’t the answer, well, it’s too bad the kid wants to play so badly that he won’t stick around just to eat up some of EWU’s groceries.

Not that anybody’s owed a chance to play. They are owed a chance to compete. Does Kramer say otherwise in recruits’ living rooms?

In any case, Garske will probably try to improve his luck next year at Western Oregon or Central Washington, wishing his former teammates - and coaches - the best and telling himself everything happens for a reason.

“It’s either going to make him look great,” Garske said of Kramer’s brazen move, “or bite him in the butt.”

Giving Kramer the benefit of the doubt, the Eagles just upgraded. Still, they might be poorer for it.