Clear reception

Air Force won the Sept. 11 football game 42-20, but at the start of the second half Eastern Washington was still in the game, trailing 28-13.

“There was a play against Air Force when it was fourth down, about fourth-and-8,” EWU junior wide receiver Craig McIntyre recalled. “I was in the huddle and the route was called for me. That let me know the coaches had confidence in that situation to come to me and Erik (Meyer) had confidence to throw to me. I caught it, found the chains and it was a first down. That stands out to me.”

McIntyre has had a number of crucial catches among his 19 receptions for the Eagles this year. He snared a 16-yard pass from Meyer in the first half against Air Force for his first career touchdown.

But having the confidence of his team means more than being in the end zone, because there are times when getting on the field seems hopeless for players such as McIntyre who start their careers without a scholarship.

“It’s a hole you feel like you’re in,” the walk-on from West Valley said. “You didn’t dig the hole, but you start out at the bottom of the barrel.”

On the real down days, he would reach out to family.

“It was very tough, especially those first two years when my parents and I were paying for school and I didn’t ever have a shot of seeing the field. At least that’s what it felt like to me,” McIntyre said. “There were some times I was really, really down.

“I have to thank my parents. There would be days I would call them and say, ‘Mom, Dad, I don’t know if I can do this anymore.’ They said, ‘We believe in you, we’ve seen what you can do. If you go out there and give all your effort, you’re going to be successful.’ “

He has had success. He is second on the team in receptions and yardage, with three touchdowns heading into Saturday’s 2:05 p.m. homecoming game against Sacramento State at Woodward Field.

“Most of the time if a kid has enough perseverance, if he’s got enough talent initially, he’s going to get out on the field and be a major contributor,” said Eagles head coach Paul Wulff. “That’s what Craig has done. He keeps battling and battling and each year he gets better and better. All those kids that end up battling like that eventually get on the field.”

If anyone understood McIntyre’s early struggles it was his position coach Keith Murphy, a former walk-on at Washington.

“When he was younger he did have a little dog in him,” Murphy said of McIntyre’s habit of giving less than his best every workout. “Everybody goes through it. The scholarship guys go through it, too, but especially a walk-on. … Every year I told him it was important to improve his attitude and get in the weight room.”

He did and the 6-foot-3, 165-pound freshman is now 195 pounds and faster.

“His work with (strength) coach (Darin) Lovat has been tremendous. You can see how much stronger he is getting off the line, getting in and out of breaks,” Murphy said. “The second thing is he runs perfect routes and he’s real smart.”

From one career reception to starter may seem like a leap, even before McIntyre was named the most improved offensive player in spring practice, but Murphy had an idea that McIntyre was going to contribute.

“He made a big catch (last season) at Idaho State,” Murphy said. “We had a couple of guys out … and he had to play in the crunch. He made a clutch catch. At that point I knew mentally he could handle all that.”

Then he won over his teammates.

“He showed that hard work to Erik Meyer,” Murphy said. “When I talked to Erik in the off-season he kept saying, ‘What about C-Mac? He’s busting his butt. He’s doing a good job.’ That told me he was doing the work he needed to do to get better.”

That justified McIntyre’s decision to pass on basketball scholarships from small schools after talking with his high school coaches, Tim Trout in football and Jamie Nilles in basketball.

“For some odd reason, I don’t even know why, I said I think I want to try to play football,” McIntyre said.

“We do have a lot of local kids who have come in and done very well,” Wulff said. “It’s neat for local (fans) to see kids continue to develop and help their local team win. All we’re doing is providing a great opportunity for kids to come out and make something happen, get involved in something fun.”

McIntyre is the latest example.

In the Eagles’ home opener this year the first play was a trick play with McIntyre on the receiving end of a 58-yard touchdown, a play he said made him feel like he belonged.

“Craig gives us a taller, bigger target,” Wulff said. “He’s played well. He’s caught the balls that have been close to him. The more balls he catches, his confidence grows. He and Erik have good feel, especially when Erik has to get out of the pocket and make things happen.”

It makes those phone calls home seem like a distant memory.

“My goal was always to be in the starting lineup, to be in the huddle with all those guys,” McIntyre said. “When it actually happened … I was proud of myself. I just stuck with it. I never gave up.”