Sky’s the limit

It would appear the Eastern Washington University football team has been rowing in circles since Paul Wulff became skipper. The Eagles have gone 6-5, 7-4, 6-5 and 6-5 since Wulff was elevated to replace Mike Kramer after seven years as an assistant. In the Big Sky Conference, Wulff’s Eagles have been 5-3, 3-4, 3-4, 3-4. But there are other numbers that indicate the Eagles have done more than float aimlessly about.

After his first year, when the Eagles played a pair of I-A bowl winners (Oregon State and Boise State) and a I-AA finalist (Montana) tough, Wulff and his staff have rebuilt the ship.

Only three starters returned on defense for his second season and only one offensive starter and eight seniors were onboard for his third. And last year he had just 12 seniors, including five as starters. Despite the challenges, the Eagles ran their streak of winning seasons to five.

Now those numbers are balancing out and expectations are rising.

This crew, picked to finish second in the Big Sky, returns 16 starters (nine on defense and seven on offense), 36 letterwinners (18 on each sides of the ball), a league-high 11 postseason all-conference picks and has balance in their classes, starting with 15 seniors and 17 juniors, all bigger and stronger.

“When you get older players in the program they are a little more seasoned, they’re stronger and they tend to stay healthier,” Wulff said. “We’re anticipating that with stronger and more mature players, the injury bug won’t hit us like it used to.”

The schedule would also seem to be in Eastern’s favor. Three of the first four conference games and four of seven overall are at revamped Woodward Field. Home games include Northern Arizona and Montana back-to-back, which could define EWU’s season. That’s providing the Eagles don’t continue their tendency to let a game or two slip away when they’re probably favored.

Maturity, knowing how to prepare and understanding expectations can help avoid that.

“Our program has to continue to build high expectations and we need to perform no matter who our opponent is each week,” Wulff said. “We have to set a standard and play at that standard and perform at that standard and not compare ourselves to anybody else other than the standard we set for ourselves.”

That means the Eagles should be poised to make a run at a league title and/or a berth in the I-AA playoffs, both goals last accomplished in 1997 when EWU reached the semifinals.

“We just want to go and play our best and don’t get caught up in anything other than that,” Wulff said of increased expectations. “As long as we play hard and we’re having fun and we’re playing to the best of our ability, that’s all I look at. Anything else doesn’t matter to me. The results will end up where they end up.

“Defensively, if we can take away their strengths and stop the run, that is our No. 1 goal,” Wulff said. “Offensively we have to ultimately run the football and be able to control the clock.”

Eastern allowed 162.1 yards rushing last year while picking up just 132.7, both fifth in the league. That really hasn’t been too far off the norm for the defense in recent years, but prior to last year EWU had a run of eight straight years with a thousand-yard back.

Wulff is confident his offense will return to form so the focus is on defense.

“We had a good offseason and they learned a new defensive system last year,” he said. “We expect this defense to be one of the best in the league, without a doubt. … This is the first time in a while where we have a defensive line back with a tremendous amount of experience.”

The same is true across the D. Linebackers Joey Cwik and Doug Vincent combined for 173 tackles last year and there are nine potential starters in the secondary.

The focus on offense has been replacing two prolific wide receivers and two lineman — actually three with center Randy Meade expected to miss as many as four games with a knee injury.

“We feel pretty good with the top guys,” Wulff said of his line. “We have some young backups we think are going to be awfully good players. … We’ll be in good shape.”

Depth should revitalize the running game. Senior tailback Darius Washington gets a second chance after receiving a medical redshirt year. He is the power to Reggie Witherspoon’s elusiveness. Sophomore Dezmon Cole and true freshman Toke Kefu also figure into the rotation.

“How we’re going to use them, I don’t know,” Wulff said. “With that kind of depth, hopefully they all mature and we can balance those reps out and we don’t have one back carrying maybe 20-30 times a game.”

Exactly how it plays out is questionable but, there is no doubt the captain has his crew ready.

“At this point, this group has the best chance that we’ve had to really set a standard that we can build off year in and year out,” Wulff said. “I’m confident. I think we have the pieces. As coaches I feel we can put them in right positions, it’s up to them to make the plays on the field. … They have to play at a level to go win a Big Sky championship. It’s on them now.”