Expectations reach new heights at Eastern
No. 4!
That’s pretty heady stuff for an Eastern Washington football team that has never been ranked higher than eighth prior to the first practice.
But the ranking from The Sports Network poll of media and sports information directors, generally considered the best barometer of I-AA potential, isn’t even the Eagles’ high-water mark of the preseason.
The website AnyGivenSaturday.com has ranked the Eagles third. Preseason magazines Lindy’s and Street & Smith’s rank the Eagles fifth and sixth, respectively.
“It’s motivational,” Eastern coach Paul Wulff said after The Sports Network poll was released Monday afternoon. “I think these kids are excited. I think they believe we are one of the best teams in the country. But no one will know until November and December. We are like a hundred or so other I-AA teams in the country. We’re eager to get started and prove it on the field.”
Just for good measure, the coaches and media both picked Eastern to win the Big Sky Conference, a first in school history and the first time since 1997 that Big Sky bully Montana hasn’t swept the voting.
However, the Grizzlies were picked third in the latest poll, with James Madison, which beat Montana in the I-AA title game last December, first and Furman second. Montana State at No. 18 was the only other Big Sky team to crack the Top 25. Portland State and Northern Arizona also received votes. Cal Poly, which is on the EWU schedule, is No. 17. Another late-season Eagle foe, Cal-Davis, was among the 27 teams that received at least five points.
Maybe the Eagles can bask in the limelight for a day or two, but that’s it.
Expectations shift from potential to reality this week with the start of practice. Rookies report on Wednesday and veterans hit the field on Thursday. Monday is the first day of full gear with two-a-days on Tuesday.
“Expectations are there very year,” Wulff said on the eve of his sixth season as head coach and 13th with the Eagles. “We have high expectations for ourselves, these kids have created that. Those matter the most, everything outside has no bearing on what we do or don’t do. What we do or don’t do is on our team; that has to be our focus.
“It’s great that people think we have a good program and a good team returning,” Wulff added. “But on the other hand it’s not a position we’ve been in before. We just need to look beyond that and stay with the principles that got us here.”
With 38 lettermen back, including 15 starters, the recognition was expected.
It came because the Eagles were no longer average. After five straight years of finishing 7-4 or 6-5, Eastern finished 9-4 last year, shared the league title with the Grizzlies and advanced to the second round of the I-AA playoffs.
That included a couple of amazing November wins. The Eags closed the regular season by beating Montana State 51-44 in overtime to clinch a tie for the Big Sky title. They rallied from a deficit that reached 31-10 in the opening minutes of the second half. At top-ranked Southern Illinois to open the playoffs they scored 28 points in the second half, the last touchdown coming with 1:49 left, to win 35-31.
However, the sting of two defeats – a three-point home loss to Montana when a game-tying 28-yard field goal attempt was blocked in the last minute and a fourth-quarter meltdown against Sam Houston State in the playoffs – should keep the Eagles motivated.
And it’s not as if the team is without concerns.
Asked to list the top three priorities in the weeks leading up to the season opener at San Jose State on Sept. 3, Wulff said: “Development of our offensive line is critical, finding some kids that can contribute and help us there; finding depth in our defensive line; and our kicking game.”
Despite losing just seven starters, both lines lost a pair of all-league performers. And the kicking game, despite the anticipated return of both starters, was anything but overwhelming last year.
Besides the Montana game, Eastern could have finished off SHSU if a 37-yard field goal wasn’t blocked with 43 seconds remaining – making the Bearkats’ touchdown on the last play of the game meaningless instead of producing a 35-34 win with the extra point.
Junior Sheldon Weddle is the kicker and he won’t be looking over his shoulder at backup Skylar Allen, who has decided to concentrate on academics. Weddle may have to punt because Ryan Donckers is out indefinitely.
Weddle, Donckers, backup tight end Anthony McCarty and backup wide receiver Kyle Long were in a scary car accident this summer returning from the wedding of tight end Tim Calhoun. Long suffered a knee injury and will miss the season.
“We have to see who we’re going to be confident with as a punter,” Wulff said. “Ryan gets his halo off Aug. 20. Once that happens we’ll see where we’re at.”
Besides Weddle, backup wide receiver Brett Bergstrom is a possible replacement.
“There is a kid or two on campus we may be talking to,” Wulff added.
The offensive line lost tackles Michael Roos, who was the second-round draft pick of Tennessee, and Paul Terrell. Rocky Hanni, an All-American guard as a freshman, moves into Roos’ spot with Zach Wasielewski penciled in at right tackle. Chris Carlson is the expected starter at left guard.
End Tom Finnerty and tackle Brandon Myers are gone from the D-line. Harrison Nikolao, a potentially dominating former starter and versatile 300-pounder who also played offensive guard last season, is the tackle with Jason Belford getting first chance at end.
“It’s time to get to work,” Wulff said. “We have a lot of people who have to step into new roles… . Those are good players we have to replace.”
There is another note of caution that should help keep this team focused.
In 1986, when the Eagles were No. 8 in the preseason poll produced by members of the I-AA Football Committee, they also had 15 starters. But despite the experience of making the second round of the playoffs and finishing 9-3, that team stumbled to a 6-5 record.
That’s a route the Eagles don’t want to follow despite starting in the same place.