Eagles lose backup QB for season

Matt Nichols and Alex Smart are battling again, and though the stakes might not be quite as high on a personal level they’re much higher for the fifth-ranked Eastern Washington football team.

Just two weeks after Nichols beat out Smart to be the third-string quarterback, prompting Smart’s move to receiver, the competition has resumed. This time Nichols and Smart are competing to back up All-American Erik Meyer.

The competition is the result of backup Chris Peerboom having season-ending surgery on his right index finger. The redshirt sophomore out of Beaverton, Ore., injured his throwing hand when it hit a helmet after releasing a pass in the loss at San Jose State.

“I told the guys I may wait until Thursday to decide,” Eagles offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Beau Baldwin said after Monday’s practice. “I’m going to split reps between Matt and Alex the next two days. By Thursday I’ll have an idea, but the next two days I’ll definitely let them compete.”

The No. 3 quarterback rarely, if ever, plays. Meyer and Peerboom are the only quarterbacks to play last year. Smart, who is from North Bend, Wash., redshirted. That was the plan for Nichols, who is from Cottonwood, Calif., this year, even though he would travel with the team.

“I would like Matt to redshirt, but if he’s the second best QB based on our evaluation we’ve got to have him ready to play,” Baldwin said. “Alex has been great. Alex’s attitude is he’s going to do whatever is best for the team.”

Peerboom played in seven games as Meyer’s backup last year. He threw 21 passes, seven coming when he played the second half of a 51-7 romp at Weber State.