EWU gets off to solid start in first scrimmage of camp
Considering there are major questions at quarterback, wide receiver and cornerback, Eastern Washington University’s first football scrimmage Thursday afternoon at Woodward Field went quite well.
Though it was short of perfect, there were more positives than negatives.
“For a first scrimmage I think it was pretty good,” head coach Paul Wulff said. “The blocking was fairly solid and I thought the tackling was pretty darn solid. It is not where we need to be, but I do think it is something we can definitely build from. And if we can build from this, I am going to be pretty darn happy when we get going.”
On the plus side, the defense was generally solid, although the inexperienced cornerbacks got burned on several occasions, the running game was effective, and the passing game produced good numbers.
Junior quarterback Chris Peerboom was 5 of 12 for 48 yards and an interception. Freshman Matt Nichols was 12 of 19 for 202 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
The touchdowns were 9 yards to Tyler Coleman and a middle screen that Nick Ramos turned into a 35-yarder. Both had long touchdown passes negated by quick-whistle sacks.
Third-string quarterback Alex Smart directed a 50-yard drive, capped by a nice 18-yard TD throw to true freshman Jeffrey Solomon. Overall, the passing game produced 303 yards.
“We are still struggling with the timing of our receivers and quarterbacks,” Wulff said. “The only way we are going to get that is by practicing. There are flashes, but we just need to become a heck of a lot more consistent.”
Peerboom and Nichols took equal snaps with both the first- and second-team offenses, so it’s hard to say break up the numbers put up against the No. 1 and No. 2 defenses.
“Half of it was scripted so our quarterbacks weren’t allowed to throw the ball down the field,” Wulff said. “We just wanted to get some situational things done. There was a little sluggishness, especially early in our passing game, and once we kind of got going you could see it pick up a little bit.”
The running game produced 104 yards, led by true freshman Jesse Hoffman with 32 yards on eight carries. He spent the week working at wide receiver.
There were five sacks, a blocked field goal by Keith Grennan, and interceptions by linebacker Shae Emry and safety Anthony Dotson. Backup cornerback Brett Igbinoba had seven tackles.
“It was a solid scrimmage for our 13th practice,” Wulff said. “I think there were some good things done on both sides of the ball. But, obviously, we are not where we want to be yet.”