EWU looks inward for immediate help
The confidence Paul Wulff has in his Eastern Washington football program is reflected in the Eagles’ 2006 recruiting class.
Of the 20 players who signed a letter of intent on Wednesday, 19 are high school seniors, despite the need to fill two key positions from the team that made school history last season.
The Eagles shared the Big Sky Conference title and returned to the I-AA playoffs, the first time Eastern accomplished that in back-to-back seasons despite seven consecutive winning seasons, the last six with Wulff as head coach.
“The players already in the program really need to step up,” Wulff said.
That doesn’t mean some of the newcomers won’t help carry on Eastern’s winning tradition.
Four of last year’s 13 seniors were wide receivers that played in 156 games (74 starts) and caught 503 passes for 7,858 yards and 74 touchdowns. Two more were cornerbacks that played in 85 games (69 starts) with 16 interceptions, 65 passes broken up and 287 total tackles.
“Our biggest needs were at the skill positions,” Wulff said. “We lost so many receivers and defensive backs, particularly at the cornerback spot. Those were areas of concern, and we wanted to make sure we had some young players that we could groom in the program instead of having to resort to the junior college route.”
The Eagles signed three players at each position, including junior college wide receiver Shane Hoffman.
“We just didn’t find players we were really, really comfortable with,” Wulff said of picking up just one JC player. “There are a few players out there still, and our recruiting isn’t done. We’ll still look at a few from now through the summer. We’ll keep our ears open and see what pops up that can fill our needs.”
Hoffman’s brother Jesse, a running back from Shorecrest High in Seattle, is one of the headliners in the freshman class. The 6-foot-2, 200-pounder rushed for 2,222 yards and 37 touchdowns last fall.
Another highly regarded recruit is 6-foot, 180-pound cornerback Will Edge out of Mount Tahoma in Tacoma.
Overall, 15 of the 20 players are from Washington and eight were all-state as seniors.
Four local players also signed, including two from State 2A champion Pullman: fullback J.C. Sherritt and wide receiver Ashton Gant.
The other two are from the Greater Spokane League: East Valley defensive lineman Tyler Jolley and Lewis-Clark defensive back/linebacker Ethen Robinson.
The Eagles also picked up another brother combination. Joe Beitinger, an offensive lineman out of South Kitsap, is the younger brother of Eagles basketball player Jake Beitinger.