Now here’s a switch

In theory, center was one of the positions up for grabs as the Eastern Washington University football team went into spring practice.

Chris Carlsen could have been considered the incumbent since he started the second half of last season. But he inherited the position, he didn’t earn it.

“Coming into the spring, I looked at it as I have a lot to prove,” the 6-foot-2, 260-pound junior-to-be said.

His progress can be judged today when the Eagles conclude their spring drills with the Red-White Game at 2 p.m. at Woodward Field. It will be a good test since the No. 1 offense and No. 2 defense are taking on the No. 1 defense and No. 2 offense. That pits Carlsen against big defensive tackles Keith Grennan and George Lane, who have been as impressive this spring as Carlsen.

“He’s had a very solid spring,” EWU coach Paul Wulff said. “He’s definitely improved since last fall. He’s definitely a leader for us. We want our centers to be a leader because they are a captain of the line. They run the ship.”

Last fall was strange for Carlsen, who was slated to start when his roommate, All-American Rocky Hanni, was switched from left guard to left tackle. But that didn’t work out for Hanni, and just before the season opener he was moved back, putting Carlsen on the bench.

“He had about 20 minutes to sulk,” line coach Aaron Best said. “It was one of the toughest things I’ve had to do as a coach, telling a kid who was having one of the best falls camps he’s not going to start. I told him the old cliché: ‘We’re going to need you down the road.’ “

Hanni said everything was fine at home.

“It wasn’t awkward,” Hanni said. “I think he understood that I played there last year and I deserved to play. At the same time, I felt bad because I couldn’t do what I needed to do to play tackle and that left him out.”

Carlsen understood.

“Whatever is best for the team, I was OK with that,” said Carlsen. “You put your best five out there. I had to be ready to step in if something happened.”

Before the first game was over, right tackle Chris Perkins was injured and Carlsen was back on the field. For the next five games, Carlsen switched to right guard and his other roommate, Matt Alfred, moved over a spot to tackle.

The switching wasn’t over. In the sixth game, senior center Kraig Sigler was injured and the first practice after that, his replacement, senior Randy Meade, went down. Suddenly Carlsen was the center and Alfred went back to right guard, eventually earning All-American recognition.

“I was nervous, I wasn’t scared,” Carlsen said of the quick transition. “There’s a lot of pressure on the center. I had to come in for extra meetings with the coaches because I wanted to make sure I did a good job.”

“My gut told me he would be fine,” Best said. “But there were critics on the staff that said they wouldn’t believe it until they see it.”

Wulff said the coaches were concerned but not panicked.

“We had confidence because he played guard,” he said. “It wasn’t about game experience as much as being experienced at center. There was a concern, but he handled his first start very solid and it gave us a lot of confidence he could play center.”

In the end, the moves and Carlsen’s quick response to them weren’t surprising. After all, his teammates call the mechanical engineering technology major “Business” because he is all business. That’s the player who once told Best his goals were to have more fun playing and smile more.

“I was recruited as a center,” said Carlsen, who is from North Kitsap, Wash. “I played center in high school and I worked at it in practice sometimes. I think (Best and Wulff) always had a plan I was going to be there.”

It just took awhile with two upperclassmen ahead of him.

“Early on, as a true freshman and redshirt freshman, Chris wasn’t playing center very well,” Wulff said. “We moved him to guard, he started playing a little more and his football confidence got better. With his football confidence better he is able to handle center.”

Once again the three roommates are slated to start together, although this time Hanni is moving to left tackle and will stay there.

“There is a lot of chemistry between us,” Carlsen said. “It’s a good feeling knowing what they’re thinking (when we go to the line). It’s a feeling that’s grown from being on the field and living with each other. It really helps.”

Julian Stewart, who is having a strong spring, is at right guard with Alfred injured. Bryan Smith is at left guard, where converted defensive tackle Harrison Nikolao, who had shoulder surgery, is expected to be.

“Reggie Ford, a junior running back out of Decatur High School in Federal Way, Wash., who moved to receiver, has left the team.