Eagles defense sets the tone

It has been Eastern Washington University’s high-octane offense that has received the majority of media attention during the Eagles’ late-season run that has landed them in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.

But EWU coach Paul Wulff and his staff insist the biggest key to Eastern’s success can be found on the other side of the football.

“You don’t get this far with an average defense,” Wulff said Tuesday, prior to putting his Eagles (9-3) through a late-afternoon practice in preparation for Saturday’s second-round playoff matchup against two-time defending national champion Appalachian State (10-2) in Boone, N.C.

“Our offense, I know, has stolen a lot of the press, but it’s not all justified,” said Wulff. “This defense has been our catalyst down the stretch.”

Plagued by a rash of early-season injuries that dramatically depleted the secondary and forced several position changes, Eastern’s defense struggled to find an identity throughout September, giving up 517 yards and way too many points in a 41-31 home win over UC Davis and letting Big Sky Conference rival Portland State loose for 520 passing yards in a 28-21 home loss that cost the Eagles a share of the regular-season league title.

That following week, however, in a 24-23 road loss to eventual Big Sky champion Montana, Eastern’s defense seemed to find itself, limiting the Grizzlies to 14 first downs and 289 yards of total offense.

With the exception of a 42-7 non-conference road loss to Brigham Young University, it has been a model of toughness, togetherness and consistency ever since.

“I think they’ve played as good a team defense as we’ve played here for a long, long time – long before I became head coach,” Wulff said. “The kids have played as good a red-zone defense as anyone has ever seen here.”

In its last four games, Eastern has allowed an average of only 15.5 points per game and ranks No. 2 in the Big Sky in scoring defense (20.8 ppg). In last Saturday’s 44-15 rout of second-seeded and previously unbeaten McNeese State in the opening round of the playoffs, the Eagles limited the Cowboys to 312 yards and only one touchdown, McNeese’s first score coming on an interception return.

“I’d like to think we are,” defensive coordinator Jody Sears said, when asked if his defense is playing much better near the end of the season than it did in September. “But at the same time, we’re not going to reflect too much on how we’ve been playing.

“Our focus has always been on what we need to do to get better, and that’s where it’s at again this week.”

The biggest difference from past years, Sears said, is the leadership of his small group of seniors, which includes defensive backs Ira Jarmon, Anthony Dotson, Bryan Jarrett and Dezmon Cole and linebacker Jared Kuhl.

“All of those guys, collectively, have really come together as leaders,” Sears said. “They’ve developed some toughness within that core group, and they’ve taken no guff, so to speak. They’ve kind of fixed their eyes straight ahead and remained focused on the things we’ve emphasized the last three or four years, as far as how we want to develop and play defense and what our culture is going to be about on the defensive side of the football.”

That “culture” has been rooted in aggressiveness this season, and Eastern’s seniors – along with its all-junior front line of Jason Belford, Shawn Powell, Lance Witherspoon and Greg Peach, the Eagles’ only player named to the first-team All-Big Sky defensive unit – have provided the foundation for the Eagles’ new get-to-the-ball-anyway-possible approach.

“I think our defense has accomplished more, with less talent, than our offense,” Wulff said.

Peach, a 6-foot-2, 250-pounder, leads the team with 11 sacks, including two in last weekend’s win over McNeese State. Kuhl and Jarrett are tied for the team lead in tackles with 48 each, and sophomore safety Kevin Hatch has picked off a team-best four passes.

Wulff credits most of his team’s recent defensive stinginess to an undersized, but extremely active, front line that has allowed the Eagles to pressure opposing quarterbacks without having to resort to risky blitzes and stunts.

“Our defensive front has set the tone on defense,” he said. “We’re much, much more of a zone-concept team than we have been in years past, and it’s primarily because of our defensive line is now in position to control the line of scrimmage against both the run and the pass.

“They’ve done a great job, and they’re all underclassmen.”

Wulff and Sears praise the work of defensive line coach Malik Roberson for the improvement made up front.

“Malik has done a tremendous job with those guys,” Sears said of Roberson, who is in his eighth season as an EWU assistant. “From a pure production standpoint and pure fundamental standpoint, it’s mind-boggling how far our defensive front has come under the tutelage of Malik.

“He’s done it all, and that’s an understatement.”

Also appreciative of the contributions up front is Hatch, a 5-9, 180-pounder out of Freeman High School, who was moved from cornerback to free safety after senior-to-be Gregor Smith couldn’t go because of recurring shoulder problems and both redshirt freshman Ethan Robinson and sophomore Jess Hoffman were lost to season-ending injuries early in the year.

“It’s definitely a good feeling when you’re coming up to stop the run and the guy is already down,” Hatch said. “It’s not only a good feeling, but it also shows that our defensive line is doing a great job.

“They’ve got really good get-off. Coach Roberson has done a really good job with them up there, and that’s helped us a ton.”

Wulff also credits his defense with this team’s impressive turnover margin of plus-15, which ranks No. 1 in the Big Sky.

“When you look at us being one of the top teams in the nation in turnover margin, that’s huge,” he said. “And that starts with defense. That’s another stat right there that is directly related to winning ballgames.

“You start looking at how our defense has played throughout the season … I mean, they shut some people down. Most people, including the media, don’t realize that, but they’ve been the strength of our football team.”