Offense warms up at Red-White
It took some time, but the Eagles’ offense finally had its day.
Dogged throughout most of spring football drills by an aggressive, opportunistic and veteran defense, Eastern Washington University’s offense gathered a lot of things together Saturday afternoon and had its way in the annual Red-White game that played out under bright sunshine in Woodward Field.
Sophomore quarterback Matt Nichols completed 16 of 19 passes for 201 yards and one touchdown, and his backup, junior Alex Smart, threw for another 107 yards as Eastern’s top two offensive units dominated the defense 34-20 under a modified scoring system that didn’t matter in the game’s outcome.
“I wasn’t too concerned with how the points turned out,” first-year head coach Beau Baldwin said. “It’s hard to get (the scoring) exactly right when you’re going offense versus defense. What I was concerned about was cleaning up some of the sloppiness from the first couple of scrimmages, and I think we did.”
Nichols, the reigning offensive MVP of the Big Sky Conference, looked completely at ease with nearly everything the Eagles’ offense tried.
Still, the 6-foot-2, 220-pounder from Cottonwood, Calif., did nothing in the way of crowing about the dominance he and his offensive teammates displayed.
“Our offense was definitely clicking better today than we have the last couple of scrimmages,” he said. “We weren’t trying to do anything different. We were just trying to get used to what the defense was trying to do.
“They killed us the last two scrimmages, but we came out here today and did a little better. It was kind of a tradeoff. Today, we had their number, but on another day, they probably make us look bad.”
One thing that became apparent was the unprecedented number of skilled position players the Eagles will have available next fall, when they attempt to improve on last year’s 9-4 record.
Despite having three wide receivers – Tony Davis, Aaron Boyce and Jeffrey Solomon – and backup Nicholas Ramos sidelined by injuries, Nichols and Smart managed to find plenty of other targets. That included sophomore tight end Nathan Overbay, who caught eight passes for 91 yards; sophomore wideout J.T. Leggin, who finished with four catches for 72 yards; and sophomore Brynsen Brown, who had three receptions – including a 21-yard scoring pass from Nichols – for 43 yards.
It was enough to beg the question: Will there be enough footballs available next fall to keep everyone satisfied?
“I think the best thing about this group of guys and this offense is that it’s built to spread the ball around, and we have a great group of young men to do that with,” Baldwin said. “They’re mature, and they understand what we do as an offense – and how we do as a team – is much more important than how many catches one might get.
“So, we become tougher to stop, in my opinion, when more guys touch the football.”
Nichols also downplayed the potential problem.
“When you have four senior (to be) running backs who are all going to need their touches, a guy like Overbay and (backup tight end) Matt Martin – a couple of stud guys, who are going to be a force inside – and Brynsen Brown, who is a great athlete and makes all the play, it’s really nice for me,” he said. “And when we get our hurt receivers back – Aaron, Tony, Nick, Jeffery and Shane Hoffman – it should be even nicer.
“We’ve got six or seven receivers out, but even when they return, nobody is going to be worried about getting their 100 receiving yards. They’re all going to be more focused on getting the ball down the field and into the end zone.”
The Eagles, because of the inclement weather that forced the postponement of several scheduled practices, will hold three addition workouts next week before closing spring drills.
“I think we’ve come a long way, so far, and cleared up some of the sloppiness and communication things on both sides of the ball,” Baldwin said. “And we’re closer to being able to play a game. But these last three practices are going to be huge, because we’re going to be able to correct things that didn’t, maybe, go how we wanted during the scrimmage.”
Boyce has surgery
Aaron Boyce, an All-American sophomore wide receiver, underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his shoulder earlier this week and is expected to be sidelined for at least four more months.