Heedful high hopes

Stratospheric preseason expectations can sometimes weigh on a college football team.

Beau Baldwin realizes as much.

But the first-year Eastern Washington University head coach is convinced his team is mature enough to deal with such lofty prospect as it prepares its encore for last year’s 9-4 season that culminated in a 38-35 road loss to eventual national champion Appalachian State in the second round of the NCAA Championship Subdivision Playoffs.

The Eagles, who open fall camp Friday with a 9 a.m. session for newcomers and a 2:15 p.m. workout for returning players, have been ranked as high as fifth in the preseason FCS polls published by various magazines, news organizations and Web sites.

While Baldwin admits to putting little stock in such rankings, he knows they can have a detrimental effect on some players who buy into them.

“Players have to understand that those preseason rankings are based 90 percent on what a team has done in years past, and that 2008 is a new season that will have nothing to do with how we did in 2007,” he said. “Fortunately, I feel like we have a very mature group of players – with great leadership in our senior and junior classes – that do understand that.

“They’ve already shown me, through their off-season work ethic, that they do. Sure, they’re excited about the new season and a chance to build on what they accomplished last year. But they understand it’s going to be one day at a time again this fall and that what they did in 2007 isn’t going to automatically bring success in 2008.”

Baldwin expects about 65 veterans and 20 newcomers to report for the three weeks of fall practice leading up the Eagles’ Aug. 30 season opener at Texas Tech.

Among them will be junior quarterback Matt Nichols, the Big Sky Conference’s reigning MVP, who threw for 3,744 yards and school-record 34 touchdowns as a sophomore.

Also returning is Nichols’ favorite target, junior wide receiver Aaron Boyce, who is expected to be at full strength this fall after undergoing off-season shoulder surgery.

Baldwin said his practice priorities this fall will mirror, to a certain extent, those of last spring when he first took over the Eastern program after spending last season as the head coach at his alma mater, Central Washington University.

“More than anything, we want to strive to get better each day,” he said. “Be it spring or fall, you have start out teaching fundamental things, which sometimes become easier for players to lose track of as the season approaches.

“Even though we have a lot of experienced players coming back, we need to continue developing guys at every position – not only through two-a-days, but throughout the season, as well.”

Baldwin added that his offensive line, the position that suffered the biggest graduation hit in the spring, continues to be a major concern.

“And it’s not just a young deal or anything like that,” he said. “It’s just that those guys up there need to know each other and play together as a single unit as well as any group on the team.”

The Eagles will practice in pads for the first time Tuesday and have morning scrimmages set for Aug. 16, and Aug. 22.

Powell suffers ACL tear

Shawn Powell, a 6-foot-1, 250-pound senior and projected starter on Eastern’s defensive line, will most likely miss the season after suffering a freakish knee injury earlier this week.

According to Baldwin, Powell injured his knee when he landed awkwardly after stepping off an incline at his home.

He was later diagnosed with a torn anterior cruciate ligament that will probably require surgery.

“That’s a real blow,” Baldwin said of the expected loss of Powell, a Shadle Park High graduate who was an All-Big Sky Conference honorable mention choice after starting 12 of EWU’s 13 games last fall. “I really feel for Shawn. He’s a great young man who loves the sport and loves Eastern. It was heartbreaking to hear the news.”

If Powell is unable to play this fall, Baldwin said the university will look into petitioning the NCAA for an additional year of eligibility for the fifth-year senior, who redshirted during the 2004 season.