Eastern Washington adds six players on signing day
Since its second-round exit from the FCS playoffs in December, Eastern Washington’s football coaches have criss-crossed the West as they rounded out their recruiting class.
On Wednesday, six more players – all high school seniors – signed National Letters of Intent, bringing the Eagles’ class to 16 following those who signed during the early period.
“We are never done recruiting,” Eagles head coach Aaron Best said in a team release. “Our coaches did a great job of identifying some players that may have slipped through some of the cracks that were available, and we took advantage of the opportunity to bring them on campus and tell them our story.”
Of the six new signees, five are from Washington; the other is from California.
It is an offense-heavy group, with two running backs (Nick Admiora and Talon Betts), two offensive linemen (Bret Fullington and Tony Ortega) and one wide receiver (Wesley Garrett). Linebacker Myles Mayovsky, from Kennewick, is the lone defensive player.
That follows an even 5-5 offense-defense split among the 10 recruits who had already signed in this class. There are no quarterbacks among them, but the Eagles are expected to return five of those from their roster last season.
Overall, this is a smaller group than 2021 and 2020, when the Eagles signed 22 and 27 players, respectively. But with the “COVID sixth-year opportunity,” Best said, this is how it will be for the next four years.
“Whether it be a game during the season or a weekend in January, these players felt what we were all about and (they) want to be coached genuinely, authentically and transparently,” Best said. “That’s what we’re all about in the development stages of all of these high school seniors. We’re excited for each and every one of them.”
Nick Adimora
Position: Running back
High school: Mayfair (Long Beach, California)
Height/weight: 5-11/185
Head coach Aaron Best: “Nick smiled from ear-to-ear when he got on campus, and he is a special talent. He has three-down potential in terms of catching the ball in the backfield and protecting, but he can run the ball and is natural in his movements.”
Talon Betts
Position: Running back
High school: Rochester (Washington)
Height/weight: 6-2/180
Best: “He’s a Washington kid, and camps have always been something we’ve relied on to see players up close and personal. Talon did everything to help himself out in camps with his energy, running, and catching ability when we were able to evaluate him.”
Bret Fullington
Position: Offensive line
High school: Liberty (Issaquah, Wash.)
Height/weight: 6-6/320
Best: “Bret is a big individual that is going to be an inside and interior player for us and a guard. He comes from a school that wins, so that was intriguing in terms of following his progress his senior year in the fall.”
Wesley Garrett
Position: Wide receiver
High school: Kamiak (Mukilteo, Wash.)
Height/weight: 5-11/180
Best: “He is a productive receiver who does multiple things, not just a ball-catcher and a route-runner. He blocks and is going to work out in special teams just fine with returner capabilities.”
Myles Mayovsky
Position: Linebacker
High school: Kennewick
Height/weight: 6-1/205
Best: “Tri-Cities has been a place where we have found some really good players over the course of time here at Eastern, and we think that that is going to continue with Myles getting onboard and helping our linebacker and special teams unit out.”
Tony Ortega
Position: Offensive line
High School: Eastmont (East Wenatchee, Wash.)
Height/weight: 6-3/260
Best: “He has good size and he’ll have greater size once he gets to a college setting. He is a player that fits the mold of a player who may have been a little overlooked, but also is a player with untapped potential at that position, and he is giddy to get onboard.”