With QB Kekoa Visperas questionable, Eastern Washington trusts it can turn to ‘fearless’ backup Jared Taylor

Just over a week before Eastern Washington’s most recent game, a 44-36 loss to Idaho, offensive coordinator Jim Chapin said he remembers quarterback Jared Taylor saying to him, somewhat offhand, that he was ready to go if needed.

“He looked at me and said, ‘Whatever you need from me, I got you,’ ” Chapin recalled earlier this week.

Turns out, he was needed sooner than later.

Depending on the health of Kekoa Visperas, the Eagles may need Taylor to start again this weekend, when the 21st-ranked Eagles (2-3, 1-1 Big Sky) play at Idaho State (1-4, 1-1) as both teams resume conference play following their bye weeks.

“He played fearlessly, which we anticipated,” Eagles head coach Aaron Best said of Taylor on Tuesday during media availability. “That’s what people do when they’re prepared.”

That word – prepared – comes up repeatedly when teammates and coaches talk about Taylor, the junior quarterback who transferred from Feather River College in California after the 2022 season. Taylor got his first start at Eastern Washington last time out, against third-ranked Idaho, when an upper-body injury prevented the redshirt sophomore Visperas from making his fifth start of the season.

Best said there is “a legitimate shot” that the Eagles might have Visperas back against the Bengals but that it depended on what Visperas could do in practice.

“I have a hard time, no matter who you are, not practicing during the week and then showing up on Saturdays,” Best said. “It usually doesn’t go well. You have to have some college game speed during the week to be at your best or near your best on Saturday.”

Taylor has been preparing to potentially make his second straight start as the Eagles try to get back to .500. But to an extent, that is always how Taylor prepares, Chapin said.

“I think what makes him special is he came here and his goal was to work as hard as he possibly could and be the starting quarterback and do what he did (against Idaho),” Chapin said. “For him, I know that’s the same goal. He’s going to continue to work every single day and maximize his output. … He’s going to continue to prepare like a champion.”

Against Idaho, Taylor rushed 22 times for 121 yards and scored twice while also completing 10 of 23 attempts for 92 yards and a touchdown. He didn’t turn the ball over – for the second straight game, no Eagles players did – and contributed to the team’s best single-game rushing output (226 yards) this season.

He was also part of a rare accomplishment: He and quarterback Michael Wortham rushed and passed for a touchdown in the same game.

“Truthfully, it’s special. It’s unique. I think it’s crafty. It’s just dynamic. There are a lot of words to describe it,” Taylor said of playing two quarterbacks at the same time. “When you’re able to have a kid who can run like that but can throw a touchdown, it’s hard to guard.”

Taylor was talking about Wortham, but he may as well have been talking about himself. Both demonstrated in junior college – Taylor at Feather River, Wortham at Sierra College in California – their dual threat capabilities, and they have both demonstrated them during their time at Eastern.

Wortham ranks third on the team in rushing yards with 134 and is tied for the team lead with three rushing touchdowns. He has also completed 4 of 6 passes for 38 yards and the touchdown he threw against Idaho.

Adding to the intrigue is the status of Visperas, who in his four starts this year has 1,057 passing yards and five touchdowns and 61 rushing yards. Visperas is listed atop the depth chart just as he has been all season, and on Tuesday Best inferred that Visperas was “Plan A.”

But Best also added that they have Plan B and Plan C, a nod to Taylor and Wortham, and Best expressed confidence in the trio.

“We’ve got three guys that can win games,” Best said. “We’re excited about that. The ability to put multiple guys on the field or a guy in a (specific) situation is something that only gives us an upper hand. … The more (Idaho State) has to prepare for, the more they have to spend time on it, and that provides a small advantage to us.”

After the Idaho game and again this week, Taylor said he recognized Eastern’s offense against Idaho didn’t look how it normally looks, considering Taylor ran almost as many times as he threw. The team’s 28 passing attempts – Wortham had five – were a season low, and only three times last year did the Eagles attempt fewer passes. With Eric Barriere under center in 2021, the Eagles never threw fewer than 31 times in a game.

But Chapin said that wasn’t determined so much by design as it was by the flow of the game and the reality that for most of the game running plays were effective.

“(It’s) always (true) in any game that things are going to get pivoted to what’s working, and we got a feel in that game for what was making Jared successful,” Chapin said. “We were going to push our chips all-in on that. Jared was really successful with the ball in his hand and we felt we could lean into that.”

But that doesn’t necessarily mean the offense will do so Saturday against the Bengals, whose defense ranks 11th in the Big Sky in yards allowed per game (473.2), 11th against the run (247.8 yards per game) and ninth against the pass (225.4).

“I threw less than I thought I would going into it,” Taylor said. “That first drive I scrambled a few times, the chains were moving. Pass plays were called, and I’ve definitely got to get better in the pass game, but also, me running the ball was working pretty well.”

As to whether the Eagles might still use Taylor in short-yardage situations even if Visperas is available, Best said he would defer to Chapin’s judgment. But Best also cautioned that what works one game won’t automatically work the next.

“We’ve got to be smart about those things, but we can’t overthink things, either,” Best said. “Just because it worked against Idaho two weeks ago doesn’t mean it’s going to work again in Pocatello against Idaho State.”

Regardless of whether or how much he plays against the Bengals, Taylor said getting to start a Division I game achieved one of his goals. Coming out of high school, he wasn’t sure if he was going to keep playing football. But he credited Lakewood (Washington) High School coach Dan Teeter for getting his film in front of as many junior college coaches as he could, and he credited Feather River coach Nick Goulet for doing the same thing to help Taylor get seen by Big Sky coaches.

When he got a call from Chapin during the recruiting process, Taylor was excited.

“Knowing it was only five hours from home, I had really big hopes it would lead to something,” Taylor said.

Half a season in, it already has.

“It definitely feels good (to start),” Taylor said. “It confirmed what I thought, that I could play at this level.”