Big Sky exports: Former EWU, Idaho standouts making their mark across the country
Over the span of an eight-month offseason and three regular-season football games, Nate Bell went from No. 4 on Eastern Washington’s depth chart to starting quarterback.
Before Bell got his first start last weekend – a game the Eagles lost to Northern Iowa, 17-14 – EWU head coach Aaron Best pointed out that even last season, he would have felt good about lining up Bell behind center.
“Last year we had arguably four quarterbacks who could have played at any point during the game,” Best said a week ago. “I think four guys could have been the QB1 in this offense.”
It isn’t yet clear whether Jared Taylor will be back to face Western Illinois (1-2) for the Eagles (0-3) at 4 p.m. Saturday in Cheney. But so far this season, Best’s assessment has held up – even though two of those quarterbacks are now excelling in other programs.
The two quarterbacks to transfer – Kekoa Visperas to Tennessee Tech and Michael Wortham to Montana – aren’t the only former Eastern Washington players making their mark in a new program, either. And their Big Sky rivals, including their nearest one, can point to examples as well.
Off to a 3-0 start and a No. 12 ranking in this week’s FCS Stats Perform Top 25, Tennessee Tech owes much of its success to the play of Visperas, who across four seasons in Cheney and 26 games threw for 5,247 yards, 39 touchdowns and 14 interceptions and completed 69% of his throws.
He’s maintained that pace for the Golden Eagles, completing 68.2% of his passes for 736 yards, eight touchdowns and just one interception. Tennessee Tech has outscored its three opponents – NAIA Cumberland and FCS programs Chattanooga and Davidson – by a combined total of 182-31.
Wortham only attempted 16 passes in his two years with the Eagles, but he frequently operated out of the backfield, rushing 79 times for 582 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also holds the EWU single-season record for kickoff return yards with 1,093.
Montana has played just two games this season, but the Grizzlies have given Wortham seven carries, completed nine passes to him and had him return punts and kicks. He scored his first touchdown of the season in Game 1 against Central Washington on a 76-yard touchdown reception.
Eastern Washington will get a field-level look at Wortham when the two teams meet in Missoula on Nov. 8.
Without Visperas and Wortham, the other two quarterbacks Best was referring to – Taylor and Bell – have combined to complete 61 of 111 passes and have yet to throw for a touchdown. Both have been threats on the ground, though: Bell is Eastern’s leading rusher with 126 yards; Taylor is second with 111. Bell has rushed for three scores; Taylor has rushed for two.
“He settled in in the second half and trusted his athleticism a little bit,” EWU offensive coordinator Marc Anderson said Monday of Bell’s performance against Northern Iowa. “That showed up particularly with the scramble touchdown (run).”
While Visperas and Wortham transferred within the FCS, four Eastern Washington players entered the portal and later joined FBS programs.
They’ve had mixed success. Tight end Jett Carpenter has six catches in three games for Nevada. Running back Tuna Altahir has carried 12 times for 47 yards with Stanford. All-Big Sky safety Derek Ganter Jr., who transferred during spring practices, has played mostly on special teams for Boise State. And kickoff specialist Jackson Cleaver handled five kickoffs for UTEP against UT Martin on Sept. 6.
But the portal also has given some former EWU players the opportunity for more playing time at a lower level of the sport.
Wide receiver JT Weir, who played in two games across two seasons at Eastern, has caught 16 passes and five touchdowns in three games for Fullerton College in California. Running back Nick Adimora had just two carries in three years with the Eagles, but at Cerritos College in California, he has rushed 20 times for 101 yards and caught a touchdown pass.
“Those are my boys still,” EWU redshirt junior receiver Miles Williams said of his former teammates. “It’s good to see that kind of stuff always, past players doing their thing.”
Elsewhere in the Big Sky, former Idaho wide receiver Jordan Dwyer – who was part of an exodus from Idaho when Jason Eck left for New Mexico – has two touchdowns in two games for TCU.
Seven of Dwyer’s former teammates followed Eck to New Mexico, including linebacker Jaxton Eck, who ranks second in the Mountain West with 34 tackles. Quarterback Jack Layne is starting for New Mexico and has completed 56 of 84 passes for three touchdowns and three interceptions.
Others from across the Big Sky, like former Weber State running back Damon Bankston and former Montana State running back Scottre Humphrey, each All-Big Sky players a year ago, also found their way to New Mexico, which is off to a 2-1 start.
Their impact has been immediate: In New Mexico’s 35-10 victory at UCLA last week, Humphrey rushed for 49 yards and a score, while Bankston gained 203 yards from scrimmage and reached the end zone twice.
Eastern Washington last week turned to quarterback Nate Bell to replace an injured Jared Taylor, who had replaced last year’s starter, Kekoa Visperas.