2023 Offseason and Spring

[Obzerver]

Yeah was wondering how things are going....really going..cause we'll hear the standard phrases. I went over the entire roster and what really stood out was the number of defense players that came in with a couple years experience under the belts. Hadn't heard of most of the transfers from D1 schools and many JC players. The ones i didn't know of looked at what I could from previous schools and even high schools and have to say was impressed. Mainly defensive players from what I saw...many db's. So hopefully many pan out but can see some help on special teams getting downfield and with experience could help from the get go. Feels like there are a couple of gems at DT's but need a solid 4/5 and we know the injuries at that position seem to dog us. Never have been optimistic defensive wise but looks like they worked hard bringing in new players with experience. Gonna give em a chance. Let's gooooooooo!

 

[luckyintheorder]

Yeah was wondering how things are going....really going..cause we'll hear the standard phrases. I went over the entire roster and what really stood out was the number of defense players that came in with a couple years experience under the belts. Hadn't heard of most of the transfers from D1 schools and many JC players. The ones i didn't know of looked at what I could from previous schools and even high schools and have to say was impressed. Mainly defensive players from what I saw...many db's. So hopefully many pan out but can see some help on special teams getting downfield and with experience could help from the get go. Feels like there are a couple of gems at DT's but need a solid 4/5 and we know the injuries at that position seem to dog us. Never have been optimistic defensive wise but looks like they worked hard bringing in new players with experience. Gonna give em a chance. Let's gooooooooo!

I did a little checking on the players coming in the SR article spoke about and they seem solid, especially like one of the DE's who looks a lot like Ebukam. There is some size at DT , which concerned me when we lost a couple to transfer portal and their motor is better than mine :rofl: so think the adds should help too. Incoming LB's (transfers and freshman) have good body types and look the part. If Copp can figure out how to use the overall speed of that group to disrupt, it won't be the paloose posse but can cause some TO's which is all the O needs. More possessions, more possessions, more possessions is my mantra of the moment. I think the O can score at will in the BigSky (feel like I sound like Dopa). Thought Copp was gone to Northwestern but haven't seen any more on that front. Can't play scared on D with the players the Eags have IMO. If they are on their heels, Eags are not winning games. Hope Copp leveraged the attention to get more freedom to run the defense the way he see's fit.

Did we know Schmedding was DC at WazzU? I did not.
[media]https://twitter.com/SchmeddingJeff[/media]

edit: just checked the WSU coaching staff and Nick Edwards is the WR coach and JC Sherritt is an analyst too... Good for them.

 

[luckyintheorder]

Random thought:

I think Wulff, Meyers and Plemons can win 5 games this year at Cal Poly. They also have an alum coaching WR's who was in the NFL for several years. Pretty solid staff. Just saying.

 

[Obzerver]

Lucky, as always good stuff. I'll be danged but can't find SR article on players coming in...appreciate it if you'd post that (and any other ones you come across). NDSU three weeks today and other than lucky don't have a feel where we are.

 

[luckyintheorder]

Lucky, as always good stuff. I'll be danged but can't find SR article on players coming in...appreciate it if you'd post that (and any other ones you come across). NDSU three weeks today and other than lucky don't have a feel where we are.

The Eagles added eight transfers to their roster over the summer, including four front-seven defenders, a running back and three offensive linemen.

The defensive reinforcements are particularly noteworthy.

Redshirt junior Caleb Oppan was originally a three-star recruit and started his career at Duke, where he played minimally in 2021 before reportedly stepping away from football for medical reasons in 2022. He could give a boost to a defensive front that barely had enough healthy players to compete in the Red-White Game last spring.

Da’Marcus Johnson, another senior transfer, played in 29 games at Fresno State over the past three seasons in a reserve and special teams role. The 6-foot-4 defensive end could also provide an infusion to a spot where the Eagles rotated in a number of players last season.

Senior linebackers Ben Allen (Bucknell) and Adam Cohen (UCLA) elevate the experience level of a group that was young a year ago.

Allen was a team captain for Bucknell (a Patriot League member) and tied for second on the team with 83 tackles. He was named second-team all-league. Cohen played in two games for the Bruins last season and eight overall in his four years at UCLA.

Junior running back Malik Dotson is a transfer from Feather River (California) College, where he played with EWU quarterback Jared Taylor, who participated in spring ball. The 6-foot, 200-pound back rushed 114 times for 1,057 yards and 21 touchdowns last season, and also caught 11 passes for 233 yards and three TDs.

Originally from Lakewood (Arlington, Washington) High – where he played with Taylor – Dotson’s role on the offense will be interesting to follow. The Eagles return their top three rushers from last year in Tuna Altahir, Justice Jackson and Micah Smith.

There are also three new offensive linemen, with redshirt sophomore Brock Gunderson (BYU), junior Dillan Misa’alefua (San Mateo in California) and junior Aidan Corning (Butte College, Simon Fraser) joining a group that is consistently among the team’s strongest position groups.

 

[Obzerver]

Thx Lucky. Hope that freshmen def. tackle works into a great player. Jirah Leaupepetele is 6'3 322lbs(give or take) and could plug that middle up. Was in Vegas last week and went by Allegiant Stadium a few times and brought great memory of two years ago..9/2/2021..in the first collegiate D1 game there vs UNLV in dbl OT win. Think they played there before Raiders did.

 

[luckyintheorder]

OK.

https://goeags.com/news/2023/8/16/football-eagle-defense-looking-to-prove-itself-in-2023.aspx

https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2023/aug/10/ewu-linebackers/

Why is the Spokesman printing an article about adding 4 coaches when they were added way back in February? Wasn't sure what I was looking at for a moment,

 

[luckyintheorder]

Eags had some kind of scrimmage Monday... anyone see it?

https://goeags.com/news/2023/8/21/football-eagle-offense-shows-efficiency-in-monday-scrimmage.aspx

 

[LDopaPDX]

One week away. I think the team will be a lot better this year, but man, the season is gonna be a tough one.

Eastern must get out of September at 3-2 to have a realistic shot this year, and none of those games are easy. I have no doubt NDSU will still be awfully good, Fresno State down there will be rough. I'd love to say one of those is winnable, but both would be substantial upsets. I have no idea what SELA has, but I think we can expect UC Davis and Idaho to be fairly challenging.

Getting off on the right foot, win or lose, is going to be crucial. We can't immediately throw the season away with 3+ losses in September.

 

[LDopaPDX]

I guess one potential good thing is that it sounds like the offensive and defensive philosophies have changed enough that teams aren't going to have a lot of useful film on us. Maybe that helps swing things in our favor, or maybe it creates a situation where Eastern has to do a lot of learning on the fly.

 

[EWURanger]

How's the QB play looking for anyone who's seen any of the scrimmages?

 

[LDopaPDX]

How's the QB play looking for anyone who's seen any of the scrimmages?

Perfectly fine. I think the run/pass balance will be more apparent this year than in years past. The fact is Eastern actually has a handful of pretty good RBs, and I think this'll be a year where they're getting good use. Expect to see more heavy formations.

 

[luckyintheorder]

How's the QB play looking for anyone who's seen any of the scrimmages?

Perfectly fine. I think the run/pass balance will be more apparent this year than in years past. The fact is Eastern actually has a handful of pretty good RBs, and I think this'll be a year where they're getting good use. Expect to see more heavy formations.

QB play will be superior to last year.

Sounds like the D played up yesterday per the article. Couple of names are Laulu and Blakely... It was important for the defense to show some improvement. Hope it pays off come gameday. These are good, high level FCS bodies Eags really needed on that side of the ball. Read it for yourselves here: https://goeags.com/news/2023/8/26/f...rap-up-fall-camp-with-youthful-scrimmage.aspx

Best was using some new language. Guessing it's the new AD's "voice".

May be up there for the SELA game. I can see Eags winning that one . I don't see Eags winning next week or at Fresno, but if they can stay healthy, work out the bugs on new OL and DL; Eastern can be ready to take on UC Davis, SELA and Idaho.

All hope is not lost.
[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iftzlUI4Ix4[/media]

 

[EWURanger]

How's the QB play looking for anyone who's seen any of the scrimmages?

Perfectly fine. I think the run/pass balance will be more apparent this year than in years past. The fact is Eastern actually has a handful of pretty good RBs, and I think this'll be a year where they're getting good use. Expect to see more heavy formations.

QB play will be superior to last year.

Sounds like the D played up yesterday per the article. Couple of names are Laulu and Blakely... It was important for the defense to show some improvement. Hope it pays off come gameday. These are good, high level FCS bodies Eags really needed on that side of the ball. Read it for yourselves here: https://goeags.com/news/2023/8/26/f...rap-up-fall-camp-with-youthful-scrimmage.aspx

Best was using some new language. Guessing it's the new AD's "voice".

May be up there for the SELA game. I can see Eags winning that one . I don't see Eags winning next week or at Fresno, but if they can stay healthy, work out the bugs on new OL and DL; Eastern can be ready to take on UC Davis, SELA and Idaho.

All hope is not lost.
[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iftzlUI4Ix4[/media]

This was my main concern going into last year. The defense is always what it is - we hope to have something passing as serviceable most seasons. But last year was the first season that I could remember for a very long time where Eastern didn't have an elite-level QB to run the offense. I haven't seen a ton of Visperas but hopefully he can fit the mold of an Eastern QB. I like that he seems pretty mobile.

 

[luckyintheorder]

How's the QB play looking for anyone who's seen any of the scrimmages?

Perfectly fine. I think the run/pass balance will be more apparent this year than in years past. The fact is Eastern actually has a handful of pretty good RBs, and I think this'll be a year where they're getting good use. Expect to see more heavy formations.

QB play will be superior to last year.

Sounds like the D played up yesterday per the article. Couple of names are Laulu and Blakely... It was important for the defense to show some improvement. Hope it pays off come gameday. These are good, high level FCS bodies Eags really needed on that side of the ball. Read it for yourselves here: https://goeags.com/news/2023/8/26/f...rap-up-fall-camp-with-youthful-scrimmage.aspx

Best was using some new language. Guessing it's the new AD's "voice".

May be up there for the SELA game. I can see Eags winning that one . I don't see Eags winning next week or at Fresno, but if they can stay healthy, work out the bugs on new OL and DL; Eastern can be ready to take on UC Davis, SELA and Idaho.

All hope is not lost.
[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iftzlUI4Ix4[/media]

This was my main concern going into last year. The defense is always what it is - we hope to have something passing as serviceable most seasons. But last year was the first season that I could remember for a very long time where Eastern didn't have an elite-level QB to run the offense. I haven't seen a ton of Visperas but hopefully he can fit the mold of an Eastern QB. I like that he seems pretty mobile.

Gotchya. There are 3 similar QB's. Visperas, Wortham and Taylor. Wortham and Taylor played JCC with impressive records. Taylor was undefeated and his passing stats are off the charts. Each is vertically challenged. Linked Spring game as it was fun to watch and the QB's all played with reckless abandon. If they don't get locked into playing from the pocket each could play winning football. In my mind it's Visperas 1a and Taylor 1b. They are similar in many respects. I like Taylors record as a starter even if it was at the JCC level. They are all effect, bordering on special runners and capable throwers, especially with the WR's at Eastern (which are all still very good). OL is still a question for me but if the defense has to defend QB scramble it will make their jobs easier. Hope they pull out all the stops at NDSU this week, would love to see a close game knowing the team left it all on the field.

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xr_rjgYs7ac&t=1202s[/media]

 

[Obzerver]

Be nice if we could see the whole scrimmage. Hope we are healthy and those that are new, yet experienced, can rise to the occasion. Need to be competitive so we have something to build on. Although next weeks opponent is about as good as you can get for a first game hope to be impressed. NDSU possibly on par with Fresno St. so we need to show right out of the blocks. I have no idea where we are at haven't seen nor heard enough to know...first time, in a long time, don't have at least an inkling what to expect. Let's Goooo!!!

 

[Seattle Eagle]

How's the QB play looking for anyone who's seen any of the scrimmages?

Better than last year but still nothing like what we are used to at EWU.

 

[eaglesfootball]

How's the QB play looking for anyone who's seen any of the scrimmages?

Better than last year but still nothing like what we are used to at EWU.

and you make this determination based on what, exactly??? We have barely seen any of these new Qb's live.

 

[EWURanger]

How's the QB play looking for anyone who's seen any of the scrimmages?

Better than last year but still nothing like what we are used to at EWU.

and you make this determination based on what, exactly??? We have barely seen any of these new Qb's live.

Correct. We've only seen Vispera in 3 or 4 games and we haven't seen the others at all. Still, I think it's safe to assume that none of them are at the level of Barriere or the other greats. We've relied so heavily on great QB production and the offense in general to win games for so long that last season when they weren't that great it exposed how bad our defense really was. I'd honestly like to get to a place where we're relying on the defense more to win games, but I still think the Qb and offense are always going to play a huge part in determining our success. It's just sort of our philosophical style than I don't think the program will ever go away from.