Poll: Best Eastern Washington QB, Big Sky era: Career

[EWURanger]

Discuss:

A few tid-bits of info.

Erik Meyer: He won the 2005 Walter Payton Award, presented by The Sports Network to the top offensive player in NCAA Division I-AA football. His 166.5 career passing efficiency rating set a record for FCS quarterbacks with at least 400 completions. In 42 games, he passed for 10,261 yards, with 84 TD passes against just 17 INTs. Posted 65.7 percent passing accuracy, completing 721-of-1097. His career interception percentage (1.5) also is a Division I-AA record. While at Eastern Washington, Meyer's favorite target was All Big-Sky Tight End Chris Cwik. Tight Ends coach Raz compared the duo to Montana and Rice. He also broke eight Eastern Washington career records, five single-season marks and one single-game mark. Meyer was sacked an NCAA low two times mainly due to stellar offensive line play and the pass protection schemes of Aaron Best. According to strength coach Darin Lovat, Meyer had all the answers.

Matt Nichols: Nichols concluded his assault on the EWU, Big Sky Conference and NCAA record books with a vengeance as he finished with the league’s career passing, total offense and touchdown passes records. In all, he broke 14 school records in his career, including six Big Sky Conference marks. After closing his career with a career-high 461 yards at Stephen F. Austin on Nov. 28 in the NCAA Championship Subdivision Playoffs, Nichols finished with 12,616 passing yards in his career to move into sixth in NCAA Football Championship history. He broke the career passing record in the 46-year-old Big Sky Conference of 12,207 held by Weber State’s Jamie Martin (1989-92). Nichols had 13,308 yards of total offense in his career to rank sixth in FCS history (the division was created in 1978). With a 455-yard effort at Southern Utah on Nov. 14, he broke the league’s 17-year-old total offense record of 12,287 yards held by Martin. Nichols also finished his career with a school-record 96 touchdown passes to equal the Big Sky record and rank 10th in FCS history. In the last six games of his career alone, Nichols completed 64 percent of his passes for an average of 383.5 yards per game (2,301 total), 23 touchdowns, one interception and a passing efficiency rating of 162.7. He had at least 400 yards in his last three games, and four of his last five. For his efforts, he was the Big Sky Offensive Player of the Year in 2009 and 2007. In 2009 he was selected as Big Sky
Conference Offensive Player of the Week three times in 2009 and seven times in his career. He also earned a pair of national player of the week honors. Besides Martin, Nichols ranks ahead of such Big Sky legends as Montana’s Dave Dickenson, NAU’s Greg Wyatt, Idaho’s John Friesz and Ken Hobart, and Eastern’s own Erik Meyer.

Harry Leons: Guided EWU to it's highest ever play-off game, reaching the semi's in 1997.

Mark Tenneson: Guided EWU to it's first ever Big Sky Championship in 1992.

 

[98ewugrad]

Chris Cwik or Eric Kimble? I think Cwik (Chris, anyway - I think Joey graduated in '05?) graduated in '04, so that would have given the Erik-Eric connection 12 more games to rack up yardage, catches, TDs, etc. Those two were a pretty amazing duo!

 

[eaglesfootball]

nichols, enough said

 

[93bird]

Meyer tops my list because of the way he beat Montana the last time we won in Missoula. As memory serves, he hit Vijil in the back of the end zone with a dart and the Eagles sealed the win. I thought we might play it safe on that possesion and settle for a field goal, but Meyer stuck the proverbial fork in the Griz that day. It was great to see the team sing the Eagle fight song in Wa Griz.

 

[EdubAlum]

Meyer tops my list because of the way he beat Montana the last time we won in Missoula. As memory serves, he hit Vijil in the back of the end zone with a dart and the Eagles sealed the win. I thought we might play it safe on that possesion and settle for a field goal, but Meyer stuck the proverbial fork in the Griz that day. It was great to see the team sing the Eagle fight song in Wa Griz.

++

 

[Screamin_Eagle174]

Meyer tops my list because of the way he beat Montana the last time we won in Missoula. As memory serves, he hit Vijil in the back of the end zone with a dart and the Eagles sealed the win. I thought we might play it safe on that possesion and settle for a field goal, but Meyer stuck the proverbial fork in the Griz that day. It was great to see the team sing the Eagle fight song in Wa Griz.

Yeah, I went with Meyer too. I was at that Griz game also... my first time to Missoula. Hell of a performance that was. Can't forget his second-half performance against #1 SIU in the first round of the 2004 playoffs either. He tore the Salukis a new one after hafltime.

 

[EWURanger]

Chris Cwik or Eric Kimble? I think Cwik (Chris, anyway - I think Joey graduated in '05?) graduated in '04, so that would have given the Erik-Eric connection 12 more games to rack up yardage, catches, TDs, etc. Those two were a pretty amazing duo!

Comparing both QB's supporting casts does bring up some interesting points.

Meyer - Kimble, Cwik, Vijil, McIntyre
Nichols - Boyce, Brown, Overbay, Davis

Hard to argue either way, really. Was Overbay better than Cwik? Possibly. Was Boyce better than Kimble??

One thing that I don't think is really arguable is that Meyer most likely benefited from a superior offensive line in '04 and '05 than Nichols had the majority of the time he was a starter.

As for me, I went with Meyer. Not to take away anything from Matt, because he is undoubtedly one of the best QB's in BSC history. But the thing that sticks out in my mind is Meyer's efficiency rating, which anyone in FCS has yet to top. Erik was also extremely elusive in the pocket and just didn't get sacked all that much or turn the ball over, either. That, combined with the fact that Meyer did not become the starter until the 2nd or 3rd game of his Sophomore year.........what would he have done if he was a starter all four years?

 

[EWURanger]

Meyer tops my list because of the way he beat Montana the last time we won in Missoula. As memory serves, he hit Vijil in the back of the end zone with a dart and the Eagles sealed the win. I thought we might play it safe on that possesion and settle for a field goal, but Meyer stuck the proverbial fork in the Griz that day. It was great to see the team sing the Eagle fight song in Wa Griz.

Yeah, I went with Meyer too. I was at that Griz game also... my first time to Missoula. Hell of a performance that was. Can't forget his second-half performance against #1 SIU in the first round of the 2004 playoffs either. He tore the Salukis a new one after hafltime.

I was pissed I wasn't able to make it to that one. But I do remember watching and my favorite memory from that game is when we had the ball late in the game and driving and the crowd was loud as hell......I remember the entire team raising their hands up to make it louder. :lol: Apparently the guys weren't intimidated too much.

 

[98ewugrad]

Chris Cwik or Eric Kimble? I think Cwik (Chris, anyway - I think Joey graduated in '05?) graduated in '04, so that would have given the Erik-Eric connection 12 more games to rack up yardage, catches, TDs, etc. Those two were a pretty amazing duo!

Comparing both QB's supporting casts does bring up some interesting points.

Meyer - Kimble, Cwik, Vijil
Nichols - Boyce, Brown, Overbay

Hard to argue either way, really. Was Overbay better than Cwik? Possibly. Was Boyce better than Kimble??

One thing that I don't think is really arguable is that Meyer most likely benefited from a superior offensive line in '04 and '05 than Nichols had the majority of the time he was a starter.

As for me, I went with Meyer. Not to take away anything from Matt, because he is undoubtedly one of the best QB's in BSC history. But the thing that sticks out in my mind is Meyer's efficiency rating, which anyone in FCS has yet to top. Erik was also extremely elusive in the pocket and just didn't get sacked all that much or turn the ball over, either. That, combined with the fact that Meyer did not become the starter until the 2nd or 3rd game of his Sophomore year.........what would he have done if he was a starter all four years?

Was reading some stuff on the '05 season the other day, and was shocked at the number of times Meyer was sacked in early games that year - six or seven against ISU alone! If I remember right we had a ton of OL hurt, guys playing out of place, Freshmen starting, etc. But they gelled at the right time and delivered EWU to the playoffs. This poll was a tough decision - I was on campus during the '97 run and haven't missed too many home games over the past decade. Had to go with Meyer, ever so slightly, over Nichols and Harry. Eastern's been very, very talented at quarterback for a long time.

 

[98ewugrad]

Meyer tops my list because of the way he beat Montana the last time we won in Missoula. As memory serves, he hit Vijil in the back of the end zone with a dart and the Eagles sealed the win. I thought we might play it safe on that possesion and settle for a field goal, but Meyer stuck the proverbial fork in the Griz that day. It was great to see the team sing the Eagle fight song in Wa Griz.

Yeah, I went with Meyer too. I was at that Griz game also... my first time to Missoula. Hell of a performance that was. Can't forget his second-half performance against #1 SIU in the first round of the 2004 playoffs either. He tore the Salukis a new one after hafltime.

Sweet pics, Screamin! I was about one section to your left that day. I remember walking across the UM campus after the game and fighting the overwhelming urge to break into the Fred Flintstone Happy Dance.

 

[EWURanger]

Chris Cwik or Eric Kimble? I think Cwik (Chris, anyway - I think Joey graduated in '05?) graduated in '04, so that would have given the Erik-Eric connection 12 more games to rack up yardage, catches, TDs, etc. Those two were a pretty amazing duo!

Comparing both QB's supporting casts does bring up some interesting points.

Meyer - Kimble, Cwik, Vijil
Nichols - Boyce, Brown, Overbay

Hard to argue either way, really. Was Overbay better than Cwik? Possibly. Was Boyce better than Kimble??

One thing that I don't think is really arguable is that Meyer most likely benefited from a superior offensive line in '04 and '05 than Nichols had the majority of the time he was a starter.

As for me, I went with Meyer. Not to take away anything from Matt, because he is undoubtedly one of the best QB's in BSC history. But the thing that sticks out in my mind is Meyer's efficiency rating, which anyone in FCS has yet to top. Erik was also extremely elusive in the pocket and just didn't get sacked all that much or turn the ball over, either. That, combined with the fact that Meyer did not become the starter until the 2nd or 3rd game of his Sophomore year.........what would he have done if he was a starter all four years?

Was reading some stuff on the '05 season the other day, and was shocked at the number of times Meyer was sacked in early games that year - six or seven against ISU alone! If I remember right we had a ton of OL hurt, guys playing out of place, Freshmen starting, etc. But they gelled at the right time and delivered EWU to the playoffs. This poll was a tough decision - I was on campus during the '97 run and haven't missed too many home games over the past decade. Had to go with Meyer, ever so slightly, over Nichols and Harry. Eastern's been very, very talented at quarterback for a long time.

I was a student during the '97 play-off run as well........Although it's probably not fair to compare him to Meyer or Nichols, Harry has to be included on this list just because of his Senior year alone. The Leons to Ogden connection was pretty much unstoppable that season. Favorite memory of that season was winning the game against Idaho at Joe Albi in the last minute. Leons hit Ogden in the end zone with seconds left. Ogden took such a big hit that he got knocked unconscious for a couple seconds - but still held on to the ball and scored the winning TD. It was epic.

 

[LDopaPDX]

FYI. Meyer's line in 2005 was comprised on 4 new starters. The 2004 line was very good, but Meyer carried the team in 2005 with a young and not-so-great line.

I'll put my vote down for Harry Leons as being the best game manager of any QB at Eastern, ever. But Nichols probably had more raw talent. The problem was there were times when Nichols seemed disinterested and panicked in the pocket, such as during that horrible run of football we played in 2008 (specifically, vs. Montana and Sac State). Meyer probably had the most heart and just willed the team to some big victories... and was probably the best 3rd down QB we've ever had.

Was Rick Worman during the Big Sky era? I don't think so, but any "best QB ever" conversation isn't complete without him. And shout out to Tenneson for getting us to a Big Sky championship with fewer schollies than any other school in the conference.

 

[EWUeag]

Discuss:

Meyer was sacked an NCAA low two times mainly due to stellar offensive line play and the pass protection schemes of Aaron Best. According to strength coach Darin Lovat, Meyer had all the answers.

LOL 2 times??? Erik ran for his life in nearly every game is senior season! Aaron Best is a great coach but something just wasn't clicking that year. Gotta love Wikipedia!

 

[EWUeag]

Too bad we couldn't have Erik's leadership and his "it" factor and couple it with Mat's pure passing ability to form Erik Nichols.

 

[EWURanger]

FYI. Meyer's line in 2005 was comprised on 4 new starters. The 2004 line was very good, but Meyer carried the team in 2005 with a young and not-so-great line.

That's a fair point. For some reason, I thought that we had Roos and company during the 2005 season, but it wasn't......you're right, our O-Line in 2005 was not that good.

 

[EWURanger]

Was Rick Worman during the Big Sky era? I don't think so, but any "best QB ever" conversation isn't complete without him

I should have labeled it "1AA" or "FCS" era, but I wasn't thinking of the 2 or 3 years that EWU was actually 1AA but not in the BSC yet.

 

[93bird]

Thanks for the pics SE! I get goosebumps thinking about the moment I was finally sure we were going to win that game. Man was it awesome to fly the red and white that night.

 

[FrontFive4Life]

Meyer tops my list because of the way he beat Montana the last time we won in Missoula. As memory serves, he hit Vijil in the back of the end zone with a dart and the Eagles sealed the win. I thought we might play it safe on that possesion and settle for a field goal, but Meyer stuck the proverbial fork in the Griz that day. It was great to see the team sing the Eagle fight song in Wa Griz.

Yeah, I went with Meyer too. I was at that Griz game also... my first time to Missoula. Hell of a performance that was. Can't forget his second-half performance against #1 SIU in the first round of the 2004 playoffs either. He tore the Salukis a new one after hafltime.

Haha, thanks for those pics! Those bring back some great memories for me personally. That was one of the more enjoyable victories we celebrated. And btw, someone mentioned how we played to their crowd to get even louder: That was all Erik Meyer (a.k.a. Money). That game was so much fun, especially the way we were able to take the wind out of a very cocky Montana squad's sails.

I was lucky enough to play with both Erik and Matt and yes, both of these guys were fantastic QB's. It could go either way, but I would argue that without Erik's example of leadership and clutch performance, Matt may not have grown into the player that he did. Erik could make chicken salad out of chicken $h!t when the game or the series was on the line more than any other player. Matt continued that tradition, and although I think Matt could be more accurate, Erik had the better playmaking ability (but not by much!).

Can't wait for this Saturday!

 

[kalm]

Meyer tops my list because of the way he beat Montana the last time we won in Missoula. As memory serves, he hit Vijil in the back of the end zone with a dart and the Eagles sealed the win. I thought we might play it safe on that possesion and settle for a field goal, but Meyer stuck the proverbial fork in the Griz that day. It was great to see the team sing the Eagle fight song in Wa Griz.

Indeed.

We were working against the North End Zone crowd. Kimble had torched the Griz that day. He was spread out wide right, and when he went in motion to set in the backfield, every eye in the place including the Griz secondary settled on him. Meyer hit Raul on the slant and the sweet sound of 24K Griz fans going silent ensued.

Meyer was the better play maker with his feet, but I'll have to go with Matt and his #'s. Starting 4 years is nothing but a feather in his cap. Also consider that the final stretch where he was phenominal included two r.s. freshman as wide outs.

 

[Screamin_Eagle174]

Thanks guys. Here's a couple more.