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Recruiting Depth Led To Frisco

S

sammamisheag

Active member
I don't know how many times this year I said "well, no Frisco this year" after a key injury. Win or Lose Saturday, this season has showcased two things:

#1 Aaron Best Is a Head Coach, I had doubts after CBB left. I actually prefer the style they play now with balance on offense and focusing on speed & being physical on defense

#2 Recruiting took a huge turn for the better two years ago. At some positions, Chris Ojoh, you can see the speed/athleticism is there that wasn't 3-4 years ago.

And again next year EWU will be the conference favorite and will have a target on their backs every week AGAIN.

Proud Alum!
 
sammamisheag said:
I don't know how many times this year I said "well, no Frisco this year" after a key injury. Win or Lose Saturday, this season has showcased two things:

#1 Aaron Best Is a Head Coach, I had doubts after CBB left. I actually prefer the style they play now with balance on offense and focusing on speed & being physical on defense

#2 Recruiting took a huge turn for the better two years ago. At some positions, Chris Ojoh, you can see the speed/athleticism is there that wasn't 3-4 years ago.

And again next year EWU will be the conference favorite and will have a target on their backs every week AGAIN.

Proud Alum!
Click to expand...
The speed and athleticism started showing about 10 years ago. First in receivers then running backs, 5 years ago defense ends and size of CB's Your right, three year ago it started showing across the whole, recruiting classes. Chris will be Playing in NFL soon enough. Mitchell Johnson my choice for Freshman of the year. Wait to you see red shirt Freshman Isaiah Lewis RB 6-0 200. I am sure we have several more great players coming in Feb.
 
Imagine many players were recruited by BB staff that had led to the depth we have. Aren't most of the 20+ seniors and jrs and even rs soph from Baldwins efforts?
 
Obzerver said:
Imagine many players were recruited by BB staff that had led to the depth we have. Aren't most of the 20+ seniors and jrs and even rs soph from Baldwins efforts?
Click to expand...
Don't give Baldwin all the credit. BEST has been here and recruiting during this whole time as well.
 
IMO player development is as important as is recruiting at this level. That and keeping guys in the program rather than dropping out when the pressure is on. Best and staff have done a great job of that.
 
At this level it's also knowing WHO to recruit. How many guys on our roster are clearly top FBS caliber, but didn't receive a whiff of an offer?

I give far more credit to our staff being able to develop athletes and help them truly buy into the team. We have a hell of a culture that will thrive much longer than I ever thought it would.
 
What I have always been impressed with is the staff’s abilitity to consistently recruit elite QB’s. You go back as far as Josh Blankenship, Meyer, Nichols, etc. and it’s been amazing. Even the backups have been pretty good.

Three of our former Qb’s are playing in the CFL...one a 2-time league MVP. Gubrud will probably get some looks as well and he was originally a walk-on. Think EB3 will be special given this year’s experience gained and 2 more years to play. How many teams could lose their All-American Qb after game 5 and still manage to make the chipper? That’s impressive.
 
Get Dopa in here. Remember when we supposedly wouldn't be able to compete because our facilities are terrible, our fans absent, and our administration apathetic? All we have needed to get back to another title game is what we have always had. An Eastern Washington character. Intelligence, hard work, and an independent approach. This, is what makes Eastern great.
 
Chris freaking Ojoh man. That guy has been my favorite defensive player since he filled in for Calhoun (and there's a lot of guys to like on the defensive side of the ball this year). And he showed some damn good leadership too; never got too high or low, just did his job and did it damn well. Guy is a machine. I'll put money on him getting the Buchanan.

The future is bright with this team.
 
EdubU10 said:
Chris freaking Ojoh man. That guy has been my favorite defensive player since he filled in for Calhoun (and there's a lot of guys to like on the defensive side of the ball this year). And he showed some damn good leadership too; never got too high or low, just did his job and did it damn well. Guy is a machine. I'll put money on him getting the Buchanan.

The future is bright with this team.
Click to expand...
He's the next Samson Ebukam
 
EWURanger said:
What I have always been impressed with is the staff’s abilitity to consistently recruit elite QB’s. You go back as far as Josh Blankenship, Meyer, Nichols, etc. and it’s been amazing. Even the backups have been pretty good.

Three of our former Qb’s are playing in the CFL...one a 2-time league MVP. Gubrud will probably get some looks as well and he was originally a walk-on. Think EB3 will be special given this year’s experience gained and 2 more years to play. How many teams could lose their All-American Qb after game 5 and still manage to make the chipper? That’s impressive.
Click to expand...


Totally agree that EWU is QBU in the FCS. ALmost zero debate that we have consistently recruited, developed and graduated the most impressive roster of QBs at this level, EVER. One clarification though is we didn't recruit Blankenship. He transferred in from Tulsa. Still impressive though that we've taken transfers like Blankenship, Bo Levi and to a lesser degree Kyle Padron and developed them well enough that they have found success at the next level. Because even Padron sniffed the NFL if I'm not mistaken. So add those transfers to the legends that are Meyer, Nichols, Vernon and Gage (and soon enough EB3) and you may never see a run like this at one position. Only question is who's next after EB3? Simon Burkett? Gunner? Trey Turner?
 
93bird said:
Get Dopa in here. Remember when we supposedly wouldn't be able to compete because our facilities are terrible, our fans absent, and our administration apathetic? All we have needed to get back to another title game is what we have always had. An Eastern Washington character. Intelligence, hard work, and an independent approach. This, is what makes Eastern great.
Click to expand...

We compete because we have continuously had the best coaches you can find. If these guys were given better resources, Katie bar the door. The coaches know how to sell the program to kids, and they do a helluva job at it.

Plus, and this is a big plus, they tend to know which kids to go after and which to ignore. I think that’s where Montana has taken such a wrong turn. They get mired in these in-State recruiting battles where there are HS players that look like world-beaters but would just look like average guys if they were in Washington. Eastern rarely takes kids based on stats alone. They get kids of high character, loads of talent, and with a plan to graduate. Granted, you may always wind up with a couple who didn’t fit that mold, but the overwhelming majority do.

I always laugh when our best players are scholar-athlete of the month. How many other programs are there where the best talent is also the best student? That’s pretty rare.
 
93bird said:
Get Dopa in here. Remember when we supposedly wouldn't be able to compete because our facilities are terrible, our fans absent, and our administration apathetic? All we have needed to get back to another title game is what we have always had. An Eastern Washington character. Intelligence, hard work, and an independent approach. This, is what makes Eastern great.
Click to expand...

Agree with all of that with one caveat. The strengths of the program are well known and will basically always be in place barring some major shakeup in college football. I won't go in depth on this but most of it revolves around recruiting WA state HS as well as excellent coaching and player development.

That said, I do not believe that prolonged success at the top of the FCS is completely sustainable without improvements to infrastructure and facilities (namely, the stadium). It is inadequate, visually displeasing, and not on par with the level of success this program has achieved. Get that one thing fixed and I really think the sky's the limit for this program. Funding is also a limitation, but I believe the two are tied to together.
 
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