AIRWAY HEIGHTS, Wash. — After an uncharacteristic 3-8 season last year in Cheney, Head Coach Aaron Best and the Eastern Washington Eagles are looking to move forward.
"We did not have a very good year last year. It was way substandard compared to the Eastern standard in a lot of ways. We have a lot of work to do and a lot of opportunities to do so over the next five months," Best said.
This year's team is filled with new faces and younger players who will be tasked with moving into larger roles this season.
"It has been fun to watch the maturity of not just the upper classmen, but those guys who have been on campus for a year or two who need to be in those conversations as well," Best said.
That process began in the offseason as most of the team stayed in Cheney and spent time together improving their craft.
"We put in a lot of work this offseason in player ran practices and meetings. Being here in Cheney the whole summer, we were able to get around the guys and develop a great bond. I am just ready to get back out there with the guys and win some games," EWU redshirt senior defensive back Darrien Sampson said.
The work ethic displayed over the summer and the initiative of the players has had a profound impact on Coach Best.
"It has been awesome. They had a vision, they ran with the vision, they executed what they wanted to do and up to this point, I am very proud of these guys," Coach Best said.
EWU was picked to finish seventh in the Big Sky this season, a ranking that will add motivation to this year's team leaders.
"Just because we have the Eastern logo on does not mean we are going to win. That is what got to us last year, we thought we were going to win because we were Eags. Getting that ingrained in the young guys early on and instilling a strong work ethic is huge," junior wide receiver Efton Chism III said.
Those offseason workouts were predicated on a few key things the players say were missing on last year's team.
"Toughness, details, execution and flying around were some of the things we lacked last year which led to missing assignments. We need to instill those in the young guys because the game is 90 percent mental and we need to be able to recognize what a team is going to do before it happens," Sampson said.
"We focused on having everyone here (in Cheney) together and leadership. The upperclassmen stepped up and became more vocal and got the young guys and the transfers on board with what we wanted to do. We had about 95 percent of the team here all summer and we got after it," Chism said.
That leadership is something Coach Best says last year's team could have used.
"One of the hurdles we had last year was we were waiting on the seniors to graduate so that guys could step into a leadership role when they became seniors. Leadership does not have an age group, a talent level, speed or vertical leap attached to it, leaders are leaders. If you are going to hold someone accountable, you need to hold yourself accountable, too," Best said.
Heading into this season, the Eags have a new leader on offense. The entire team is ready to see what can happen during the Kekoa Visperas era at EWU.
"I think he is ready to take over the league, honestly. He is loose all the time and he is a dog. I cannot wait to go out there and watch him play," Chism said.
"He is an exciting player and an exciting person and we are all excited to see what he does with his opportunity. He is a special one," Best said.
The Eags begin fall camp on August 3rd.
