by US Fed News

At a Glance - As long as the weather cooperates, the Eastern Washington University football team begins spring practices for the 2009 season on Tuesday, April 7. Second-year head coach Beau Baldwin expects to have about 60 players participating, including 38 returning letter winners. The Eagles finished the 2008 season 6-5, including victories in their final three games of the season. "To me, there are no excuses for us not to go out and compete at a high level every week of the season," said Eastern head coach Beau Baldwin. "From January until now our players have done a great job and have made strides, but we still have a long ways to go. How well we compete against the teams on our schedule and in our league depends on how we approach April, May, June and July, and then into August when we start our season."

Last year, poor field and weather conditions postponed several spring practice sessions. As a result, practices actually took place after the Red-White Game that traditionally ends spring practices. This year, the Eagles have intentionally scheduled a later start and will again practice the week after the Red-White Game. - Practices - Practices take place Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays through April 30. Most practices are scheduled to start at 4 p.m. (media interviews at approximately 3:45 p.m. or after practice at about 6 p.m.). All practices take place on the EWU Sports and Recreation Center practice fields. - Scrimmages - Eastern is scheduled to scrimmage on Saturday, April 11 (approximately 1 p.m.) and Saturday, April 18 (approximately 12:30 p.m.), with locations to be determined based on field conditions. The annual Red-White Game will take place on Saturday, April 25 at 2 p.m. at Woodward Field in conjunction with Killin Weekend at EWU. - Players to Watch - A total of 12 players return who earned All-Big Sky Conference honors a year ago, including a pair of wide receivers selected to the second team last year as juniors - Aaron Boyce (Kent, Wash. - Kentwood HS '05) and Brynsen Brown (Puyallup, Wash. - Emerald Ridge HS '05). Boyce caught 63 passes for 917 yards and 10 touchdowns last season and has 183 catches for 2,696 yards and 23 touchdowns in his career . . . Senior quarterback Matt Nichols (Cottonwood, Calif.) is one of 10 players returning who earned honorable mention All-Big Sky honors after earning the league's Offensive Player of the Year award as a sophomore. He has passed for 8,786 yards and 63 touchdowns in his career . . . Talented sophomore Taiwan Jones (Antioch, Calif.) will move to running back to help replace four departed seniors at that position. Jones missed the early part of the 2008 season with a broken fibula, but returned to start four games at cornerback for the Eagles . . . Twin brothers Matt and Zach Johnson (Tumwater, Wash. - Tumwater HS '07) return after stellar debut seasons. They combined for 179 tackles to rank 1-2 on the team, with Zach finishing with 96 and a team-high seven passes broken up, and Matt closing the year with 83 tackles and a team-leading four interceptions. Both players earned honorable mention All-Big Sky accolades in 2008. - Injured Eagles - Players not taking part in spring practices because of shoulder injuries include honorable mention All-Big Sky Conference special teams player Nicholas Ramos (Winters, Calif.) and defensive back Ethen Robinson (Spokane - Lewis & Clark HS). - Killin Dinner/Dance/Auction - Orland Killin Weekend, which is presented by the Michael Roos Foundation, includes the Coaches Golf Tournament on April 24 and the annual Killin Dinner, Dance and Auction following the Red-White Game on April 25. More information on Killin Weekend is available at: http://goeags.cstv.com/genrel/022509aaa.html. - Comments from Head Coach Beau Baldwin - - On Focus of Spring - "Like most springs, first and foremost you have more time to work on fundamentals, so that can be huge. During the season it becomes more schematic and each week you are taking on a team and game-planning. I'll be the first to admit that you get away from some fundamental things during the season. You want to get back to the fundamentals and the basic stuff, but from there we want to create our own identity." - On Off-Season - "It's gone very well. The players really bought into our winter conditioning and off-season plan. They have done a great job and everybody is excited about April 7." - On Off-Season Recruiting - "We had as strong a year recruiting as I can remember in a long time going back to my days as an assistant coach. We were able to sign a lot of quality players and great student-athletes, and we will have high hopes for them when they come in. Two or three years down the road we'll really find out." - On Little Things - "We're going to talk about all the little things that can make the difference. When you go back and break down the season and ask why you were 5-3 in the league, maybe it's a couple of little things here or there. Maybe there are a couple of things we can do different in April that will carry over down the road." - On Playing Portland State in Seattle at Qwest Field - "I think it's great for the program and for the many student-athletes we have who come from that area. Even if they aren't from that area, it's a great opportunity to play in that environment and in that stadium. It's nice to be connected to the West side, and we're hoping there will be a lot of fans at that ballgame that may not get over to Cheney to see a football game. Maybe that can be a way for fans to be more involved and excited with our program. It's a great opportunity for everybody involved and we're excited about it." - On 2009 Schedule - "Cal is obviously a great football team and a tremendous challenge for us, but the rest of our schedule is a good fit for us. Our focus needs to be on our first game on Sept. 5, and then we'll worry about the next one. It's natural to look at your entire schedule to see what you have. It's only a great schedule if you take care of business each week, but we're excited about it." - On Looking Good on Paper With 38 Letter Winners and 15 Starters Back - "I've seen years where on paper you're set-up to achieve certain things and you don't. And I've seen years where you are aren't expected to do much and you do. It comes down to whether the coaches and players are willing to do all the things to put us in a position to have a successful season. In my opinion, it's going to come down to the little things." - On Resiliency of Players in Wake of NCAA Penalties - "I've been extremely impressed with how resilient our players are - they have a tough mindset to them. A lot was thrown their way, and people can say what they want on whether or not it was fair. The bottom line is that as a group, all of our players are going in the same direction." - On Quarterback Matt Nichols in the Off-Season - "In my opinion, he's had the best winter that I've seen him have. He's been working hard in the weight room and in speed and agility drills to help change his body. This is the best winter I've seen out of him and one of best I've ever seen out of a quarterback." - More Eagle Football Headlines and Links - Eagles Release Schedule With a Seattle Twist - http://goeags.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/032609aaa.html Eastern Offensive Linemen Participate in Blood Drive (March 10) -http://goeags.cstv.com/genrel/031009aaa.html Eastern Will Appeal Football Postseason Ban (Feb. 21) - http://goeags.cstv.com/genrel/022109aab.html Eastern Signs 33 Players to Letters of Intent (Feb. 4) - http://goeags.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/020409aaa.html More Eagle Football Information - http://goeags.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/ewas-m-footbl-body.html 2009 SEASON OUTLOOK Last November, the wins finally caught up with the improvement the Eastern Washington University football team made during the 2008 season. For what they accomplished in the final half of that year, the Eagles are hoping for a carryover effect for the 2009 season to improve upon last year's 6-5 finish that included a 5-3 record in the Big Sky Conference. The Eagles return 38 letter winners from last year's team that ended the season with a three-game winning streak, including 18 back on offense and 20 returning on defense. A total of 15 starters are returning, featuring eight on offense and seven on defense. Eastern had high hopes in 2008 after appearing in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs three times in the previous four seasons, including breakthrough playoff victories in 2004 and 2007. Three losses in a four-game stretch from Oct. 4 to Nov. 1 spoiled those hopes, but Eastern still managed to salvage the season with its 10th winning season in the last 12 campaigns. "There's a growing process between the coaching staff and the team," explained head coach Beau Baldwin, who had five new coaches join him during his first season as EWU's head coach. "Last year was our first year, so both sides were feeling each other out a little bit. Now we are moving forward because the players have a better idea of what is expected of them. Heading into this season we have a better idea of the team and its make-up, and we're all very excited about that." Baldwin, a former Eastern quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator from 2003-06, will help coach the offense again this season. Last year's progress of that unit mirrored the improvement of the defense, culminating in the season-ending three-game winning streak. "Last year gave us the opportunity to get a feel again for what we are trying to do, what my goals are and what I like to do philosophy-wise," Baldwin explained. "I coached them when they were younger, but I was gone in 2007. We were pleased with how we finished as a team, and when you break it down offensively, I was very excited with the way the offense played as a group. We really came together at the end of the season, and we're hoping that will carry over this year. We want to be clicking from the get-go." To return to the FCS Playoffs this year, the Eagles will not only have to win more, but hope they eventually receive good news from the NCAA as well. Eastern appealed a postseason ban levied by the NCAA after a two-year review of activities involving the EWU football team from 2003-07 was released in February. The NCAA investigated a series of secondary rule violations, which, taken in total, led to a major infractions case. The university originally self-reported the violations to the NCAA in February 2007. Whether or not the appeal is denied, the Eagles are taking the approach that the postseason ban won't be a penalty unless Eastern takes care of business on the field. "When the announcement was made initially, it was hard," explained Baldwin. "But it was amazing how resilient and how fast they came back from that. They said, `we don't control that so we're going to get after it and work hard.'" "There's a little chip on their shoulder, but to me, it has taken nothing away from their work ethic. A lot of that comes from great leaders. We have some players in place - seniors especially - who have done a great job of leading everybody through it. It's not what we planned for or expected, but the schedule is ahead of us so let's battle that. All we control is how well we play each day. We are guaranteed 11 games and we're going to do everything we can to prepare for that between now and Sept. 5." In all, Baldwin has 25 players returning with starting experience and a total of 281 starts between them. That list is led by a pair of seniors who were highly-honored in 2007 - quarterback Matt Nichols and wide receiver Aaron Boyce. Nichols, who was Big Sky Conference Offensive MVP after throwing for a school-record 34 touchdowns in 2007, has started 33 games in his career. He has passed for more than 3,000 yards and 20 touchdowns in each of the past two seasons after getting his feet wet as a freshman in 2006. Boyce, an All-American in 2007, has started 32 games. He had 63 catches last season to give him a total of 183 in his career (second-most in school history). In 2008, Boyce had to settle for second team All-Big Sky honors and Nichols earned honorable mention. A total of 12 Eastern players who earned All-Big Sky honors last year - including second team wide receiver Brynsen Brown - are back and provide a base of talent for the Eagles. Brown caught 50 passes and had four touchdowns a year ago. Returning All-Big Sky honorable mention selections on offense included senior wide receiver Tony Davis, senior tight end Nathan Overbay, senior offensive tackle Chris Thomas and junior offensive tackle Brice Leahy. Returning honorable mentions on defense are senior linebacker Makai Borden, junior outside linebacker J.C. Sherritt and a pair of sophomore twins - strong safety Matt Johnson and outside linebacker Zach Johnson. Another All-Big Sky player returning is senior special teams standout Nicholas Ramos. Among the 19 letter winners lost were 18 seniors who combined for 232 starts in their careers. All but seven of those seniors were four-year letter winners, including three starting defensive linemen. One of those, All-America defensive end Greg Peach, won the Buck Buchanan Award given to the top player in FCS and was also the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year. Rest of the document can be viewed at: http://goeags.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/033009aab.htmlFor more information please contact: Sarabjit Jagirdar, Email:- htsyndication@hindustantimes.com

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