CHENEY, Wash. – The Eastern Washington Eagles enter their 2025 fall football camp needing a heavy reset following a 4-8 season, and the top spot to rework is their offensive line, losing all five starters from last season.
New starting quarterback Jared Taylor expressed his excitement on the retooled unit.
“I think they’ve grown immensely,” Taylor said. “I think Coach Germer’s got them handled very well. He’s tough on them, but I think that’s good for o-line to be tough on them,” Taylor said. “Coach Best is an o-line guy, so I think if there’s one thing about Eastern Washington o-line, we have the guys to get it figured out.”
Head coach Aaron Best added what he sees as the best key component to the eventual new winning starter o-linemen.
“Also saltiness. Big fan of saltiness,” Best said. “And again, that goes back to snap through the whistle. Playing between the lines and within the guidelines, but pushing the envelope, not going overboard but hitting the edge.”
The defensive side is in the opposite situation: they were ranked poorly in the Big Sky conference statistics, but return much of the top talent of the group. Defensive end Tylin Jackson spoke on what the unit is trying to do differently this season.
“So, last year, we were probably a score in every game, at the end of the game,” Jackson said. “I think it’s really just coming closer, and having fun, not being so critical of the knicky-knacks of if you’re in the b-gap, c-gap, I think you just need to have fun with your teammates. And I think the more fun that you have, the more plays you’ll make and the more games that we’ll win. So, I’m really focused on this year, I’m going to make mistakes, so no matter what, keep balling. Keep having fun, and I gotta let my teammates know that at the same time.”
Eastern opens their season at the Incarnate Word Cardinals on Saturday, August 30th at 4:00 p.m. PST.
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