Reports: Eastern Washington Concluded Its Fall Camp, Massive Team Depth And More

CHENEY, Wash. — Eastern Washington football held its final scrimmage on Roos Field Wednesday afternoon ahead of the 2024 season. Most of the starters sat out, allowing the team’s depth to gain valuable live experience.

“It’s never as bad or as good as it seems in person. We’ll get a clearer view on film,” head coach Aaron Best said. “The defense performed well during the first two-thirds of the scrimmage and showed increased energy. We have a lot of young players on offense, but that shouldn’t excuse any lack of execution. Our main priority was to come out healthy, and we achieved that.”

The defense completely shut out the offense during the hour and 15-minute scrimmage.

Sophomore defensive tackle Jirah Leaupepetele stood out with eight tackles and an unofficial four sacks. “It feels great to dominate out there. We treat every practice like gameday,” he said. “The new additions have brought significant talent and depth to our defense, building off our existing foundation. Coach Johnson brings great energy every day, emphasizing that the defensive line is the heartbeat of the defense and the team.”

Redshirt-sophomore defensive back Drew Carter made two interceptions and contributed two tackles.

Five players recorded three tackles during the scrimmage: Ambrose Marsh (Fr.-DB), Yemoni Howell (R-Fr.-DE), Waylon Romero (Fr.-DL), Justis La’ulu (R-So.-DT), and Ethan Williamson (R-So.-DT). In total, 28 different Eagles registered a tackle on Wednesday.

In the backfield, two true freshmen carried the ball, with Marceese Yetts rushing eight times for 24 yards and Kevin Allen III rushing five times for 16 yards.

Nate Bell led five series and completed 5-of-10 passes for 51 yards.

As fall camp comes to a close, Best discussed the transition to game preparation. “We’re moving directly from camp to preparing for Monmouth. After three-and-a-half weeks of practice, it’s nice to face an opponent that isn’t a teammate. There’s a lot of preparation ahead, and it’s enjoyable to create a game plan against an opponent instead of just refining plays against our own team. We’ll be back practicing on Friday.”

Eastern Washington will host its 2024 season opener at Roos Field against Monmouth in eight days, with kickoff set for 6 p.m. The Eagles were projected to finish sixth in the preseason media poll and eighth in the coaches’ poll.