Airway Heights, Wash. — Eastern Washington opens up fall camp next week.
It’s one of the most important preseasons in Aaron Best’s time as head coach.
The Eagles are coming off back-to-back losing seasons for the first time in 30 years.
However, Best says the Eagles’ best is yet to come.
“It’s always a tough schedule in the Big Sky,” Best said. “It has been for the last four or five years. This league is loaded with a ton of talent, great coaches, tough places to play on the road. We got to make playing at Roos Field tough again. The experience is there. It’s just a matter of putting it together.”
The Eagles were picked to finish 8th in the conference coaches poll.
The players have heard the noise and are planning to prove the doubters wrong.
“The last two seasons have been frustrating for all of us,” defensive end Brock Harrison said.
Harrsion is tired of losing.
He is entering his sixth and final season and wants to end his career on a high note. It starts with the defense, which ranked 10th in Big Sky (36.1 points allowed per game) in 2023.
“This is one of the stronger offseasons I’ve seen come from an Eastern team,” Harrison said. The amount of dudes that stayed around all summer was exciting and you can just tell feeling behind everyone is here to win games.”
Harrison is one of 16 returning starters.
Wide receiver Nolan Ulm is also on that list. Ulm came to Eastern Washington to win championships.
The Eagles haven’t been to the playoffs since 2021, but he stuck it out.
Ulm says this year’s team has what it takes.
“It’s a really special family-like environment,” Ulm says. “We all want to win. I knew we were going to have the team coming back that can win.”
The Eagles open camp July 30th.
They open the season August 29th against Monmouth.
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