Eastern Washington University Athletics

Former Central Washington University head coach Ian Shoemaker finished his first season as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks at Eastern in 2019 by helping EWU lead the nation in total offense, and then followed that by coaching the runner-up for the Walter Payton Award, quarterback Eric Barriere.

Barriere earned five first team All-America honors in the 2020-21 season, then capped it by finishing six points shy of winning the holy grail of awards at the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision level, the Payton Award. Barriere was a unanimous All-Big Sky Conference first team selection and was the league’s Offensive Player of the Year.

He ranked in the top 10 in the FCS in total offense (fifth, 369.0 per game), passing offense (fifth, 348.4), passing touchdowns (third, 19) and points responsible for (ninth, 17.4 per game). He completed 61.8 percent of his passes for 2,439 yards, 19 touchdowns and 2,583 total yards of offense.
 
In the 2020-21 season, Barriere led Eastern to the first round of the FCS Playoffs and helped EWU rank third in FCS in total offense (524.9 per game) after leading during the regular season. Eastern was also seventh in scoring (37.7) and fourth in passing (367.3) while finishing 5-2 overall and 5-1 in the Big Sky with a five-game winning streak to end the regular season.

In 2019, the Eagles led FCS in total offense for the third time in school history with an average of 524.8 yards per game. Eastern was the only team in the division to rank in the top 24 in total offense, passing (317.1, fifth) and rushing (207.8, 19th), and were second in scoring (40.6). Eastern finished the 2019 season 7-5 overall and 6-2 in the Big Sky.

He helped junior Barriere earn third team All-America and third team All-Big Sky honors after setting a school record with just four interceptions in 438 attempts (.009 interceptions per attempt). Barriere finished with the seventh-most passing yards in school history with 3,712, and his 31 touchdown passes is eighth. Including 558 rushing yards, his 4,270 yards of total offense were the third-most all-time at EWU.

He closed the 2019 season second in total offense with an average of 355.8, ranking only behind E.J. Perry of Brown at 367.8. He was also third in passing (309.3), eighth in passing TDs (31) and fourth in points responsible for (20.2 per game). He finished as a third team All-American and was fifth in the voting for the Walter Payton Award. Barriere will enter his senior season with 6,300 passing yards (seventh) and 56 touchdowns (sixth), with 7,519 yards of total offense (sixth) and 73 TDs responsible for (sixth).
 
Shoemaker was CWU’s head coach for the previous five seasons, compiling a 38-16 record and winning Great Northwest Athletic Conference championships in 2017 and 2018. In those 54 games, Central averaged 37.3 points per game and 447.3 yards of total offense.
 
In the 2018 season, the Wildcats opened the year by falling to Eastern 58-13, but won eight of their next nine. The Wildcats finished as the co-champions in the GNAC with Azusa Pacific, which beat the Wildcats 42-35 to end the regular season. Azusa Pacific was selected for the NCAA Division II Playoffs, as CWU finished 8-3 overall and 7-1 in the GNAC.
 
Shoemaker’s quarterback in 2017 and 2018 was former Eagle Reilly Hennessey. He earned unanimous first team All-GNAC honors in 2018 and was the GNAC Offensive Player of the Year.  Hennessey threw for 2,705 yards and 21 touchdowns. The senior signal caller added another 477 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground.  Hennessey was named the GNAC Newcomer of the Year in 2017, as well as being a first team All-GNAC selection.
 
Central’s offense finished fourth in Division II in scoring (47.7 points per game) and was second in total offense (540.9). The Wildcats ranked 10th in rushing at 272.64 yards per game, and had two 1,000-yard rushers. A total of 11 players earned first team All-GNAC accolades for the Wildcats in 2018.
 
In 2017, the Wildcats were 11-1 on the season and 8-0 in GNAC play, and advanced to the NCAA Division II Playoffs. Shoemaker was selected as the 2017 Don Hansen Super Region 3 Coach of the Year, GNAC Coach of the year, and placed seven players on all-region squads.
 
Shoemaker and his coaching staff at CWU produced eight all-Americans in defensive back Isaiah Davis (2014), defensive lineman Tovar Sanchez (2014), wide out and returner Jesse Zalk (2015), linebacker Kevin Haynes (2016, 2017), tight end Kyle Self (2017), defensive back Tyler Hasty (2017), defensive lineman Bo Banner (2017) and offensive lineman James Moore (2017, 2018). In addition, both Sanchez and Haynes were named GNAC Defensive Lineman and Defensive Player of the Year, respectively.

Prior to his five years at Central, Shoemaker spent six seasons as the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota. The NCAA Division II university is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. Shoemaker helped lead the Huskies to the Division II national playoffs three times in his last four seasons at the school.
 
A native of Graham, Wash., Shoemaker graduated from Orting High School in 1992. The 1996 Grinnell College (Iowa) graduate was a four-year starter in both football and baseball, and earned a degree in psychology.  He was the school’s most valuable player and offensive back of the year in football, and set school records for home runs in a season and career in baseball.
 
From Grinnell, Shoemaker continued his studies in sport psychology at Western Washington University. Shoemaker began his coaching career as a graduate assistant for the Vikings from 1997-99, coaching the tight ends and running backs.  Shoemaker then went to University of Saint Mary in Leavenworth, Kan., as the offensive coordinator. From 2000-2003, he was the passing game coordinator at Minot State University in North Dakota.
 
Shoemaker's first NCAA coaching job was as assistant head coach and offensive coordinator at Kenyon College in Gambier (OH) for three seasons, followed by a two-year stint as offensive coordinator at Baldwin Wallace College (OH) from 2006-08.
 
Shoemaker’s brother, Javid, played safety for Eastern Washington from 2001-04 after graduating from Bethel High School in Graham, Wash., in 2000.