The Eastern Washington University football team will conclude its first two weeks of preseason practices with a scrimmage Saturday afternoon (Aug. 17) at Roos Field in Cheney, Wash. The team hits the field at 1 p.m., with the scrimmage lasting from about 1:20 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
 
Eagle head coach Aaron Best said the team will use this week's scrimmage for situations, then will have a more game-like atmosphere the following Saturday (Aug. 24). The Eagles open their season at Washington on Aug. 31 and then will have its home opener versus Lindenwood on Sept. 7.
 
"We'll play some situational football this time around, and next week we'll just put the football down and play," said Best. "We have to get situations mastered, or at least exposure to, before we get into game-like situations. So we'll have some two-minute drills, some backed-up to the goal line situations and we'll have some long and short fields."
 
Beyond the scrimmage structure, Best has some other hopes for Saturday's scrimmage, as he and his coaching staff get another look at the 2019 squad. The Eagles lost 25 seniors from last year's team, but do return 47 letterwinners with five starters back on offense and six on defense.
 
"We're looking for a lot of competition, and hopefully some flow," Best explained. "We had a little scrimmage session last Saturday and it was kind of choppy at times. We want to see in totality our team in terms of tackling, blocking, catching and throwing, which are your four basic fundamentals of football."
 
Eastern returned to "The Inferno" for the first time on Wednesday (Aug. 14) after spending most of its first two weeks on grass practice fields.
 
"Knowing we aren't going to leave the Red for the entirety of the season is fun," he said. "It's a longer walk out to the red than the green practice fields, but it's a game-changer in the middle of preseason camp. It gives us something new to look forward to."
 
A lot of eyes will be on Eastern's secondary on Saturday, with two seniors listed as starters at safety, a junior at rover and two sophomores at cornerback on the preseason depth chart. Best said on Wednesday that redshirt freshman Tre Weed has been moved from safety to cornerback to add to the team's depth there.
 
"We have a little bit of veteran leadership and productivity coming back even though we lost four cornerbacks," Best explained. "Moving Tre Weed to corner will give us some added depth there and more competition. That's what we're looking for. We want to have great players and not average players. The more competition we can put in that position the better we'll be on that side of the ball.
 
"We want to be able to have players who can play man-to-man defense, so we are challenging them," he continued. "Not being a zone-predicated team is important – last year we had everything at our mercy, including man, zone, blitzing with our corners and tackling. Some of our players have stepped up – we're about five or six deep -- but it's a matter of setting them as ones, twos and threes and pushing guys in front of you. We're excited about the long-term, but we want to turn that into short-term progress."
 
Preseason practices continue on Sunday, Aug. 18, and the team will also scrimmage on Aug. 24 at Roos Field. That scrimmage is also scheduled for approximately 1 p.m.
 
 

More Honors for Barriere and Blackburn . . .

 
Eastern's "battery" of junior quarterback Eric Barriere and sixth-year center Spencer Blackburn recently added to their list of preseason honors. Barriere was selected to the College Football Performance Awards (CFPA) FCS National Performer of the Year Trophy Watch List. Blackburn was selected as a second team offensive lineman on the Phil Steele Preseason FCS All-America team.

In addition, Blackburn and Barriere were among the nine Eastern players selected to Phil Steele's All-Big Sky Conference squad. Blackburn joined defensive end Mitchell Johnson as first team selections, with offensive tackle Chris Schlichting, offensive guard Kaleb Levao and defensive tackle Dylan Ledbetter earning second team honors. Named to the third team were Barriere, running back Antoine Custer Jr., offensive tackle Tristen Taylor and linebacker Chris Ojoh.

Below is a list of preseason honors won thus far by EWU players:
 
STATS Walter Payton Award Watch List
Eric Barriere
 
CFPA FCS National Performer of the Year Trophy Watch List
Eric Barriere
 
FCS Fans Nation FCS Offensive Player of the Year
Eric Barriere
 
Hero Sports All-America
Eric Barriere – 1st Team
Spencer Blackburn – 2nd Team
 
Athlon All-America
Spencer Blackburn – 1st Team (24 players honored)
 
STATS All-America
Spencer Blackburn – 2nd Team
 
Phil Steele All-America
Spencer Blackburn – 2nd Team
 
All-Big Sky Conference
Chris Schlichting
 
Phil Steele All-Big Sky Conference
Spencer Blackburn – 1st Team
Mitchell Johnson – 1st Team
Chris Schlichting – 2nd Team
Kaleb Levao – 2nd Team
Dylan Ledbetter – 2nd Team
Eric Barriere – 3rd Team
Antoine Custer Jr. – 3rd Team
Tristen Taylor – 3rd Team
Chris Ojoh – 3rd Team
 
 
Tentative Schedule of Remaining EWU Practices
Times and locations are tentative and subject to change. Practices usually last for two hours. Media interviews need to be coordinated and approved in advance with Dave Cook/text via 509-280-2502, but typically take place 20-30 minutes before the practice time listed or after scrimmages. Days available for media availability with assistance from EWU Sports Information staff are marked below with ***. Be sure to always confirm practice times and locations prior to departure for campus. No interviews after Wednesday before games, with Tuesday afternoon before practice the typical pre-game interview day (could be afterwards depending on time practice begins). Preseason practices are scheduled to take place at the EWU Sports and Recreation Center practice fields through Aug. 13 and then at Roos Field after that and during the season.
***Saturday, Aug. 17 – Scrimmage, approximately 1 p.m., Roos Field -- Media Availability Afterwards
Sunday, Aug. 18 – 3 p.m.
Monday, Aug. 19 – 3 p.m.
***Tuesday, Aug. 20 – 3 p.m. – Media Availability Before Practice at 2:35 p.m.
Wednesday, Aug. 21 – 3 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 22 – No practice
Friday, Aug. 23 – 3 p.m.
***Saturday, Aug. 24 – Scrimmage, approximately 1 p.m., Roos Field -- Media Availability Afterwards
Sunday, Aug. 25 – No Practice
Monday, Aug. 26 – 1 p.m.
***Tuesday, Aug. 27 – 1 p.m. -- Media Availability Before practice
Wednesday, Aug. 28 – 1 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 29 – 1 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 30 – Walk-through at UW
Saturday, Aug. 31 –Opener at UW, Noon Pacific time on the Pac-12 Networks