A total of 13 Eastern Washington University football players have earned spots on the 2021 Big Sky Conference All-Big Sky teams, as announced by the league office this morning (Nov. 23).
 
On the First Team All-Big Sky Offense is quarterback Eric Barriere, who is also the unanimous Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Year for the second-straight season, wide receiver Talolo Limu-Jones and offensive lineman Tristen Taylor. Taylor is honored for the fifth time in his career, something that has not been achieved before in program history. Barriere earns his second career first team quarterback in as many seasons after being named to the third team for two-straight years prior.
 
The Second Team All-Big Sky Offense is made up of running back Dennis Merritt and wide receiver Andrew Boston.
 
Wide receivers Efton Chism III and Freddie Roberson along with offensive lineman Wyatt Musser make up the Third Team All-Big Sky Offense. On the Third Team All-Big Sky Defense is defensive tackle Joshua Jerome, defensive end Mitchell Johnson, inside linebacker Jack Sendelbach and defensive back Calin Criner.
 
Inside linebacker Ty Graham was named All-Big Sky Honorable Mention.
 
Criner, Chism and Sendelbach are all honored for the first time in their respective careers. Limu-Jones (1^st, 2020-21), Boston (3^rd, 2019), Roberson (2^nd, 2020-21), Merritt (HM, 2020-21), Musser (2^nd, 2021-21), Graham (HM, 2020-21) and Jerome (HM, 2020-21) all earn their second career honors. Johnson (1^st, 2020-21, 2^nd, 2018) is honored for the third time.
 
With the selections of Taylor and Musser, a total of 62 Eastern offensive linemen have now earned All-Big Sky accolades in 34 seasons in the league (1987-2021), including 28 who have earned first team honors. They have combined for 107 honors (35 first team, 25 second team, 4 third team, 42 honorable mention).
 
A total of 115 first-team All-Big Sky Conference honors have been won by Eastern players since 1997 (through 2021). Since joining the Big Sky in 1987, Eastern has won a total of 525 All-Big Sky accolades (first, second, third, honorable mention).
 
The No. 4/6 Eastern Washington Eagles are hard at work preparing for their first-round matchup with Northern Iowa in the FCS Playoffs at Roos Field this Saturday, Nov. 27. Kickoff is set for 1:03 p.m. on ESPN+ or on 700-AM ESPN. Tickets are currently on sale for season ticket holders with general public sales opening on Wednesday, Nov. 24 at noon. The Eagles finished 9-2 overall this season with a 5-2 mark in league play.
 
MORE ON THE EAGLE PLAYERS HONORED:
 
Eric Barriere: After being named to the Third-Team in consecutive years, Barriere earns his second-straight First Team quarterback nod and his second-straight Big Sky Player of the Year Award. He leads the FCS with 40 touchdown passes, and is second in passing efficiency (176.0), total offense (406.0 per game) and passing yards (385.6). He is second in points responsible for (266 with 40 TDs through the air, three on the ground and four two-point conversions) and points responsible for per game (24.2).
 
In recent weeks, he has re-written the Big Sky Conference and EWU record books, breaking a trio of major records. He established two major career records during his performance versus UC Davis on Nov. 13 that included a 34-of-54 passing performance for 411 yards and three touchdowns, plus another 42 yards on the ground. His 10th career passing performance of 400+ yards and his 16th with 400 yards of total offense earned him ROOT Sports Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Week for a record sixth time this season, and 12th time overall in his illustrious career.
 
With 49 total games of experience, he is 29-11 in 40 career games as a starter (16-2 at home), with 12,996 passing yards, 115 touchdown passes, 1,587 yards rushing and 14,583 total yards of offense as an Eagle.

Barriere has had 29 performances of at least 300 yards of total offense and 21 with at least 300 yards passing in his 49 games as an Eagle. He has had 16 with at least 400 yards of total offense and 10 with at least 400 passing, including school records of 600 yards passing (No. 8 in FCS history & No. 5 in BSC history), 577 yards of total offense, seven touchdown passes and eight TD's responsible for versus Idaho on Oct. 16, 2021. He now owns four of the top five passing performances in school history, and four of the top six performances for total offense.
 
In his career he has completed 62.3 percent of his passes (940-of-1509), good for 12,996 yards, 115 touchdowns and 27 interceptions, and has rushed 364 times for 1,587 yards and 21 more TDs (a school-record total of 136 touchdowns accounted for). He had a passing efficiency rating of 146.9 as a sophomore, 151.6 in 2019 and 176.2 thus far in 2021 for a 155.1 mark in his career to currently rank fourth in school history. His touchdown passes, passing yardage and 14,583 yards of offense are all school and Big Sky records, and his attempts and completions are No. 2 in school history (behind Matt Nichols with 996 completions and 1,608 attempts from 2006-09.
 
Tristen Taylor: Tristen Taylor was honored by the league for the fifth-time in his career, the most by any Eagle in program history. He was a first-team selection in 2020-21, second-team selection in 2019, and honorable mention in 2016 and 2017. Entering his seventh season with the Eagles, Taylor, a Stockton, Calif., native and a 2015 Stagg HS graduate, has started all 58 games he's played in to own sole possession of the school record for both games played and career starts. Last year, he helped Eastern rank third in total offense in the FCS with an average of 522.7 yards per game. Eastern was also fourth nationally in passing (366.7) and eighth in scoring offense (37.7). The Eagles led the FCS in total offense during the regular season. Taylor missed the last 12 games in 2018 with a knee injury, but has started all 30 Eagle games since then. He had started 28-of-28 games as an Eagle until the season-ending injury kept him out of the lineup on Sept. 22, 2018, versus Cal Poly. He tied broke the school record for games played (55, Shaq Hill, 2012-14) and has also broken the record for games started (52, Chris Schlichting, 2016-19 and Cooper Kupp, 2013-16). Now a five-time All-Big Sky selection, Taylor entered the 2021 season with the most starts on the offense and the most overall.
 
Talolo Limu-Jones: This is the second career honor for Talolo Limu-Jones after a unanimous first team selection last season. He now has 51 games of experience (18 as a starter), and has 145 career catches for 2,489 yards and 19 touchdowns – an average of 17.2 per reception. Jones currently ranks 11th in school history for career receiving yards, seventh for average per reception, 13th in TD catches and 20th in career grabs. He has averaged a touchdown every 7.7 career catches. Jones has had 16 receptions of at least 40 yards in his career, including five in 2021, six as a junior in 2019 and three more in the abbreviated 2020-21 campaign. He caught 11 passes (tied for 25th in school history) for 231 yards (eighth) in EWU's 34-28 victory versus fourth-ranked Montana on Oct. 2, 2021, including catches of 58, 51 and 40 yards. The two longest catches set-up EWU touchdowns, including the 58-yarder in the fourth quarter which gave EWU the lead for good. Limu-Jones earned second team All-America honors in 2020-21 from three organizations. He ended the regular season with three-straight performances with at least 140 receiving yards, and had a least a 66-yard catch in all three games.
 
Dennis Merritt: Merritt earned honorable mention honors in 2020-21, making this his second All-Big Sky award. He passed the 1,000 career rushing yards mark against Central Washington on Sept. 11, 2021, when he had what was then a career-high 120 yards (he followed that with a career-high 148 at Western Illinois on Sept. 18). He now has 1,673 career yards (5.38 average per rush to rank 11th in school history) and 22 touchdowns rushing, and another 46 catches for 609 yards and seven scores in 48 games (12 as a starter). Merritt has also averaged 20.7 yards on 30 career kickoff returns. His 22 rushing touchdowns rank 10th in EWU history, and his total of 29 TDs scored is 11th.
 
Andrew Boston: This is the second career honor for Boston after being named to the third team in 2019. A freshman All-America selection in 2018, Boston has 170 receptions (ninth in EWU history) for 2,443 yards (13th) and 20 touchdowns (19 receiving to rank 13th all-time at EWU, plus one rushing) in 43 career games (33 as a starter) as an Eagle. He's now had six games with at least 100 yards receiving, including a career-high 175 versus Idaho on Oct. 16, 2021.
 
Efton Chism III: After bursting on to the scene as a true freshman in 2020-21, Chism is honored for the first time in his young career. This season, Chism has scored a team-high nine touchdowns. He's caught 46 passes for 677 yards and two multi-score games this season.
 
Freddie Roberson: Roberson is honored for the second time in his career after earning second-team honors in 2021-21. He now has 27 games of experience (17 starts) in his career with totals of 88 receptions for 1,317 yards and 10 touchdowns, with a quartet of 100-yard receiving performances, including a career-high 192 versus Idaho on Oct. 16, 2021. This season, he has racked up 672 receiving yards on 41 catches to go with six receiving touchdowns.
 
Wyatt Musser: Musser earns the second All-Big Sky honor of his career and the second consecutive after being named to the second team last season. A mainstay on the EWU offensive line, he has 44 games worth of experience in his career with 18 starts.
 
Joshua Jerome: Joshua Jerome earns an Honorable Mention nod for the second-straight year. He has played just 32 career games (18 as a starter), but already has 132 career tackles with 11 sacks, 28 total tackles for loss, five quarterback hurries, a pass broken up, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
 
Mitchell Johnson: This is Mitchell Johnson's third career honor after being named to the first-team in 2020-21 and the second-team as a freshman in 2018. Johnson has been an opportunistic player as EWU's "Buck" defensive end, and he now has 140 tackles in his 45-game career (28 as a starter). He has 13 1/2 sacks, five interceptions, 14 quarterback hurries, seven passes broken up, three fumble recoveries and four forced fumbles. In the 2020-21 season when he was awarded first team All-Big Sky accolades, Johnson had 26 tackles, two sacks, two interceptions, four quarterback hurries and a pass broken up. Included was his first career touchdown on a 34-yard interception return, and his fifth career interception with a leaping/twisting pick on fourth down with 1:29 remaining in a playoff-clinching victory over Idaho. He burst on the scene as a redshirt freshman in 2018 and earned second team All-Big Sky honors and freshman All-America accolades.
 
Jack Sendelbach: A three-year co-captain, Sendelbach is honored by the league for the first time in his career. Sendelbach now has 272 tackles (14th in school history) in his 48-game career (27 as a starter), and has had 14 performances in double figures. He also has six career sacks, 31 total tackles for loss, four fumble recoveries and four forced fumbles.
 
Calin Criner: This is the first All-Big Sky award of Calin Criner's career. In his career, Criner now has nine interceptions (including a 30-yard return for a touchdown versus Northern Colorado on Oct. 9, 2021 and another pick against Montana State on Nov. 6), 265 tackles (16th in EWU history), 18 passes broken up, three forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries in his 52-game career (30 as a starter). He has six performances in his career with at least 10 tackles. The 2016 graduate of Rocky Mountain High School in Boise, Idaho, missed EWU's first four games of the 2020-21 spring season, then started in the final three to close the year with seven tackles and a pass broken up.
 
Ty Graham: Ty Graham earns an Honorable Mention nod for second-straight season. In Eastern's season-opener at UNLV, he had a career-high 14 tackles for his first performance in double figures and has four in his career. In 17 career games with the Eagles (17 starts), he has 136 total tackles, three sacks, 13 total tackles for loss and one interception that he returned 43 yards for his first career touchdown.