With the winter/spring season around the corner for the Eastern Washington University football program, Hero Sports again honored quarterback Eric Barriere and has the Eagles ranked 14th in its winter/spring preseason rankings of NCAA Football Championship Subdivision schools. Both were announced Monday (Feb. 8) and were selected by Sam Herder and Brian McLaughlin.
 
With he and his teammates having had to endure a long wait to play, Barriere was one of 29 players selected to the Hero Sports FCS All-America squad. That came after a fall season in which he earned four other honors, including those picked by STATS Perform (third team), Hero Sports (second team), Phil Steele Publications (fourth team) and College Sports Journal (one of three quarterbacks on its 60-player preseason All-America squad). In addition, last July 24 the Big Sky Conference office announced Barriere as its choice as the preseason Offensive MVP of the league.
 
Eastern's fall 2020 season was wiped out because of the Covid-19 pandemic, but will begin in 2021 as a  six-game winter/spring season for the remaining eight league teams who have committed to playing. As a result, Eastern will host Northern Arizona on March 6, Cal Poly on March 27 and Idaho on April 10. Road games will be at Idaho on Feb. 27, Idaho State on March 13 and UC Davis on April 3.
 
Eastern's No. 14 ranking by Hero Sports comes on the heels of earning five other top 25 rankings last fall. The Eagles were picked 18th by STATS, and Hero Sports and Street and Smith's also gave the Eagles that ranking. Eastern was No. 20 in the Athlon Sports Preseason Top 25 rankings and were ranked 23rd by College Football America.
 
Barriere hails from Inglewood, Calif., and is a 2016 graduate of La Habra HS. He is a communication studies major at EWU and has previously earned third team All-Big Sky honors as both a sophomore (2018) and junior (2019). In 2019, Barriere finished fifth in the voting for the prestigious Walter Payton Award presented by STATS, and earned third team FCS All-America honors from Hero Sports.
 
With 31 total games of experience, he is 16-7 in 23 career games as a starter, with 6,300 total passing yards and 7,519 yards of offense as an Eagle. Barriere made his EWU debut as a redshirt freshman in 2017, took over as starter as an injury replacement in 2018 and then started all 12 games a year ago.
 
The Eagles have won their last 14 homes games at "The Inferno," and Barriere is 11-0 as a starter there. The Northern Arizona game will be the first game on the new red Astroturf surface installed at "The Inferno" last summer.
 
 

Eric Barriere 2020-21 Preseason Honors

 
All-America
1st Team Hero Sports (winter/spring)
2nd Team Hero Sports (fall)
3rd Team STATS (fall)
4th Team Phil Steele Publications (fall)
College Sports Journal (fall; one of three quarterbacks on 60-player team)
 
All-Big Sky Conference
Official Team Selected by League Office (fall; also MVP on offense)
1st Team Phil Steele Publications (fall)
 
Also 2020 Senior Co-Captain for the second-straight season

 
 

HERO SPORTS 2020-21 WINTER/SPRING ALL-AMERICA TEAM

 
Offense
QB Eric Barriere, Eastern Washington
RB Jah-Maine Martin, North Carolina A&T
RB Pierre Strong Jr., South Dakota State
OL Drew Himmelman, Illinois State
OL Liam Fornadel, James Madison
OL PJ Burkhalter, Nicholls
OL Ty Whitworth, Weber State
OL Cordell Volson, North Dakota State
WR DeAngelo Wilson, Austin Peay
WR Isaiah Weston, Northern Iowa
WR Brandon Porter, Northern Arizona
TE Trae Barry, Jacksonville State
 
Defense
DL Kobie Turner, Richmond
DL Jermaine McDaniel, North Carolina A&T
DL Jared Brinkman, Northern Iowa
DL Trace Mascorro, Sam Houston
LB Bryson Armstrong, Kennesaw State
LB Levi Metheny, Albany
LB Forrest Rhyne, Villanova
LB Ryan Greenhagen, Fordham
DB Kordell Jackson, Austin Peay
DB Ferlando Jordan, Southeastern Louisiana
DB Michael Tutsie, North Dakota State
DB Kedrick Whitehead, Delaware
 
Special Teams
P DJ Arnson, Northern Arizona
K Luis Aguilar, Northern Arizona
LS Robert Soderholm, VMI
PR Montrell Washington, Samford
KR Lonnie Moore IV, Monmouth
 
 

HERO SPORTS 2020-21 TOP 25 FCS RANKINGS

1. North Dakota State
2. South Dakota State
3. Weber State
4. James Madison
5. Villanova
6. Northern Iowa
7. Kennesaw State
8. Furman
9. Illinois State
10. North Carolina A&T
11. Austin Peay
12. Albany
13. Delaware
14. Eastern Washington
15. Nicholls
16. Southern Illinois
17. New Hampshire
18. Jacksonville State
19. The Citadel
20. Sam Houston
21. Elon
22. Monmouth
23. Wofford
24. Chattanooga
25. Southeastern Louisiana
 
Received votes: Alcorn State, UT Martin, SEMO, William & Mary
 
 

Other 2020-21 EWU Preseason Honors & Rankings From the Fall

(as of Aug. 25, 2020)
 
Senior Co-Captains
QB Eric Barriere (2nd Year), S Calin Criner (1st Year), DB Ty Graham (1st Year), RB Tamarick Pierce (1st Year), LB Jack Sendelbach (2nd Year), OT Tristen Taylor (1st Year)
 
All-America
LB Chris Ojoh – 3rd Team Hero Sports
 
All-Big Sky Conference
QB Eric Barriere – Official Team Selected by League Office (also MVP on offense) & 1st Team Phil Steele Publications
OL Tristen Taylor – Official Team Selected by League Office & 2nd Team Phil Steele Publications
WR Andrew Boston – 3rd Team Phil Steele Publications
DL Mitchell Johnson – 3rd Team Phil Steele Publications
K Seth Harrison – 3rd Team Phil Steele Publications
 
FCS Top 25 Preseason Rankings
18th - STATS (#1 NDSU, #4 Weber State, #6 Montana State, #7 Montana, #12 Sacramento State)
18th - Hero Sports (#1 NDSU, #3 Weber State, #5 Montana State, #7 Montana, #12 Sacramento State)
18th - Street & Smith's (#1 NDSU, #5 Weber State, #8 Montana State, #9 Montana, #16 Sacramento State)
20th - Athlon Sports (#1 NDSU, #4 Sacramento State, #6 Weber State, #7 Montana State, #9 Montana)
23rd - College FB America (#1 NDSU, #6 Montana, #7 Montana State, #8 Weber State, #11 Sac State)