More Information on Eric Barriere as a Finalist for the Walter Payton Award
 
It was a unique year to endure, but Eric Barriere did it with the aplomb his coach has come to expect.
 
The All-America quarterback has been selected as the Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Year after leading the Eastern Washington University football team to a 5-1 record and into this week's NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs. The league's head coaches selected a total of 13 Eastern players to the All-Big Sky team announced on Wednesday (April 21) by the league office.
 
Barriere, announced earlier this week as a Walter Payton Award finalist, was the preseason league MVP and didn't disappoint during the six games played this winter/spring amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. He has 2,324 yards of total offense and 18 passing touchdowns in six games, and twice this year he directed game-tying and game-winning scoring drives in the fourth quarter for EWU. He is just 157 yards from hitting the coveted 10,000-yard mark for offense (current total of 9,843) heading into this Saturday's (April 24) FCS Playoff game at North Dakota State.
 
"We ask Eric to be Eric," said Eastern head coach Aaron Best. "He's done a great job of that – he's going to improvise at times, but (we ask him) to essentially do the little things and do them well -- which he's done. On third down we've leaned on him a little more, as any team does with its quarterback."
 
Barriere was a unanimous first All-Big Sky selection, having earned third team honors each of the last two seasons. Senior wide receiver Talolo Limu-Jones was also a unanimous choice as he was honored by the league for the first time.
 
Also honored on the first team was senior offensive tackle Tristen Taylor, who earned his fourth All-Big Sky award in his career. He was a second-team selection in 2019 and honorable mention in 2016 and 2017. He's started all 46 games he's played thus far in his EWU career.
 
Senior running back Tamarick Pierce was also on the first team, and was joined by a pair of defensive players – junior defensive end Mitchell Johnson and junior safety Anthany Smith. Johnson was a second-team All-Big Sky pick as a freshman in 2018.
 
On the second team were sophomore wide receiver Freddie Roberson, junior offensive lineman Wyatt Musser, sophomore defensive back Tre Weed and sophomore kicker Seth Harrison. Senior running back Dennis Merritt, sophomore defensive tackle Joshua Jerome and inside linebacker Ty Graham earned honorable mention. Harrison earned honorable mention All-Big Sky honors as a freshman in 2019.
 
Now 20-8 as a starter with 37 games of experience, Barriere helped EWU to the 2018 NCAA Division I Championship game as a sophomore. He becomes the 11th different player to combine for 13 honors in the last 20 seasons as the top offensive player in the league.
 
Not only has Barriere completed 60 percent of his passes for 8,489 yards in his career, but he holds the school record for a quarterback with 1,354 rushing yards. He played sparingly in 2017 as a freshman and early in 2018 as a sophomore, but since October of 2018 has been EWU's full-time starter.
 
"We want him to learn from mistakes, and he's done a good job with that as our signal-caller," added Best. "Everybody has their own opinion – should he have run that or should he have thrown that? We have Eric's back day-in and day-out because we see him through the week. He's an explosive player and I wouldn't want to ride with anybody else."
 
In 2016, quarterback Gage Gubrud and wide receiver Cooper Kupp became the first teammates to earn co-MVP honors. In 2015, Kupp became only the second wide receiver in 42 years to win the honor. Ten of EWU's MVP awards have been quarterbacks, including Gubrud, Vernon Adams (2014 & 2013), Bo Levi Mitchell (2011), Matt Nichols (2009 and 2007), Erik Meyer (2005 and 2004) Josh Blankenship (2002) and Harry Leons (1997), as well as running backs Jesse Chatman (2001) and Taiwan Jones (2010).
 
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 (1987-20/21), including 28 who have earned first team honors. They have combined for 105 honors (34 first team, 25 second team, 3 third team, 42 honorable mention).
 
A total of 112 first-team All-Big Sky Conference honors have been won by Eastern players since 1997 (through 2020/21). Since joining the Big Sky in 1987, Eastern has won a total of 512 All-Big Sky accolades (first, second, third, honorable mention).
 
 

More on the Eagle Players Honored . . .

 
Talolo Limu-Jones is leading FCS in receiving yards per game (120.2) and is fifth in receptions per game (7.3, total of 44). He now has 41 games of experience (eight as a starter), and has 86 career catches for 1,562 yards and 15 touchdowns – an average of 18.2 per reception (currently fourth in school history). He has averaged a touchdown every 5.7 career catches,
 
He has had three-straight performances with at least 140 receiving yards, and has had a least a 66-yard catch in all three games. Most recently, he caught four passes for 140 yards and a 66-yard touchdown reception versus Idaho on April 10 in EWU's come-from-behind 38-31 victory. On April 3 in a 32-22 win over 11th-ranked UC Davis on April 3, Limu-Jones had career highs with 154 yards receiving on 10 catches, including a key 77-yard TD in the third quarter which was his career long. He also scored on a 21-yard TD reception and was credited with a career-high two tackles.
 
Tamarick Pierce has a team-high 437 yards rushing this season with four touchdowns and an average of 5.6 yards per rush. He has also caught eight passes for another 31 yards. He made the first start of his Eastern career at Idaho on Feb. 27, 2021, and rushed for a team-high 63 yards on a 13 carries. He followed that with his first 100-yard rushing game with 105 and two scores versus Northern Arizona on March 6. He had a productive day in EWU's 32-22 win at 11th-ranked UC Davis on April 3, rushing for 84 yards on a career-most 23 attempts as the Eagles finished with 171 on the ground. He also had a career-high four receptions for 24 yards with a long of 17.
 
Pierce now has a 6.07 career average per rush which currently ranks fifth in school history (teammate Dennis Merritt is fourth at 6.10). Pierce has rushed for 1,451 yards and 22 touchdowns in 45 games as an Eagle (five as a starter) with 21 catches for 138 yards and another score. Although he was able to play in four games, he redshirted the 2019 season as he continued to rehabilitate a 2018 injury.
 
Tristen Taylor and Wyatt Musser have helped Eastern lead FCS in total offense this season with an average of 558.7 yards per game. Eastern is also third nationally in passing (386.8) and seventh in scoring offense (40.7). In addition, the Eagles are 26th in rushing (171.8) and 11th in passing efficiency (152.0).
 
While Taylor has started all 46 games he's played as an Eagle offensive tackle, Musser has 32 games of experience. He made the first start of his career at Idaho on Feb. 27, 2021, and has started all six games this season at guard.
 
Mitchell Johnson has been an opportunistic player as EWU's "Buck" defensive end, and for the season he has 25 tackles, two sacks, two interceptions, four quarterback hurries and a pass broken up. In EWU's 62-10 victory over Cal Poly on March 27, he had his first career touchdown on a 34-yard return just six minutes into the game to give EWU a 21-0 lead over the Mustangs. Two weeks later against Idaho on April 10, he had his fifth career interception with a leaping/twisting pick on fourth down against with 1:29 remaining to help seal the 38-31 victory. He also equaled his career high with nine tackles in that game and was credited with a half-sack.  He now has 97 tackles, eight sacks, five interceptions, 11 quarterback hurries, four passes broken up, three fumble recoveries and a pair of forced fumbles in his 33-game career (16 as a starter).
 
In EWU's last game on April 10 versus Idaho, Anthany Smith had 17 tackles -- equaling the 19th-most in school history – and now has 40 tackles in five games played (all as a starter). He made his starting debut versus the Vandals on Feb. 27, 2021, and had 10 tackles and a 71-yard interception return for a touchdown which was the 18th-longest in school history. Smith has 67 career tackles, three interceptions and three passes broken up in 23 games (five as a starter). Smith played in just three games in 2019 before being lost for the season with an injury.
 
Freddie Roberson has 33 grabs for 470 yards and three touchdowns this season, and also has a 42-yard touchdown rush. Now with 17 games of experience (eight starts) in his career and with two 100-yard receiving performances, he had career highs of eight catches for 142 yards versus Idaho State on March 13. In the 2020-21 opener at Idaho on Feb. 27, Roberson had seven catches for 48 yards, and versus Northern Arizona on March 6 Roberson finished with 65 yards and a score on four catches.
 
Seth Harrison kicked a 55-yard field goal to match the third-longest in school history in EWU's 62-10 win over Cal Poly on March 27. Later in the game he also kicked a 47-yarder which now equals the 33rd longest, and he also had a 50-yarder at Idaho State on March 20. He became just the seventh Eagle in school history to have at least three career field goals of 47 yards or more, and just the fourth with two of at least 50 yards.
 
For the season, after making field goals of 27 and 22 yards in a 32-22 win at UC Davis on April 3 and a 23-yarder against Idaho on April 10, he is 6-of-8 kicking field goals, 23-of-24 on extra points and is averaging 59.9 per kickoff (two touchbacks). In his career he is 18-of-20 on field goals, 73-of-77 kicking extra points and has a 54.5 kickoff average (eight touchbacks). He made his only field goal attempt and all five of his extra points against Idaho on April 10 in swirling 25 mile-per-hour winds at Roos Field in Cheney.
 
Tre Weed has started all six games for EWU at cornerback in the 2020-21 season, and has 18 tackles with a pair of passes broken up. He has now played 22 games as an Eagle (17 as a starter), and has career total of 64 tackles, two interceptions and nine passes broken up. He earned Freshman All-America accolades in 2018.
 
A sixth-year senior, Dennis Merritt has 259 yards and four touchdowns rushing for EWU this season, and has caught another nine passes for three more scores. He's scored a team-high seven touchdowns, including three in EWU's final regular season game versus Idaho on April 10. He had 64 yards rushing in that game, second in his career behind the 67 he had earlier in the season versus Idaho State.
 
He returned after suffering a serious lower leg injury versus Lindenwood on Sept. 7, 2019, and missing the remainder of the season. He opened the 2020-21 season at Idaho on Feb. 27 by catching a 27-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter. He finished with three catches for 46 yards and another 41 yards rushing. He now has 818 career yards (6.10 average per rush to rank fourth in school history ahead of teammate Tamarick Pierce at 6.07) and eight touchdowns rushing, and another 17 catches for 259 yards and four scores in 36 games (two as a starter).
 
Defensive tackle Joshua Jerome has 36 tackles to rank third on the team, and has a team-leading three sacks and a pair of quarterback hurries. He made the first start of his career against Idaho on Feb. 27, 2021, and responded with eight tackles (three of them for loss), a sack and two quarterback hurries. He has played just 20 career games (six as a starter), but already has 77 career tackles with 4 1/2 sacks, three quarterback hurries, a pass broken up, and a fumble recovery.
 
Linebacker Ty Graham was EWU's leading tackler through the regular season with 42 tackles, although he played just the first series versus Idaho on April 10 and was lost for the season with an injury. He had his EWU career high of nine tackles against Cal Poly on March 27. He also had a quarterback hurry in that game that led to a 34-yard interception return for a touchdown by Mitchell Johnson.
 
With his father, John Graham, on the EWU coaching staff as defensive coordinator for eight years, Graham grew up in Cheney, Wash., and eventually graduated from Cheney High School in 2016. He subsequently joined the University of Idaho program and played three seasons for the Vandals, but elected to transfer to EWU for the 2019 season. He had to redshirt that year, then, the 2020 season was delayed because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Thus, when he took the field to make his EWU debut – ironically against his former team – it was 833 full days since his last collegiate game. Ironically, that came on Nov. 17, 2018, in a 63-10 loss at Florida when he had six tackles and a forced fumble. Eastern was scheduled to open the 2020 season at Florida before that game was wiped out because of the pandemic.
 
 
 

EWU All-Big Sky Conference Selections . . .

 
Special Awards
Offensive Player of the Year - 3 - Eric Barriere - 6-0 - 200 - Sr. - 3L* - Inglewood, Calif. / La Habra HS '16
 
First Team
Quarterback - #3 - +^Eric Barriere - 6-0 - 200 - Sr. - 3L* - Inglewood, Calif. / La Habra HS '16
Wide Receiver - #1 - +Talolo Limu-Jones - 6-5 - 220 - Sr. - 3L* - Vallejo, Calif. / Grace Davis HS '16
Running Back - #24 - Tamarick Pierce - 5-10 - 215 - Sr. - 3L* - Oakland, Calif. / Saint Mary's HS '16
Offensive Line - #65 - @Tristen Taylor - 6-6 - 325 - Sr. - 3L* - Stockton, Calif. / Stagg HS '15
Defensive End - #5 - ~Mitchell Johnson - 6-3 - 245 - Jr. - 2L* - West Linn, Ore. / West Linn HS '17
Defensive Back - #29 - Anthany Smith - 5-11 - 190 - Jr. - 1L* - Everett, Wash. / Mariner HS '17
 
Second Team
Wide Receiver - #11 - Freddie Roberson - 6-3 - 185 - So. - 1L* - Seattle, Wash. / Rainier Beach HS '18
Offensive Line - #77 - Wyatt Musser - 6-5 - 295 - Jr. - 2L* - Kennewick, Wash. / Kamiakin HS '17
Defensive Back - #7 - Tre Weed - 6-0 - 190 - So. - 1L* - Sumner, Wash. / Sumner HS '18
Kicker - #83 - =Seth Harrison - 5-10 - 180 - So. - 1L* - Coeur d'Alene, Idaho / Coeur d'Alene HS '18
 
Honorable Mention
Running Back - #6 - Dennis Merritt - 5-10 - 180 - Sr. - 2L* - Leavenworth, Wash. / Cascade HS '15
Defensive Tackle - #53 - Joshua Jerome - 6-1 - 275 - So. - 1L* - Monroe, Wash. / Monroe HS '18
Inside Linebacker - #18 - Ty Graham - 6-0 - 205 - Sr. - TR* - Cheney, Wash. / Cheney HS '16 & Univ. of Idaho
 
+Unanimous All-Big Sky first team selection in 2020-21 season. @Second team in 2019 and honorable mention in 2017 and 2016. ~Second team in 2018. ^Third team in 2019 and 2018. =Honorable mention in 2019. *Has used redshirt season.