It may have been a year most would like to forget, but it will be a season to remember.
 
Six Eastern Washington University football players – as well as the entire team – have been given honors for their performances during the 2020-21 football season.
 
For the second-straight year, the Offensive MVP was quarterback Eric Barriere, and kicker Seth Harrison earned repeat honors as Special Team MVP. The Defensive MVP honor went to safety Anthany Smith.
 
In addition, the Scout Team Offensive Player of the Year was quarterback Trey Turner, and winning on defense was linebacker Ahmani Williams. The Pat Roberts Award for achieving academic and athletic excellence went to linebacker Ty Graham, and the entire team was recognized as the Golden EKG (Eagle Kind of Guy) recipient for their resilience during the season impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
 
After a thrilling winter/spring run to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs, the Eagles ended the 2020-21 season ranked No. 10 in the final Stats Perform Top 25 poll. It's the 10th time in school history EWU has closed the season that high in the Stats Perform poll, which has had EWU in 115 of the last 123 polls, including the last 11, heading into the 2021 season.
 
On its way to a 5-2 finish that included a 42-20 loss to North Dakota State in first round of the NCAA Division I Playoffs, Eastern spent the season as high as No. 8 in the nation and as low as No. 22 while being ranked each of the 11 weeks. The Eagles sandwiched a five-game winning streak around their two losses during the season shortened because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
 
Barriere finished second in the voting for the Payton Award, and was a first team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association, FCS Athletic Director's Association, Associated Press, Stats Perform and Hero Sports. The senior from Inglewood, Calif., was also named the FCS Offensive Player of the Year by the FCS ADA, and was a unanimous All-Big Sky Conference first team selection and the league's Offensive Player of the Year.
 
Barriere ranked in the top 10 in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision 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.
 
A year after going 12-of-12 as a freshman, Harrison was 6-of-9 in the 2020-21 season to earn All-Big Sky Conference second team honors. The 2018 graduate of Coeur d'Alene (Idaho) High School kicked a 55-yard field goal to match the third-longest in school history and also had boots of 47 and 50 yards. He is 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.
 
Smith earned All-Big Sky Conference first team honors after starting all six of the games he played as a safety. He finished with a team-leading 44 tackles in six games played (all as a starter). In EWU's last regular season game versus Idaho (4/10/21), Smith had 17 tackles -- equaling the 19th-most in school history.
 
A 2017 graduate of Mariner High School in Everett, Wash., he made his starting debut earlier in the season versus the Vandals (2/27/21) and had 10 tackles and a 71-yard interception return for a touchdown which was the 18th-longest in school history.
 
Besides helping prepare the Eagles by serving on scout teams as a freshman, Williams played in EWU's final two games of the 2020-21 season. He made his Eagle debut versus Idaho (4/10/21) when he had both of his tackles. His father, Julian Williams, was an All-America and All-Big Sky safety for Eastern from 1997-00 as a teammate of current EWU head coach Aaron Best.
 
Turner is a 2019 graduate of Pittsburg (Calif.) High School, and has not yet played in any games for EWU. His father, Aaron Turner, was a wide receiver from 1989 to 1992 at Pacific in Stockton, Calif., and is now in that school's hall of fame.
 
Graham earned All-Big Sky Conference honorable mention after starting all six of the games he played as a linebacker. In addition, he was named to the Hampshire Honor Society as chosen by the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame. He is now working toward his master's degree in business administration after having already received his marketing degree from EWU with a minor in sports management. He has a 3.73 grade point average as a graduate student after a 3.58 as an undergrad.
 
A 2016 graduate of Cheney (Wash.) High School, Graham was EWU's leading tackler through the regular season with 42 tackles, although he played just the first series versus Idaho (4/10/21) and was lost for the season with an injury. He had his EWU career high of nine tackles against both Idaho (2/27/21) when he was facing his former team for the first time, and Cal Poly (3/27/21). His father, John, spent nine seasons at EWU from 2008-2016 in various positions, including associate head coach and defensive coordinator.
 
The Eagles are scheduled to open the 2021 fall schedule on Sept. 2 at UNLV, with the school's home opener the following week versus Central Washington. Eastern's complete 2021 schedule is available at: https://goeags.com/sports/football/schedule.