The season may be over, but the awards piled in for Eastern Washington football. Eight players for Eastern earned Big Sky All-Conference awards announced by the conference today (Nov. 23).

The Eagles' punter Nick Kokich earned Second Team All-Big Sky honors after becoming a key special teams player for the team this season.

Wide receivers Efton Chism III and Freddie Roberson were both selected on the third team All-Big Sky. Marlon Jones Jr. gave Eastern three third team selections after the redshirt-sophomore developed into a key member of the secondary.

Redshirt-senior Gunner Talkington earned an honorable mention after taking over at quarterback in his final season in Cheney. Wyatt Hansen, Joshua Jerome and Mitchell Johnson all joined Talkington with honorable mentions for the season.

Nick Kokich | Junior | P
Kokich put together an outstanding season for Eastern, averaging 43.8 yards per punt with a long of 61 yards. The junior's long of 61 yards came against Montana (11/12) and he also recorded a 60-yard punt in the season opener against Tennessee State (9/3). Kokich punted 55 times for 2407 yards, dropping 14 of them inside the opponents' 20-yard line. The Tacoma, Wash. native had 14 punts of 50 or more yards during the season.

Kokich ranked second in the conference and sixth in the nation in punting average. In his career, Kokich is fifth in program history with 164 punts and is tied for sixth with a 41.0 average yards per punt.

Efton Chism III | Sophomore | WR
Chism earns his second-straight third team All-Big Sky award after catching 62 passes for 607 yards this season. The sophomore accounted for six touchdowns to rank second on the team. Chism notched his second career 100-yard game against Sacramento State (10/15) with nine catches for 129 yards, second most in a single game for his career. The nine catches was a career-high for Chism, a figure he matched against Portland State (10/29). During the game against the Hornets, Chism also recorded his longest career reception of 50 yards.

Along with contributing on offense, Chism was the main kick and punt returner for the Eagles. Chism had 408 kick return yards to average 100.9 all-purpose yards per game. His stat line ranked seventh in the Big Sky.

Chism averaged 6.2 receptions per game to rank third in the Big Sky and 17^th in the nation for the season. After this season, Chism now averages 4.7 receptions per game for his career, ranking sixth on the program's all-time leaderboard.

Freddie Roberson | Redshirt-Junior | WR
Roberson earns his third All-Big Sky honor and second-straight on the third team, earning second team honors for the 2020-21 season. He led Eastern with seven touchdowns and 797 receiving yards this season, ranking fifth in the conference and 35^th in the nation. He was second on the team, behind Chism, with 45 receptions. Roberson matched his career high with nine receptions against Portland St., racking up 145 yards for his sixth career 100-yard game and one touchdown. For the season, Roberson had three plays that went for 40 or more yards, highlighted by an 80-yard reception against Montana State (9/24).

The redshirt-junior eclipsed 2000 career receiving yards and now has 2266 total as an Eagle. He moves into 18^th place on the program's all-time reception yard list.

Marlon Jones Jr. | Redshirt-Sophomore | CB
Jones Jr. became a regular starter in Eastern's secondary this season and tied for the team lead with three interceptions. With Jones Jr.'s help, the Eagles ranked third in the Big Sky and 16^th in the nation in team interceptions. The redshirt-sophomore tallied 52 total tackles, with one for loss, adding four pass break ups. He was sixth on the team in total tackles. Jones Jr. had three games with seven tackles total tackles in 2022.

The third-team selection is Jones Jr. first of his career. The Tacoma, Wash. native now has six career interceptions.

Gunner Talkington | Redshirt-Senior | QB
Talkington was named the starting quarterback for the 2022 season, earning his opportunity to lead the team in his senior season. Talkington started 10 games and passed for 2447 yards with a 63.5 completion percentage. He threw for 22 touchdowns to rank second in the Big Sky and 15^th in the nation. The redshirt-senior averaged 244.7 yards per game and had a 139.5 efficiency rating. Against Portland St., Talkington had his career game, throwing for 394 yards and three touchdowns, while completing 36-of-60 passing attempts. In his first start of the season, Talkington passed for 348 yards and had five touchdown passes against Tennessee St., earning Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week honors. The Battle Ground, Wash. native had seven passes of over 40 yards, including am 87-yard touchdown pass to Nolan Ulm that ranks as the ninth longest completion in program history.

Talkington has a career 61.4 completion percentage, ranking seventh on the program's all-time career leaderboard.

Wyatt Hansen | Sophomore | LT
Hansen stated all 11 of Eastern's games this season, solidifying a key position for the offense. Hansen has now started in all 29 games he has played for the Eagles in during his career.

Joshua Jerome | Redshirt-Junior | DT
Jerome made nine starts in the nine games he played for the Eagles in the trenches. The redshirt-junior made 39 total tackles, with 1.5 for a loss to earn his third All-Big Sky honor. Jerome was a third team All-Big Sky honoree in 2021 and an honorable mention for the 2020-21 season. He recovered one fumble against Tennessee St. Jerome made a season high, six tackles against both Tennessee St. and Portland St.

For his career, Jerome now has 182 total tackles, with 24.0 for loss, adding 11.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries.

Mitchell Johnson | Redshirt-Senior | DE
Johnson now has four All-Big Sky honors to his name, adding a second-straight third team honor. He was a first team All-Big Sky honoree for the 2020-21 season and second team in the 2018 season. In 2022, Johnson made 53 total tackles to tie for fourth on the team.  The redshirt-senior maintained being a disruptive force in opponents' backfields, accounting for 12.5 tackles for loss and 5.0 sacks. He averaged 1.1 tackles for loss per game to rank third in the Big Sky. Johnson forced two fumbles and recovered one in his final season in Cheney.

Johnson finishes his career at Eastern with 58 games played, ranking second all-time in program history and first among defensive lineman, while making 41 career starts. The West Linn, Ore. native has 18.5 sacks that is tied for 12^th in program history and his six forced fumbles is one shy of the school record. Johnson accounted for 201 tackles during his six seasons at Eastern.