OMAHA, Neb. — It became a reality today, but there was never a doubt this season;
Efton Chism III is an All-American. Chism earned first team All-American honors from the Associated Press, giving him his second career honor from the AP after earning third team in 2023. Chism was not the only Eagle honored by the AP as
Wyatt Hansen earned an honorable mention for his senior season at EWU. The award is Hansen's first postseason honor from the AP.
Chism spent his senior season atop the FCS and Big Sky leaderboards. He finished with 120 receptions for 1311 yards and 13 touchdowns. Chism's yards and receptions led the FCS, while his touchdowns ranked 3rd nationally, but was the top mark in the conference. The 120 receptions also broke a EWU record for receptions in a season, passing Cooper Kupp 117 catches set in the 2016 season. The reception total also ranks fourth in FCS history.
Chism had six 100 yard receiving games this year and six games with 10-plus receptions. The Monroe, Wash. native. opened the 2024 season with career-best 173 yards against Monmouth (8/29) and matched his career best with three touchdowns. He tallied 15 catches against UC Davis (10/19) to give him a new career-best for receptions in a single game. In his final game as an Eagle, Chism had 13 catches for 119 yards, adding a career-long 67 yard touchdown catch.
Chism caught a pass in 53 consecutive games - every game he played at Eastern - to break Kupp's FCS record for consecutive games with a catch. He finished his career with 346 catches, 3852 yards and 37 touchdowns.
Chism earned first team Big Sky All-Conference honors in November. The senior was a finalist for the 2024 Walter Payton Award, finishing ninth in the final voting, with one first-place vote, one second-place, one third place, six fourth-place and six fifth-place votes for 30 total points.
On the offensive line, Hansen started all 12 games for Eastern this season. Hansen was the mark of consistency for Eastern during his career, as the Kent, Wash. native started all 52 games he appeared in on the line.
The Eagles' offensive line ranked 15th in FCS and fourth in the Big Sky for sacks allowed, permitting only 1.17 per game. EWU ranked second in the conference and fifth in the nation with 229.3 rushing yards. The offense averaged 35.8 points per game, placing them second in the league and seventh nationally.
This offseason, Hansen earned first team Big Sky All-Conference honors, his second All-Conference award of his career. He was an All-Conference honorable mention in 2022.
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ABOUT EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Eastern Washington University Athletics sponsors 14 intercollegiate sports, six for men and eight for women, both as learning opportunities for its most athletically talented students and as an enhancement to student and community life. Eastern is affiliated with Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is a member of the Big Sky Conference, an association of 10 regional schools with comparable enrollments and academic goals.
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