CHENEY, Wash. — July is about to end but Eastern Washington football's 2024 season is just beginning. Eastern opened fall camp yesterday and completed practice number two today. The team practiced for two hours at the EWU Sports and Recreation practice fields. 

The Eagles practiced with helmets only the past two days and will transition to some pads for tomorrow. 

Fall camp consists of 20 practices including two scrimmages, with practices beginning at 9:15 a.m. and going to 11:15, approximately. The Eagles will practice at EWU Sports and Recreation Fields until Aug. 11 and then move to Roos Field for the remainder of camp. 

The scrimmages will be on Sunday, August 18 at 1 p.m., with the second on Wednesday, August 21st at 3 p.m. All of Eastern's practices and scrimmages are free and open to the public.

Redshirt-junior quarterback Kekoa Visperas talked about his mindset going into his second season as the Eagles starter, 

"I'm feeling good and taking advantage of what we focused on this offseason right now. No complaints so far. I worked on building relationships with my receivers and offensive line. It goes from working on calls and communicating different signals or looks to just having a better relationship with both units. Honestly, it's crazy that I'm going on year four and just thinking about where I've come from every time I step out on the grass."

The Eatonville, Wash. native threw for 2754 yards last season, accounting for 19 touchdown passes. He completed 66 percent of his passes, averaging 11.0 yards per completion.

Visperas emphasized the importance of the team's comradery going into the season, 

"Having the guys that I do and the ones that came back after last season is a blessing. Our QB room is the most tight-knit one in America. Those are my guys, my brothers and I love them. I always have their back and we push each other each day. We know what the standard is and because of our relationship, we hold each other to that standard."

While Visperas is on his fourth season, super senior Darrien Sampson is going on his seventh in Cheney,

"It's starting to catch up a little bit. I made the decision to come back and take advantage of my true last opportunity to play college football. It took a lot of thought but I decided to come back and now we're dog days of practice."

Sampson was limited to three games last season, but has 41 appearances and 28 starts in his career. He has three career interceptions and 76 total tackles. 

"It's good that we have young guys because they're learning fast and playing a lot of ball. They're going out there and doing what they're supposed to do. Defensive wise, our goal is to play physical and tackle to win games. That's our biggest goal; is to win the legacy for the logo. We're going to create that legacy this year and bring it back to where it's supposed to be."

Eastern Washington is less than a month away from its first game of the 2024 season, hosting Monmouth on Aug. 29 at Roos Field, with kickoff at 6 p.m.
 

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The Eagles open the 2024 regular season on Aug. 29 vs. Monmouth! Season tickets for the 2024 football season are now available. Ticket packages can be purchased online via your Paciolan account, over the phone at 509-359-6059, or by emailing tickets@ewu.edu. 

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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