FARMINGTON, Utah — The 2025 Eastern Washington football team showed noticeable improvement during the season and is well represented on the Big Sky All-Conference team. Eight Eagles earned the postseason honors, with
Jaylon Jenkins earning first team All-Conference, the first of his career.
Landon Cooper and Read Sunn placed on the All-Conference second team. Dylan Conner, Nate Bell, Isaiah Perez, Drew Carter and Landon Ogles all earned Honorable Mentions.
The All-Conference awards were voted on by the conferences' head coaches and were not eligible to vote for their players. Jenkins had a breakout year in his third season as an Eagle, grabbing five interceptions at safety. That mark is currently tied for fourth in the FCS and second in the Big Sky. The Federal Way, Wash. native made his first career interception against Northern Iowa, and had a stretch of three-consecutive games with a pick. Additionally, Jenkins is tied for the conference lead and eighth in the nation with 13 passes defended, adding eight pass breakups to his five interceptions. He is 30th in the FCS in pass breakups and seventh in the Big Sky. With 52 tackles this season, Jenkins ranked fourth on the team, making 39 solo, while starting all 12 games for the Eagles. He added one forced fumble in the season finale against Cal Poly this past weekend.
Led by Jenkins' effort, Eastern ranked third in the nation and second in the conference with 15 interceptions. The team had a streak of seven consecutive games with a pick, matching the longest streak since 2017. Against Northern Colorado, EWU made five interceptions, including one from Jenkins, tying for the second-most in a single game in program history.
For his career, Jenkins has played in 24 games, making 15 starts and has 68 total tackles.
Cooper stepped into the starting tight end role this season and made the most of his opportunities. The Sutter, Calif. native caught 22 passes of 239 yards, averaging 10.9 yards per reception. The yards ranks sixth among Eastern players. He had two touchdowns during the season, tied for 20th in the Big Sky. In Eastern's win over Western Illinois, Cooper caught his first career touchdown, also making it a career-long catch of 64 yards. The reception is tied for the 12th longest in the conference this season. Cooper started every game for the Eagles at tight end in 2025.
Sunn transferred to Eastern in the offseason after spending four seasons at Wyoming and instantly made an impact for the Eagles. At linebacker, Sunn led EWU with 96 tackles, ranking fifth in the Big Sky. He had four games with 10-plus tackles this season, including 11 tackles in three games. The Wasilla, Ak native accounted for two sacks - the first of his career - to tie for third on the team. Disrupting opponents behind the line, Sunn notched 10.0 total tackles for loss to rank seventh in the Big Sky. Sunn added two forced fumbles, tying for second in the conference. He also finished with one pass breakup and five quarterback hurries. Sunn started all 12 games for Eastern.
Conner carries on the tradition of Eastern offensive lineman award with his first postseason award to close out his career in Cheney. Conner took over at left tackle, making nine starts this season. In his EWU career, Conner has played in 23 games with 12 starts. The Orange, Calif. Native is a four-year player for the Eagles, debuting in the 2022 season.
Bell was an all-purpose production machine this season, racking up 1666 total offensive yards to rank eighth in the Big Sky. While at quarterback, Bell rushed for 663 yards to rank seventh in the Big Sky, averaging 5.6 yards per carry. Bell rushed for seven touchdowns, tying for ninth in the conference. His 42 points scored ranked in a tie for 17th in the Big Sky. The Brentwood, Calif. Native led the Eagles with 1003 passing yards, completing 53.7 of his passes and throwing seven touchdowns.
Bell accounted for five touchdowns against Western Illinois, throwing for two and rushing for three in the home win. He had 272 passing yards and 144 rushing yards. Against Portland State, Bell rushed for 175 yards on 23 carries. Bell started seven games in 2025, with six at quarterback and one at wide receiver.
Prior to the 2024 season, Perez was given the honor to wear the No. 4 jersey as one of the leaders of the Eagle defense and he excelled in the role this season on the defensive line. In the final game of the season against Cal Poly, Perez broke the Eastern record with his fourth blocked kick, an extra point attempt from the Mustangs. Perez is tied for the FCS lead in the blocked kicks through the regular season and Eastern, as a team, is tied for fifth in the nation.
The Othello, Wash. native added to his record-breaking game against Cal Poly with a career-best 2.5 sacks. It was the most sacks by an Eagle since 2017 when Albert Havili had 2.5 against Fordham. Perez finished the season leading EWU with 4.0 sacks and 5.0 total tackles for loss. He accounted for 51 total tackles - 19 solo - to rank 5th on the team. Perez added two pass breakups and three quarterback hurries during the season, playing in all 12 games and making 9 starts.
As an Eagle, Perez had made 19 starts and played 35 total games. He has 89 tackles and six sacks. He is one blocked kick shy of tying the program record of five.
Carter was a force at safety this season and was key to the team's defensive success. Carter amassed 66 total tackles to rank third on the team and 22nd in the conference. He had 42 solo tackles. The Lake Stevens, Wash. native posted three games with double-digit tackles, including a career-best 12 against Portland State. Carter was tied for third on the team with 5.0 tackles for loss. In the game against Northern Colorado, Carter made one of the Eagles' five interceptions in the. It was the first of Carter's career. Carter forced one fumble, while recovering one, and recording three pass breakups. This season, Carter appeared and started nine games for the Eagles.
Overall at Eastern, Carter has made 12 starts in 26 games played, with 105 total tackles. He has nine career pass breakups.
Ogles added a postseason honor to his awards, after earning two special teams player of the week this season. Spearheading the punting effort, Ogles placed 25 punts inside opponents 20-yard line - 32 percent of punts - to lead the Big Sky. The San Diego, Calif. Native recorded 16 punts of 50-plus yards, including a career-long 72 yard punt, the third longest in the conference this season. The punt was also tied for the third longest in EWU history. In total, Ogles punted 78 times, averaging 40.6 yards per punt - 3167 yards total. Ogles' punt total ties the EWU record for a single season. He tied for the conference lead with 22 fair caught punts.
Ogles ends his EWU career with a 41.0 yards per punt average that ranks sixth in program history.
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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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