Eastern football bids so long to some very special seniors

We know them by the number on the back of the jersey or by their exploits on the field.

But for the most part we never get to really know football players when they are safely encased in a helmet and protected by bulky pads.

Unless that is as was the case last Saturday night at the Eastern Washington University football team’s annual awards banquet.

That was a time when some of the layers were peeled back.Most revealing were the stories that few knew, but if they were in the Pence Union Building Multipurpose Room last Saturday night, they likely came away with yet more appreciation for arguably the most successful senior class in program history.

The tales told as Eagles’ head coach Beau Baldwin bid farewell to his very special seniors drilled much deeper than the statistics — three consecutive Big Sky Conference championships, 40 wins in the last four years and 46 in five campaigns.

EWU President Dr. Mary Cullinan spoke to the team’s role as being “The picture window for the university,” and its success both on and off the field. Eastern sports 30 members of the Big Sky’s All-Academic team and a collective GPA of 3.2.

Programs where a school can proudly point to with the parts all meshing as they do with EWU football are rare.

Sure, the many personal victories and accomplishments of the sensational Cooper Kupp are well documented, and rightfully so.

But equally impressive in other ways were the various journeys the players Baldwin took time to individually recognize, and maybe even roast just a bit.

If there was a common thread that knit many of them, it was their ability to “grind through lots of stuff,” Baldwin said. And how their vision as freshman often changed by the time they were seniors.

For instance, Vancouver, Wash. recruit T.J. Boatright came to Cheney as a tight end and left transitioning to center.

Denver’s Cassidy Curtis impressed Baldwin with the passion he saw from the offensive tackle. “That meant something to me,” Baldwin said, so it maybe hurt his coach just as much to see Curtis work so hard, only to get injured as a senior.

But he battled back.

Clay DeBord arrived from tiny Asotin High near Clarkston, Wash. as a 230-pound non-qualifier. He came roaring out of the gates after a year off getting up to speed in the classroom. DeBord left at 305 pounds with 41 starts on the offensive line, tabbed as a first-team All-American and played in the recent NFLPA Collegiate Bowl with maybe more football in his future.

Kickers and punters, Baldwin said, tend to be in need of maintenance, except for walk-on Tyler McNanny from Colfax. “He was a kicker who was a ballplayer,” Baldwin said. Proof, perhaps came in that the 6-foot, 1-inch, 175-pound McNanny wore a lineman’s jersey, No. 76.

Portland’s Jordan Talley came ready to play as a freshman running back, and “Was not afraid,” when thrown to the Dawgs, literally in 2011 against the Washington Huskies . He excelled with 100-yard games against Montana and Montana State. While a concussion suffered in spring ball of 2015 ended his EWU playing career, Talley still “Wanted to be around us,” and be a part of the team, Baldwin said.

For tight end Jake Withnell, “You hated to go against him in practice, but you loved having him on your team Saturday,” Baldwin said of one of his top student athletes who was not only a member of the Big Sky’s All-Academic team four years running, but played 54 games, too.

Another four-time All-Academic team member was defensive back Miles Weatheroy from Portland. “He was always doing the right thing; he ended up an incredible Eagle,” Baldwin said.

Todd Raynes was recruited out of Kenmore, Wash. as a receiver but transitioned to defense as a roverback — a combination of a safety and a linebacker. Baldwin said of Raynes, ”He attacked it no matter what the role was,” and earned the right to wear the special No. 4 at Eastern. Raynes has no announced plans to continue in football, but has said he aspires to become a Navy SEAL.

Hanford High School recruit Aaron Neary reminded Baldwin recently that the two first met at a football camp in 2004 at St. Maries, Idaho when Neary was just 11. “He knew talent when he saw it,” Neary joked.

Baldwin said Neary became one of the best offensive linemen to play the game at Eastern and that “Did not happen by accident,” he said of a guy who once played tackle, guard and center — all in one game.

Now you know a little more about the senior class Baldwin will remember as being “Part of something really special.”

That was even more evident when you got to know about who was on the inside of the uniform.

Paul Delaney can be reached at [email protected].