Gubrud predicted to repeat; Eastern football picked No. 2 behind UND

There will likely be no surprise attacks in 2017 from the Eastern Washington University offense.

Last season, Eagles' sophomore quarterback Gage Gubrud shocked just about everyone - except, perhaps, himself - by becoming the Big Sky Conference's Offensive MVP. The McMinville, Ore. product was tabbed July 17 to repeat that honor in preseason voting from the league's annual Football Kickoff in Park City, Utah.

Gubrud was joined on the preseason all-conference list by senior defensive end Albert Havili and junior safety Mitch Fettig. Havili and Gubrud are among the four Eagles serving as co-captains in the upcoming 2017 season.

As a first-year starter, Gubrud broke the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision record for passing yards with 5,160. In all, he broke three FCS records, seven Big Sky Conference marks and 18 EWU records. He finished with 48 touchdown passes and a Big Sky record of 5,766 yards of total offense. He was also the team's leading rusher with 606 yards and five more scores in an 11-2 season.

"He's a good player to have back," new EWU head coach Aaron Best said of Gubrud. "But now that the bar has been raised, now you have to raise it even higher."

A former linebacker, Havili had 61 tackles with five sacks from his defensive end position in 2016. Fettig, a 2014 graduate of Olympia (Wash.) HS, had 97 tackles to rank third on the team a year ago - tops among returning players.

Fighting Hawks, Eagles picked to repeat in Big Sky football

The two teams that tied for the Big Sky Conference regular season football title in 2016 are expected to repeat.

North Dakota and Eastern Washington were tabbed by both coaches and media to finish 1-2 in the race for the Big Sky Conference football championship in polls released July 18 at the conference Football Kickoff in Park City, Utah.

The Fighting Hawks were picked first on six of the coaches' ballots, and received six more total votes than EWU. North Dakota earned 15-of-24 first-place votes from the media and had 298 total points.

Eastern received five first-place votes, 271 total points by the media, and had two first-place tallies and 124 total votes by the coaches.

The Eagles enter their first season under new head coach Aaron Best with five new coaches on the offensive side of the football, but will be well-stocked with experience on the field. Eastern returns 53 letterwinners, including 26 on defense, 23 on offense and four on special teams.

"Every year is a new team," Best said, who is entering his 21st season as either a player or coach at Eastern. "Everybody wants to make comparisons to the 2016 team, but we want the 2017 team to develop. Our identity is yet to be determined and that's what we are starting to do."

The team's defensive coaching staff returns intact from EWU's 2016 team that finished 12-2 and a perfect 8-0 in the Big Sky Conference. The Eagles ended the year ranked fourth in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision after advancing to the semifinals of the FCS Playoffs for the third time in the past five seasons.

The teams, which tied last year for the conference crown, but did not meet in league play, play each other on Nov. 11 in Grand Forks, N.D.

A year ago, Eastern was picked to finish second and ended up tying North Dakota at the top of the league standings with perfect 8-0 records.

The Fighting Hawks return several key contributors from the 2016 season, including safety Cole Reyes and running back John Santiago. Reyes is the Big Sky's reigning Defensive Player of the Year and was selected as the Big Sky's Preseason Defensive Player of the Year on Monday. The Fighting Hawks also return the Big Sky's Coach of the Year, as Bubba Schweigert returns for his fourth season in Grand Forks.