CHENEY – Eastern Washington University football signed 17 high school seniors to letters of intent during the national signing period last Wednesday, Dec. 16. The list includes 16 who have signed national letters of intent and one who is an invited walk-on who has been admitted and confirmed attendance at EWU.
Three wide receivers and five defensive backs topped the list as the Eagles placed a particular emphasis on the Tri-Cities. The Eagles signed three players from Kamiakin High School in Kennewick and another multi-talented player from Pasco.
In all, eight of the 17 players are from high schools in Washington, with five from California, two from Utah, one from Arizona and one from Oregon.
“We haven’t replaced seniors with a signee — we look two years in advance,” Eagles head coach Aaron Best said. “We felt like we were top heavy at the safety position with upperclassmen now. We had some individuals we recruited who we felt were players we really liked on the field and did their work off the field, and their families were awesome in the process.
The three players signed from Kamiakin were all on offense for the Braves back in fall of 2019 when they last played. Tuna Altahir was an All-State running back, Woodley Downard earned first team All-Mid-Columbia Conference honors as a wide receiver and Messiah Jones, signed by EWU as a tight end, earned honorable mention All-MCC as a wide receiver. Altahir was the league’s offensive MVP.
Eastern already has three Kamiakin graduates in its program — offensive guard Wyatt Musser, cornerback Darreon Moore and wide receiver Champ Grayson. Additionally, the Eagles signed Desmian Licon from Pasco as a defensive back. He earned a trio of first team All-MCC honors as a wide receiver, defensive back and returner.
It’s the second time in the last four years the Eagles have signed three players from the same high school in the same recruiting career.
It was the second time in the last four years the Eagles have signed three players from the same high school in the same recruiting year – dipping into the talent pool at Seattle’s Rainier Beach High School to sign wide receivers Freddie Roberson and Anthony Stell, Jr. along with corner back Darrien Sampson. Eastern also signed three from Pasco High School in 2002, a trio from Mead High School in 2001 and three from Renton High School in 1992.
“It’s not often you sign three players from the same school, so it was fun to watch their film because every down, one of those guys was making a play,” Best said. “ We’re happy to continue those inroads to the Tri-Cities.”
The Covid-19 pandemic affected recruiting in a way Best has never seen before. Instead of on-campus and in-person recruiting, schools adjusted to virtual means of communications and a seemingly endless and changing stream of regulation.
“A lot of people kind of wondered how it would go — not just for us but in general,” Best explained. “The NCAA rules and regulations seemed to come out every two weeks in terms of interpretations, adjustments and time frames. We stayed old-school with some of our approaches — phone calls are always the best calls in my opinion.”
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