Eastern Michigan Eagles 2018 Football Preview

Eastern Michigan Eagles 2018 Football Preview

Opening Statement: When Eastern Michigan won 7 games in 2016, and went to their first bowl appearance in decades, the program looked to be pointing the needle in the right direction under Chris Creighton, a head coach that was embattled by a lagging support system on campus, that saw many academic leaders pushing for the discontinuation of the program. The 7 win bowl season shut down some of that talk, but the 2017 season came along, and then the bottom dropped out, as a 6 game losing streak that went into the middle and latter parts of the season transpired, and the Eagles dropped back to 5-7 and missed a bowl. Now, many wonder whether or not the 2016 season was sustainable, or whether the 2017 season was a harbinger of things to come.

Breakdown Offense: EMU scored 26.3 points per game in 2017, down 3.5 points per game from 2016. They passed for 357.3 yards per game, while rushing for just 129.5 yards per game. Both numbers were down from 2016 by around 30 yards per category, or 60 total yards per game. That trend could continue in 2018.

Brogan Roback is gone at QB, leaving the job in the hands of sophomore Isaac Stiebeling, who struggled in limited action last season. Stiebeling passed for just 49 yards on 8/17 passing, and completed just 47.1% of his passes. Mike Glass III could compete for the job with Tyler Wiegers, as they are the only upperclassmen in the QB group. Aaron Jackson, Preston Hutchinson, and Jairus Grissom are all coming in as freshmen.

Ian Eriksen and Shaq Vann are both back to give the rushing game half a chance at life this season after this unit fell off the radar in 2017. Eriksen rushed for 805 yards and 8 scores, while Vann, who was largely expected to be the man last fall, rushed for just 520 yards in 9 games, as he was beat up most of the season. Breck Turner returns as the 3rd back as well, and rushed for 118 yards on just 31 carries.

The Eagles lose their top 3 receivers from a year ago, which places even more strain on the passing game. Matthew Sexton, who caught 26 passes, is the most experienced returnee. Eddie Daugherty, who caught just 10 passes,and Isaac Holder, who caught 9 passes, are the only returnees who caught passes last season. Lemar Harris, a RS junior, had a solid spring, and may get a crack at some reps.

Bryce Kemp caught 6 passes at TE last season, and starts, but is primarily a blocker. Tre'Shown Fields backs him up.

The line could actually be solid this fall. Chris Bukoski (LT), Jeremy Hickey (LG), Dakota Tallman (C), Jake Donnellon (RG), and Steve Neilson (RT) all left spring ball with locked up starting jobs. Ka'John Armstrong and Pete Bergman give solid depth at the Tackle spots, while Jimmy Leatiota backs up the OG spots. Mike Van Hoeven is the backup at C.

Breakdown Defense: The Eagles allowed 23.3 points per game last fall, which was actually a 6.5 points per game improvement over 2017. They allowed just 190.3 yards passing and 173.25 yards rushing per game in their 4-2-5 defensive set.

Maxx Crosby is a beast at DE, as he finished with 16.5 TFLs as a sophomore last fall. He led the team with 11 sacks, 11 QB hurries, and 4 forced fumbles. Clay Holford, a junior, backs him up.

Desmond Kelly will start at NT. He finished last fall with just 0.5 TFLs after transferring from Dodge City CC. Chris Hendrix should get first shot at the open DT job, but finished with just 2 TFLs last season.

Jeremiah Harris is back at the BULL hybrid spot after finishing with 12.5 TFLs last fall. He finished with 45 tackles, 6 sacks, 3 PBUs, 6 QB hurries, and 2 forced fumbles.

Kyle Rachwal is back at the MIKE spot, and finished with 67 tackles last season. Jason Beck, who led the team with 80 tackles last fall, is gone, and the WILL spot is wide open as we head into the summer.

Kevin McGill and Ross Williams are back to start at CB for the Eagles. They each finished with 7 PBUs last fall. Jalen Phelps and Jeff Hubbard are the backups. Vince Calhoun is the starter at ROVER, and finished with 78 tackles, which was tied for 2nd on the team. Freddie McGee II is tha backup there. Brody Hoying also finished with 78 tackles, and returns to the DOG position. Justin Moody is the FREE, and had 50 tackles.

Breakdown Special Teams: Paul Fricano is back at PK and hit 15/21 FG attempts last fall. The staff would like to see more consistency out of him this season.

Jake Julien is back at Punter, and did a solid job last fall, averaging 42.64 yards per punt. Sexton is the KR man, but struggled, at just 17.33 yards per return. Blake Banham is the PR man, but struggled as well with an average return of just over 5 yards.

Final Analysis: The Eagles struggles last season came as a result of an offense that failed to get going, and that unit was also fairly beat up at times. Getting a solid running foundation was something that never happened, and the turnovers by Roback (15 INTs) did not help either. Getting some kind of consistency will be hard this season with the loss of Roback, and a host of receivers. Defensively, the Eagles have some holes, especially at LB and DT, but the secondary could be decent, and there are weapons with Crosby and Harris up front, and if Rachwal can develop into a force at LB, this team could surprise some people in the fall. Consistency will be where everything comes together, but finding it is sometimes elusive. EMU, even if everything comes together, can't expect to contend for a MAC title this season, but if they can avoid the horrible slumps again, a bowl could be within reach.