Victory 4 MSU

Ask any Spartan what immediately comes to mind when you say “Eastern Michigan” and their answer will undoubtedly be “W”. That’s because the Spartans have never lost to the Eagles… or Hurons. In fact the last couple contests have been downright blowouts: 56 - 7 in 2002 and 52 - 20 in 2006. Both of those years ended badly, to understate things a bit. Actually, our head coach was fired at the conclusion of both those seasons: Bobby Williams in ‘02 and John Loser Smith in ‘06. So should the Spartan faithful be hoping for a more competitive contest to avoid this apparent curse? Should we be fearing for the job security of coach Dantonio if we blowout the Eagles? Probably not.

Eastern has been a mediocre MAC (Mid-American Conference) team and hasn’t had a winning season in 13 years (that’s 1995). 5th year head coach Jeff Genyk has been laying a quality foundation, however, and will try to change that in 2008. The Eagles will certainly have experience, returning 8 starters on offense and 7 on defense. This has been the first time in a while that Eastern has been talking about a possible MAC championship, and that experience will have to come through in order for that to happen. Taking all this into account, the outcome of the contest on September 6 still won’t be in EMU’s favor. They will be overmatched at nearly every position.

2007 Season

The Eagles’ ‘07 season was mostly a disappointment with a few sprinkles of hope thrown in. Sure, their final 4-8 record looks bad, but they beat some good teams and were simply overmatched in out-of-conference play. There is nothing to be ashamed of by losing to teams like Pitt, Michigan or Northwestern; and it’s expected anyway. The Eagles actually played Michigan fairly close in a 22-33 losing effort. Eastern also got wins over the other two I-A directional schools in Michigan by defeating Western at home 19-2 and conference champion Central Michigan in a 48-45 high scoring affair in Mt. Pleasant. The other two wins were over MAC doormat Northern Illinois and I-AA Howard.

Offense

Eastern is expecting more from the passing game this season with the emergence of junior dual-threat quarterback Andy Schmitt. Schmitt had 1,613 yards passing with 14 touchdowns and only 6 interceptions in 10 starts last season. Three of those picks came in one game against Vanderbilt, reminding Spartan fans that even good quarterbacks can have bad games (see Hoyer, Brian in the Champs Sports Bowl). Andy also came in second in rushing for the Eagles with 279 yards on the ground and 6 touchdowns. His running style has been compared to that of Drew Stanton’s in that he will take on defenders with reckless abandon and is prone to injury. Also returning is sophomore quarterback Kyle McMahon who saw extensive playing time in 2007. McMahon played in seven games including two starts due to injuries to Schmitt and will provide a quality backup for the Eagles this season. Hopefully this duo can improve on the Eagles’ 181 yards per game passing from 2007. I think they will.

The Eagles lose their top rusher from 2007, Pierre Walker who had 839 yards and 10 touchdowns, but return some talented backs ready to fill in. The two players ready for some game time are senior Terrence Blevins and sophomore Dwayne Priest. Blevins is more of a power back, standing 6′1 and 226 lbs, but he also has speed, running a sub-4.5 forty. Priest is the young speedster at 5′9 and 186. This pair could operate much like Jehuu and Javon did last season - “Thunder and Lightning”.

Eastern returns three of its four top receivers from last year, losing only Travis Lewis who finished third in receiving in ‘07. The passing attack was not a factor in 2007, but look for the Eagles to step it up in 2008 with more experience at QB and wide receiver. The top returning wideout is junior Jacory Stone who had 47 catches for 462 yards and 3 touchdowns last season. Jacory has all but locked up the X spot after spring camp. Also returning is senior Tyler Jones who finished fourth on the team in receiving last year with 29 receptions for 341 yards and 3 touchdowns. The guy who came in second last year is junior DeAnthony White who had 33 receptions for 357 yards and 3 touchdowns. White is a speedster and is looking to start at the Z this fall. Also pushing for playing time will be junior Dontayo Gage, who led the Eagles in all-purpose yards in ‘07 with 1,215; and sophomore Tyrone Burke who is likely to be a slot receiver some day.

At tight end the Eagles must replace Ken Bohnet who graduated last year. Through spring camp the position has still not been set, however the 3 contenders are sophomores Josh LeDuc and Ben Thayer and Juco transfer Kyle Pollock.

The Eagles lose only one starter from their offensive line in 2008, right guard Khalid Walton. The rest of the line is set for a push to be the top line in the MAC. The players vying for right guard are junior Stephen Johnson, senior Joe Charles and massive redshirt freshman Darrell Davis-Budnauro who stands at 6-4 and 357 lbs. That’s one heavy dude. The returning starters include sophomore Eric Davis at center, senior T.J. Lang at left tackle, junior Andy Fretz at left guard and Dan DeMaster at right tackle.

The 2008 Eagles offense will undoubtedly be much-improved compared to the ‘07 version. With nearly the entire offensive line returning along with two capable QBs and 3/4 of the receiving corps, they would be hard-pressed not to. The running back duo of Blevins and Priest should also provide a nice 1-2 punch for the Eagles’ ground game. The only question is whether these players can compete with Big-10 level athletes.

Defense

The Eagles also have a bit of experience returning on defense. On the line they lose the Tennessee Titan’s 2nd round draft pick Jason Jones and Eric Young. Jones played defensive end, and along with Eric Young they led the team in tackles for loss. The top returning starter is senior tackle Josh Hunt who had 3 fumble recoveries and 2 interceptions last year. Also returning is senior defensive end Spenser Smith who had 35 tackles last season. Competing for the open spot at DE is junior Brandon Downs and redshirt freshman Brad Ohrman. The final spot on the line is between redshirt freshman Brandon Slater and incoming freshmen Ryan Kuhlman and Javon Reese.

Senior middle linebacker Daniel Holtzclaw is a star for the Eagles’ defense. Daniel is a four-year starter and All-MAC player. He had 125 tackles in 2007. The Eagles lose outside linebacker Daran Matthews who was second in tackles last year, but the other side has junior Andre Hatchett returning. Hatchett had 98 tackles in ‘07 for third place on the team. The open linebacker spot is being contested between sophomore Tim Fort and senior safety Jermaine Jenkins.

All of the starting defensive backs return for the Eagles in ‘08. The two corners are sophomores Kevin Long and Arrington Hicks. Hicks started in all 12 games last season as a freshman and Long started the final 5 games. Sophomore Ryan Downard starts at free safety this season after leading the team in 2007 with six interceptions. At strong safety will be senior Jacob Wyatt. Wyatt had 65 tackles and 2 picks last year.

Overall the Eagles’ defense returns quite a bit of experience and should show improvement in the secondary and probably at linebacker. The question mark here is whether the defensive line can put pressure on opposing QBs and help stop the run.

Special Teams

Kicking duties are up in the air right now for Eastern. In 2007 sophomore Sean Dutcher went just 2-5 on field goals before being replaced by sophomore punter Zach Johnson who hit 5-7. Dutcher apparently still hasn’t worked through his troubles, so the punter may be having to perform field goals and extra points this season. In 2007 the Eagles’ kick return average was 20.9 yards for 7th place in the MAC and their punt return average was only 5.0 for 2nd to last in the MAC. Junior Dontayo Gage returns as the kick returner this season after leading the team last year in all-purpose yardage. And despite a low punt return average, Nate Beard will return to fill that role again in 2008.

Coaching

Jeff Genyk is entering his 5th season with the Eagles with an overall record of 13-33. He has laid a solid foundation to build upon and is looking to take the next step this year. If he can’t get to 6 wins his tenure may be in jeopardy.

2008 Season

The Eagles host Indiana State to begin their season before traveling to MSU on September 6th. I personally know nothing about Indiana State so I have nothing to say about that game, but I do know that MSU will be too much for them to handle. The Eagles then take on the high-powered offense of Toledo at home before going to Maryland to take a loss. Then it’s cupcake Northern Illinois at home and a road game at MAC contender Bowling Green. After that showdown it’s off to Army for an interesting out-of-conference game before hosting Akron. Then the Eagles must go on a 3 game road trip to Ball State, Western Michigan and Temple before hosting Central Michigan on November 28th to end the regular season. This is a manageable schedule for Eastern and this may be the year they get a winning season. I see them going 6-6.

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