Football team on track for better season in fall
The Eastern Michigan University football team will hope to improve on its winless season from last fall to become competitive in the MAC. Second-year quarterback Alex Gillett, who took over for an injured Andy Schmitt after the game against Michigan last year, will continue in his position.
When you’re at rock bottom, there’s only one place to go. Second-year coach Ron English and his staff will look to an influx of junior college players and the benefit of his returning players to improve a team that went winless in 2009.
If the Eagles are to improve, they will have to do so with two unproven quarterbacks. In the MAC, a team is only as good as its quarterback.
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The conference has always been pass oriented and last season when the Eagles had to rely on their freshman quarterback, they struggled. It will be interesting to see how second-year quarterback Alex Gillett handles the role with a full off-season to prepare.
Gillett saw plenty of playing time last season after veteran Andy Schmitt went down with a season-ending injury. He appears to be a frontrunner for the starting job but never looked completely comfortable in the role last season.
The only other quarterback on the roster, redshirt freshman Devontae Payne, will also see some time on the field. Payne stands at 6’6” and is more of a traditional pocket passer than Gillett but still knows how to scramble.
In his senior season at South High School in Cleveland, Payne threw for 1,300 yards and 15 touchdowns with only four interceptions, and ran for 166 yards and 6 touchdowns.
Much of the quarterback situation depends on the rest of the offense, which can be described as mediocre. The line is a work in progress.
A large part of English’s off-season program was getting his linemen (on both sides of the ball) bulked up. He hosted breakfasts to make sure players were eating enough to gain the mass needed to compete.
English also added larger pieces by recruiting junior college players. Junior college players are generally more developed than an incoming freshman from a physical and skill set stand point. Junior college players are a great way for EMU to get immediate help on the lines.
A gain in mass for the offensive line could mean a larger gain of yards for Dwayne Priest, the team’s senior tailback. Priest rushed for 633 yards last season, but look for that production to increase in 2010. English is desperate to establish a rushing game and Priest is the go-to guy right now.
The bulkier defensive line will help improve what can only be described as a dreadful defense. English has been outspoken about his defense not being physical enough. During the offseason English showed his defensive players tape of the 2006 U-M team. English wanted to show them tape of what a defense could do when they really “bought in.”
If the Eagles do “buy in,” they should see a dramatic improvement in their run defense. In 2009 their run defense looked more like a stationary obstacle course than something to be feared. Their pass defense put up solid numbers, but that in part was because teams were so busy rushing the ball.
Eastern looks to be improving its situation, but that may not show this season in the win-loss column. A tough out-of-conference schedule will test the Eagles with teams like Army right off the bat, along with a game at the horseshoe in Columbus at Ohio State.
Given this is only English’s second season in Ypsilanti, you have to grant him one more free pass. A reasonable expectation for this team will be a 2-10 record. The progress is there, but so is the difficult schedule. Expect at least one more year of struggle in Ypsilanti.
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by Carl Lumberg
Why does the coach get a free pass? The upcoming season should be based on improvement – not wins or losses. With the schedule they have two wins is an improvement – but game to game they have to improve… something that did not happen last year as the team (and coaches) regressed towards the end of the season.
The same team played played even with Northwestern on the road early in the season gave up 47 points to Toledo in the pentultimate game of the year! Who can forget giving up 50 at Northern Illinois?
There are no free passes in Division I football — improve or move on …
Flag for moderationby Ryan Larimore
English gets a free pass because this season will still be about setting the foundation. Its the same reason Jim Schwartz got a free pass with the Lions, and it’s the same reason Rich Rod (should have) got one in his first season. You can’t fire a guy in the infancy of his program. You have to atleast wait and see what kind of guys he brings in and what they do on the field. After year three, if the program isn’t on the up swing, that’s when you take away the free pass. This program doesn’t exactly have the history of other programs, so if it takes some patience to get to where they want to go, you be patient.
Last season they did not win a game, so in a way EMU’s season is all about wins and losses. Winning one game is “improvement” for this team.I agree with you that the team needs to improve game to game, but more importantly they need to show they can win a game or two. EVERY season is about
Flag for moderationwins and losses, even if the expectation is low.
by Carl
I guess we are in agreement – there is no free pass from the challenge of improvement!
Week to week – game to game – season to season!
Not improving and in fact, regressing, is not acceptable. I am not suggesting he be fired, simply laying the foundation of the expectations.
And there is no way in hell we can give up 56 points to Central this year! If this school is our supposed rival – we have to compete with them (and we have for years, often beating their best squads.)
Beat CMU – then we are improved!
Flag for moderationby kenneth Barna
I am an alum that for the last forty years or so, have attended 90% of the home games, and a few away games as well.
Flag for moderationI have seen many changes in that time, with stadiums, coaches, uniforms, etc. The most important change though, I have not seen much of, and that of course is winning. In the time period I have just mentioned, Eastern has had only a dozen winning seasons. That means 6-5 is a winning season. If you check the records, that was our last winning year, and it was in 1995!
Part of this miserable record is directly the fault of some of the coaches (Woodruff), and athletic directors we have had (Diles).
We are the laughing stock of the MAC. If you donot believe me just check Central’s football bloggers. They demean Eastern and want us kicked out of the league. Part of that may be because we have beaten them four out of the last six seasons, but also because we are not deemed a credible opponent.
Because I have been around Eastern football for so long, to me it is not enough to win a couple of games this year. We need to win at least five games or more. We need to do it now!
by Ed
I was a student athlete at EMU in the early 80’s during the longest losing streak in our history. The program has suffered from many setbacks and poor direction for years. Starting with the short sighted decision to relocate the stadium away from the main campus, the program has never been able to overcome obstacles that other schools take in stride. I’ve heard all the excuses: too close to UM; poor fan support; coaches just using EMU as a springboard to other jobs. All you have to do is look at Florida A&M and Florida State, both coexist in the same city, have great fan support and both are winners (most of the time). The difference FAMU is a FCS school and FSU is a BCS school. If EMU would join the Ohio Valley, Horizon or the Missouri Valley Football Conference for football, you would see overnight results.
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