Eastern Washington University staged its final scrimmage of fall camp Wednesday after, and head coach Beau Baldwin opted to rest most of his starters.  You can read the short scrimmage story that appeared in Thursday morning's S-R here, and you read the report that was posted on EWU's website here.

I've included some additional thoughts and comments about the scrimmage below, so read on.  Also, you might find this article that ran in the Missoulian Thursday morning of interest, considering how upset Montana fans are with the ticketing policy in place at EWU.

Baldwin had hoped to hold Wednesday's scrimmage on the new red turf inside that is now Roos Field, but workers are still putting the finishing touches on the carpet, which I think Eagle fans are going to love.

If all goes as planned, the team will practice on the new turf on Friday, and we have a story planned for Sunday's S-R that will deal with the reaction of players and coaches, as well as what will go into the decision of what color uniforms the Eagles will wear when playing on the bright red playing surface.

Wednesdsay's scrimmage was interesting to watch, mainly because of the battle between redshirt freshman Anthony Vitto and junior Nick Gauthier for the backup quarterback spot. Both struggled early, but  did some good things later in the scrimmage.

Here's what they had to say about their performances.

GAUTHIER: "That (coming back from a poor start) was big, but that's how things are going to go in a game. You have to respond to tough plays -- like interceptions -- and just keep throwing the ball hard."

VITTO:  "This is the first time we've had a live drill like this, so it's definitly a little different experience.  This was good for both of us -- to see that pressure in your face and finally being live.  Things are going to go a little south, sometimes, but you've just got to come back and respond, which I thought we both did today."

And here's what the two QBs had to say about the challenges of keeping their competitive drive up while knowing Mitchell has a lock on the starting job:

VITTO:  "It's actually kind of intersesting, because I had the same situation when I was in high school.  You really can't get frustrated about it.  Obviously, (Mitchell) has collegiate experience, already, and started some games (at Southern Methodist).  The main thing is to try to learn from him, come out here each day and be as competitive as you can, and don't let him slack; push him as hard as you can and just go from there."

 

GAUTHIER:  "You want to play, obvioously, but Bo coming in was a thing we couldn't control.  So, we just ahve to go out there and work hard, push him and push each other to try and make this team better. Replacing a big-time guy like Matt Nichols is a big job."

 

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