Eastern Washington signs 19 to letters of intent

Despite losing almost half its staff in the offseason, Eastern Washington didn’t miss a beat during recruiting.

The payoff came Wednesday morning, when the Eagles brought one of the best classes in school history.

Most of the 19 players signed to national letters of intent are rated at least two stars by various scouting services.

More important, they’re coach Aaron Best’s kind of guys.

“EKG,” or Eastern kind of Guys.”

“When we set out, we are looking for the total package – Eastern kind of guys who are good people, good students and good players,” said Best, who only nine days was chosen to succeed Beau Baldwin.

“They have infectious personalities,” Best continued. “They have the big smiles when you see them – they are just pleasant individuals and have been raised in a great structure. I’m excited to see them incorporated into our locker room. They are good football players as well.”

And none of them got away, despite rival schools’ best efforts.

Within hours of Baldwin’s departure on Jan. 16, coaches from Sacramento State, Montana State, Portland State and others, trying to lure the Eagle recruits.

“They were offering scholarships of official visits,” said recruiting coordinator and cornerbacks coach Cherokee Valeria.

The six remaining coaches “came together” and traveled “all over the map to get the job done,” Valeria said.

“It was an experience, to say the least,” Valeria said.

It ended Wednesday morning at Northern Quest as the commitments arrived by fax.

The Eagles signed 19 players, and all but four are in-state. Two others are from the Pasadena, California alma mater of former Eagle All-America quarterback Vernon Adams Jr.

The only local signee is Gonzaga Prep defensive end Matthew Simpson, the co-Defensive MVP of the 4A Greater Spokane League as a senior.

All-State selections included defensive back Anfernee Gurley from Everett and cornerback Darreon Moore from Pasco’s Kamiakin High School.

In Oregon, Eastern signed All-State linebacker Mitchell Johnson from West Linn. Johnson had 170 tackles in leading the Lions to a perfect 14-0 season and State 6A title in 2016.

Eastern also signed a highly-regarded linebacker in Cale Lindsay from Lakes High School in Tacoma.

The Eagles also signed a quarterback with NFL lineage, Nick Moore, from Hart High School in California. Moore accounted for 36 touchdowns with 2,815 yards of total offense as a senior.

His older brother Matt Moore is a former Oregon State quarterback who played against EWU in 2006, and is a 10-year NFL veteran now playing for Miami.

Moore’s Kamiakin teammate, offensive lineman Wyatt Musser, also signed, as EWU inked four sets of teammates. Wide receiver Marques Hampton and safety A. Pasesa Leiato were teammates at Steilacoom High School near Tacoma, and Lindsay and linebacker Xavier Banner were teammates at Lakes.

The other set – wide receiver Johnny Edwards IV and linebacker Chris Ojoh – were graduates of California’s Bishop Alemany High School where Adams graduated from in 2011. Interestingly, Leiato’s older brother plays for Oregon and Banner’s older brother is at USC.

The Eagles also signed one other wide receiver (Andrew Boston) and another quarterback (Gunner Talkington), as those two positions were among the recruiting priorities in 2017.

EWU recruiting class