‘They’ve played out of their mind’: Eastern Washington’s new group of linebackers show potential

When Ty Graham and Jack Sendelbach left after last season, their eligibility exhausted after playing their extra year granted in the wake of COVID-19, the two left a considerable void in the linebacker corps of the Eastern Washington football team.

The room certainly was not emptied. But the six players who remained – Eastern also said goodbye to seniors Cale Lindsay and Jusstis Warren – were young and largely inexperienced outside of some special teams snaps.

“Flipped on its head, right?” EWU second-year linebackers coach Justin Mullgrav said Wednesday of the transition. “Extremely different.”

It’s certainly not a bad “different,” though, Mullgrav pointed out. While the defense for Eastern Washington (2-6 overall, 1-4 Big Sky) has struggled this season, the Eagles’ position coach sees plenty of growth and strong play from a group that is looking to slow the Idaho Vandals (5-3, 4-1) Saturday at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow.

“They’ve played out of their mind,” Mullgrav said of his linebackers. “The record does not reflect that and even the numbers don’t reflect that.

“I’m extremely proud of this group.”

In its initial class of recruits heading into this season, the Eagles signed Lamin Touray, a senior transfer from Nevada, presumably to contribute immediately at the position; he’d appeared in 23 games for the Wolf Pack. But Touray wasn’t on the spring practice roster and wasn’t around for the fall, either.

In the spring, Sherwin King Jr. transferred from Fresno State, where he had appeared in 19 games and started three. This fall, the senior made six tackles against Florida and played against Weber State but hasn’t done so since.

There has also been the continued absence of sophomore Ahmani Williams, who has been sidelined with an injury all season. He was someone EWU coach Aaron Best praised during spring camp, and early this season, he was listed atop the depth chart at linebacker.

“He’s our leader. He’s our captain,” Mullgrav said, and Williams’ absence “takes a toll on you.”

But Williams has found a different way to make an impact, Mullgrav said, and his ability to adjust to not playing has made him “invaluable” to the group.

Yet just because the team hasn’t had everyone it thought it might, and it doesn’t have everyone it had playing linebacker last year, players have stepped up: notably senior transfer Jaren Banks and sophomore transfer Derek Tommasini.

Banks, who has missed two games but started the others, transferred from Rice during the offseason and ranks third on the team in tackles with 45. He also has an interception.

“He’s just been a good, strong voice on our defense,” Tommasini said of Banks. “I enjoy the fact that I know if the ball goes that way, he’s got my back, and I will do the same for him.”

Tommasini, a transfer from Idaho, is second on the team with 49 tackles and has started seven of the team’s eight games.

“With all the new guys, (the linebackers) are all super good dudes, super good players,” said Tommasini, who played snaps for the Vandals’ special teams units against the Eagles in spring 2021 and whose younger brother Brett is redshirt freshman for Idaho this season.

“We’ve been grinding, working hard, studying a lot of film,” Tommasini said. “As a group, we’ve put in a lot of time together.”

Sophomores Trevor Thurman (18 tackles) and Conner O’Farrell (26 tackles) have also seen more playing time this year. Thurman has started two games, O’Farrell five. O’Farrell’s play has been especially impressive considering he hasn’t played a full training camp, Mullgrav said.

This week against Idaho, Mullgray said the challenge to the linebackers is the same as it has been: to fly around, play with a fun spirit and sustain a high, competitive level of play.

“Which they will,” he said. “That’s all I ask of them every week.”

One issue for the defense has been giving up explosive plays, something Tommasini pointed to as critical. Last week, Portland State quarterback Dante Chachere ran for a 51-yard touchdown on the game’s third play from scrimmage. A week before, Cal Poly quarterback Kahliq Paulette scored on a 57-yard run on the Mustangs’ first drive.

“We’ve just had a couple of tough spots in these games where just a couple small details cause some big plays that should not have been let up,” he said. “Limiting those would put us in a lot better position defensively.”

Idaho has scored the fifth-most points (34.6 per game) and gained the fifth-most yards per game (409.4) in the Big Sky. The Vandals are 3-0 at home this year with a 27-point average margin of victory.

That will test a defense that will also be without tackles Caleb Davis, a senior, and Soli Paleso’o, a sophomore, who both left last weekend’s game early with injuries. Each has two sacks this season.

But Tommasini said the team has been improving each game and learning a lot. With three games left, he said, “We just want to play at our best every game we play. We just want to win.”

All the experience gained this year, too, should presumably pay dividends next season when the group should have nearly everyone back.

The Eagles aren’t looking to next year yet, though. They’re looking to beat the Vandals, and then the Montana Grizzlies and the Northern Colorado Bears in the weeks after that.

“We’re definitely going to be battling it out these last three games,” Tommasini said.