‘We’re toying with some things’: Eastern Washington keeps putting pieces together at spring scrimmage

Midscrimmage on Saturday, Cage Schenck stood next to Efton Chism III about 10 yards behind Michael Wortham, who was preparing to do something Schenck couldn’t recall seeing one of his quarterback teammates doing.

Wortham was about to field a punt.

“That’s the first time I’ve ever seen that, even since junior football,” said Schenck, a junior defensive back for the Eastern Washington football team. “It just shows how good an athlete Mike is. He’s shifty. So I think it’s cool they’re giving him a chance to show what he can do. He’s like a Swiss Army knife.”

Whether Wortham gets the chance to do that in a game this fall remains, of course, to be seen.

But this is spring ball, a time for coaches to experiment and see what their players can do. And while quarterback No. 1 is clearly sophomore Kekoa Visperas, the junior Wortham showed during Saturday’s scrimmage a number of ways he could contribute to the team this fall.

“We’re toying with some things,” EWU coach Aaron Best said. “We’ve got to put our best 11 out there. (Wortham’s) got some wiggle. He’s got some things. This is kind of a trial run for some of those guys in the spring. When we get to August we’ve got to strap it up tighter. … We’re not set yet.”

The Eagles ran about 75 plays at Roos Field, mixing in all three quarterbacks – Visperas, Wortham and fellow junior transfer Jared Taylor – against a defense that scrimmaged without many potential starters, who were either recovering from injuries and surgeries or were just being held out as a precaution.

That meant more opportunities for players like Schenck, who lined up at cornerback instead of his usual nickel position. For the most part, Best said the defense acquitted itself well.

“There are some guys that are on (the first-team defense) for the first time in their career,” Best said. “I felt we played inspired football on defense.”

Over the course of four possessions, Visperas completed 10 of 19 attempts for 97 yards. Wortham and Taylor led three series apiece. Taylor completed 4 of 7 passes for 24 yards and threw an interception; Wortham completed 5 of 10 for 50 yards.

Wortham also gained 62 yards rushing on eight attempts and ran for the offense’s lone touchdown. All three quarterbacks demonstrated the ability to scramble.

“As soon as the quarterback breaks the pocket, we get to run around and find space, and that’s when big plays get made,” junior receiver Nolan Ulm said. “Mike (Wortham) is so dynamic, all three of them really are, but it’s like another whole addition to our attack.”

Special emphasis on special teams

Wortham’s usage in the return was emblematic of a concerted effort by the Eagles to be better on special teams this fall, specifically in the return game. Last season, the Eagles ranked seventh in the Big Sky in kick return average (19.2 yards) but last in punt returns, returning just five punts all year for 5 total yards.

“Special teams-wise, we’ve got to be way more dynamic in the return games,” Best said. “That is something we need to do to change field position throughout the course of the game.”

The Eagles are also working in a new starting long snapper in junior Aaron Estrada. Last year, quarterback Gunner Talkington was the team’s primary holder. On Saturday, receiver Chism and senior punter Nick Kokich split duties.

Kicking were junior Jackson Cleaver and redshirt freshman Soren McKee. Last year, the Eagles made 4 of 10 field-goal attempts, tied for the second-fewest successful conversions in the Big Sky. McKee made his lone field-goal attempt last year; Cleaver didn’t attempt any, though he handled some kickoff duty, booting 6 of 10 for touchbacks.

Many defenders sit

The Eagles kept a number of senior contributors from last year on the sideline, including safety Anthany Smith – who is returning for his seventh season in Cheney – and cornerback Darrien Sampson. The same was true of cornerback Demetrius Crosby Jr.

Smith played five games and Sampson played four last season after suffering injuries early on. In their careers at Eastern, Smith (35 games) and Sampson (38) are among the team’s leading returners.

Also resting were defensive linemen Brock Harrison, who will be a senior this fall, and junior Matthew Brown. Senior linebacker Jaren Banks and senior cornerback Marlon Jones Jr. also watched from the sidelines.

Despite those absences, Ulm said the offense didn’t look its best, but he noted the group has made plenty of progress this spring.

“Today we were lacking a little bit of juice, for sure,” Ulm said. “… But throughout spring ball, we’re light years ahead of where we were last year.”

The Eagles will wrap up their spring practices with the Red-White Game at 6 p.m. Friday at Roos Field.

“It’ll be interesting to see that game on Friday night because we’ve never done one at night,” Best said. “Hopefully, we can play a little bit under the lights.”