Eastern Washington football opens Spring practice with plenty of experience on both sides of ball

Eastern Washington will begin its spring football practices with two this week – Monday and Wednesday – before ramping up toward the annual Red-White Game later in April.

“I’m just ready to play ball,” EWU senior wide receiver Nolan Ulm said Thursday. “How many chances do you get to play organized college football?”

Eastern is coming off back-to-back losing seasons over which the Eagles went a combined 7-15. But Ulm is optimistic that the team is going to bounce back this year.

“I believe in coach (Aaron) Best, in this program,” Ulm said. “I know we can make it back to where we need to be.”

In addition to Best, the Eagles return seven coaches, including third-year offensive coordinator Jim Chapin and first-year defensive coordinator Eric Sanders, who will continue to coach linebackers as he did last year. He replaced Jeff Copp as coordinator.

But they will also have a few new – if familiar – faces. Tamarick Pierce, a former EWU running back, will be coaching his old position group, and Danny McDonald is back in the program as its special teams coach.

It’s a title the Eagles haven’t had a specific coach hold since 2019, when Heath Pulver coordinated all the units. Instead, the Eagles opted to share the duties among multiple coaches. McDonald was a quality control coach at Eastern from 2018 to 2020 and last season was a defensive quality control assistant at Washington State.

“He’s got good energy, good vibes,” senior wide receiver Efton Chism III said of McDonald. “I’m excited to see how spring ball goes. I’m excited to see any ways we can do better on special teams. We’ve got to be able to win special teams every game.”

The Eagles have yet to announce a new defensive line coach to replace Matt Ulrich, who held the position the past two years. Ulrich is the special teams coordinator at Mercer, which plays in the FCS’ Southern Conference.

Eastern expects to return nine starters on offense and seven on defense. The Eagles will be replacing All-Big Sky punter Nick Kokich but return kickers Soren McKee and Jackson Cleaver, and long snapper Tyson Jacobson.

The Red-White Game is scheduled for 6 p.m. on April 26 at Roos Field. The Eagles will open the regular season at home on Aug. 29 against Monmouth.