Eastern Washington’s veteran offensive line has proven a bright spot amid frustrating season

As the 2022 season wrapped up and it was clear Eastern Washington was headed for a losing season, there was still no dissuading Wyatt Musser from suiting up.

Even as injuries and losses piled on, Musser started nine games on the Eagles’ offensive line that season. Whether he was going to finish each game? That was another matter.

“Mussy gave everything he had, and we knew in some of those games senior year we were going to lose him at some point,” Luke Dahlgren, Musser’s teammate for four seasons, said this week. “He was going to go down at some point. We just didn’t know when.”

Musser finished with 55 career games played, placing him fourth on Eastern’s all-time list. He finished five shy of teammate Tristen Taylor, who started all 60 games he played from 2016 to 2021.

Offensive line has long had a tradition of excellent play at Eastern, a trait that mirrors the fact that its head coach, Aaron Best, played and coached the position at EWU .

But it’s also been a few years since Eastern’s offensive linemen were recognized with All-Big Sky honors – the last two were Musser (third team) and Taylor (first team) – in 2021.

It would seem, though, that considering what the Eagles have done on offense this season, rushing for the fourth-most yards per game in the Big Sky, and the group’s seniority, this could be the year they reclaim one of those honors.

“Some of the old heads in the room, they’ve been through a lot,” EWU offensive line coach Hayden Mace said last month, “and they’ve seen the highs of being a part of ’21 and been a part of the last couple of seasons not living up to their own standards and the program’s standards.”

But, Mace said, that group of starters – which includes seniors Wyatt Hansen (left tackle), Dahlgren (left guard), Jack Seelye (center), Brenden Rivera (right guard) and Matthew Hewa Baddege (right tackle) – has been steadfast.

“The (EWU) logo has done so much for them,” Mace said, “and they’ve been able to set the standard every day for the next group of young guys coming along.”

Starting on Saturday at Northern Colorado, that core of seniors has three more games left this season. For Hansen, Saturday will be his 50th career game at Eastern, all starts. Were he to start each of the final three, Hansen would climb into a tie behind Taylor for the second-most starts in program history (offensive lineman Chris Schlichting, who played from 2016 to 2019, and Cooper Kupp, from 2013 to 2016, each started 52 games).

Dahlgren isn’t far behind in games played at 45, including 33 starts. Rivera has played in 35 and started 30. Hewa Baddege, whose career has included a handful of injuries, has appeared in 36 games and started 10. Seelye transferred to Eastern before last season, so he wasn’t around for the 2021 team’s 10-win season, but in nearly two full years he has started 20 games.

“Their experience gives guys a ton of confidence that they can handle anything,” EWU offensive coordinator Jim Chapin said this week. “One of the biggest advantages is the ability for us to pivot with our schemes, knowing they can handle a ton.”

That’s because in their years together, they’ve seen just about everything teams in the Big Sky will throw at them.

“When you’re next to someone you’ve played with a lot, everything just comes a little easier,” Dahlgren said. “With me and Wyatt on the left side, we’ve played together for years, and so we’re just on the same page with stuff. Communication just comes a little easier.”

Dahlgren said this hasn’t been the easiest season, considering the Eagles’ 2-7 overall record that includes just one Big Sky win in five such games.

Still, Eastern’s offense has managed to rank fourth in the Big Sky in scoring (32.4 points per game) despite injuries across the offense – including along the offensive line, which has played stretches without tackles Hewa Baddege and Dylan Conner, who started the first and second game of the season but has played in just one game since.

Conner, a 6-foot-5, 290-pound redshirt sophomore tackle, is one player who the Eagles will count on next year to step in and start again as the team looks to replace potentially its entire starting offensive line.

Noah Stewart, who is listed at 6-7 and 292 pounds, has played in six games this season, starting three at tackle. He transferred from Michigan in the offseason and has one more year of eligibility.

Along the interior, the Eagles have relied almost entirely on Dahlgren, Rivera and Seelye this season, with redshirt junior backups Mason Buttel-Strong (three games) and Brock Gunderson (two) playing only sparingly. True freshman Mark Johnson has long been listed as the backup right guard, but he has yet to appear in any games.

Dahlgren is aware of the importance of continuity at the position. That’s why he and the other veterans helped run more meetings in the offseason to try to get the younger offensive linemen to the point where they can play more next season.

“We’ve got to set that example for the younger guys and show them how to do things,” he said.

One way to do that, Dahlgren said, is to close out the season with some victories.

“We’ve had some good rushing totals and the offensive line has limited sacks. You always take pride in that as an offensive lineman,” he said. “But that doesn’t matter too much if you’re not winning the games.”