On signing day, Eastern Washington prioritizes offense and signs 23 players overall.
While Eastern Washington added to its defensive line in a few crucial areas, it primarily stocked up on offense, signing 15 of the 23 football players the Eagles officially signed on Wednesday.
When the three-day early signing period opened, the Eagles added a running back and a quarterback in addition to five offensive linemen, four wide receivers, and four tight ends. In addition, the Eagles added a cornerback, two defensive ends, two linebackers, and three safeties.
Transfers comprise five of the signees. Among them is safety McKel Broussard, a graduate transfer who played reserve football at UTEP for the previous five years. The other four, tight end Landon Cooper (Butte), wide receiver Jaylen Garrison (Fresno City), offensive lineman David Shinn (Mt. San Jacinto), and wide receiver Noah Cronquist (Moorpark), are all graduates of junior colleges in California.
Cooper joins tight end Austin York, offensive linemen Mason Buttel-Strong and Aidan Corning, and offensive lineman Cooper, giving Eastern four players from Butte College.
The Eagles will have ten players at the position if all of the qualifying tight ends from the previous season return to the squad and if no new ones are added before or after signing day on February 7. The sole definite departure is Blake Gobel, who graduated and announced his intention to enter the NFL draft.
The four wide receivers basically replace the four that have announced their departures: Robert Mason III, Malaki Roberson, and Anthony Stell Jr. transferred, and Jakobie Keeney-James graduated.
Incoming freshmen Ayden Martinez and Jaxon Branch, who are both rated as three-star recruits by 247sports.com, are two of the four receivers that signed on Wednesday.
Six other Eastern signees are rated as three-star prospects on the website, including running back Kevin Allen III from Helix High School in San Diego and quarterback Jake Schakel from Emerald Ridge High (Puyallup, Washington), in addition to Martinez and Branch.
The Eagles, who will have starter Tuna Altahir back in the starting lineup but no major backup in Justice Jackson, who declared his decision to move earlier in the offseason, may have a special need at running back.
The Eagles added three safeties to their defense, Tyce Donovan (White River High in Buckley) and Josiah Goode (Puyallup High) as well as transfer Broussard.
Ten signatories are from California, while eight are from Washington. Two are from Idaho: tight end Asher Bowie of Post Falls and linebacker Shea Robertson of Coeur d’Alene.
Mark Johnson, an offensive lineman, is one of the signees who is from British Columbia. The Eagles now have three Canadians on their roster: Johnson, offensive tackle Matthew Hewa Baddege, and receiver Nolan Ulm.
The two recruits at defensive end are both seniors in high school. John Stremler, a 1A Nooksack Valley native, excelled as an offensive lineman and linebacker for the league, but he is anticipated to switch to end at Eastern. The other is Clayton McCarrell, a 230-pound, 6-foot-3 recruit from Faith Lutheran High School in Las Vegas.
Ambrose Marsh, a three-star recruit who obtained the best grade out of 23 players revealed today on 247sports.com, is the only cornerback in the class.
At Eastside Catholic in Renton, Washington, Marsh—the younger brother of former Washington State cornerback Armani Marsh—was a first-team, all-league player.
