EWU football camp officially underway

Eastern Washington's 2023 football season is officially underway as the team opened training camp on Aug. 3. Over 100 student-athletes, from returning veterans to walk-on freshmen, took over the EWU Sports & Recreation practice fields west of campus for a two-hour session.

"We went longer than we normally do, and that's because a lot more guys stayed over in the summer," said head coach Aaron Best. "They're ready to go, in better football condition, so we felt like we could extend practice... I thought it was energetic, I thought our (veterans) led."

Quarterback Kekoa Visperas, who started the Eagles' last game in 2022, is one of several returning players who referenced the drive and motivation coming from team leaders to bounce back from a disappointing 3-8 campaign.

"I hate losing. I'm a huge competitor and that something that doesn't sit right," Visperas noted. "Coming out here and changing the whole mindset as a team has been huge. We're all a bunch of competitors. Our success has been shown in our process and what we've been doing in the offseason."

Team captain and returning defensive end Brock Harrison echoed the sentiment.

"The energy is a lot different from last year. We've built something pretty special these past six months and we're not stopping now. It's going to be a day-by-day thing for us but you can definitely feel that there's more excitement in the air," Harrison said.

"Brock and Darrien (Sampson) have done a great job during the winter and spring, really stepped up as leaders. I feel like we also have leaders in position groups," added linebacker Jaren Banks. "Me and Ahmani Williams are trying to step in that role (with the linebackers). Marlon Jones is stepping into the DB group."

Opening drills were helmets-only practices before adding shoulder pads, Eastern moved to full pads earlier this week.

Eastern opens their regular season game schedule on Saturday, Sept. 2 versus North Dakota State at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. They travel to Fresno State of the Mountain West, Sept. 9 with the first home game at Roos Field on Sept. 16 versus Southeastern Louisiana.