Eastern Illinois head coach Chris Wilkerson (center) will rely on fifth-year offensive tackle Chad Strickland and a deeper offensive line unit this fall after the group was stung by injuries last season. (Photo via Big South/Ohio Valley Conference Football Association)
By Barry Bottino
When Eastern Illinois took the field for its 2022 season finale at UT Martin in November, Chris Wilkerson almost couldn’t believe his eyes.
Multiple injuries had left the Panthers with a unique offensive line group.
“We were playing with a guy that started as a tight end at offensive tackle and with one of our defensive tackles at offensive guard,” he said. “That’s not very normal for an FCS program.”
Heading into the 2023 season, his second as the Panthers’ head coach, Wilkerson is encouraged by a deeper, more experienced and what he hopes will be a healthier group up front.
“I feel a lot better about the depth and development in that room,” Wilkerson said from Nashville during Tuesday’s Big South/Ohio Valley Conference Football Association Media Day. “We are much deeper, much stronger, and in a lot better shape in terms of our health there than we were last year.”
The Panthers were picked to finish eighth in the league’s preseason poll.
A focus on health
Fifth-year offensive tackle Chad Strickland, who started eight games on the left side before missing the final three games with injury, said players in his position group have spent extra time this off-season with the strength and conditioning staff, along with trainers.
“(Injuries) are always tough,” said Strickland, who was named to the conference’s preseason watch list along with nine teammates. “It’s next man up. But it does start to wear you down, especially when you’re the one going down as well. I felt like I was letting my team down.”
EIU (2-9 a year ago) added five transfer offensive linemen to the roster while last season’s fill-ins earned valuable game experience.
“I feel like we have the physical ability to do everything that needs to get done on the field,” Strickland said. “I can’t wait to see what happens.”
New faces in backfield
Strickland and his line mates will be blocking for plenty of new faces this fall.
At running back, EIU brought in transfers Juwon Farri, who rushed for 28 touchdowns and nearly 2,900 yards in four years at Monmouth, and Kevin Daniels, who was a freshman All-American at Northern Arizona when he ran for 1,146 yards in 2021.
“Juwon is a great natural zone runner, outstanding in pass protection and can catch the ball out of the backfield,” Wilkerson said. “Kevin Daniels is a special guy. He is big and fast and strong and physical.”
While Farri had a long TD run in Eastern’s spring game, Daniels sat out to rest a foot injury.
The two newcomers will be joined by two current Panthers – redshirt freshmen MJ Flowers and Jay Pearson – in Eastern’s backfield.
“MJ showed some flashes of being a phenomenal football player last year,” Wilkerson said of Flowers, who ran for nearly 4 yards per carry. Pearson, meanwhile, was slowed by a knee injury a year ago.
“That is a room that has some great depth, and we are excited about watching these guys,” Wilkerson said.
QB choice will take time
When describing his quarterback decision, Wilkerson leaned on the words of Alabama coach Nick Saban, who said his team’s choice of one of three potential starters was like waiting for his grandmother’s carrot cake to bake.
“It’s not going to be a microwave operation,” Wilkerson said. “We’re going to wait, and it just might take some time.”
The Panthers return last year’s primary QB, Jonah O’Brien, who threw nine touchdowns and eight interceptions in eight starts before missing the final three games with injury.
Georgetown transfer Pierce Holley, a junior, ranked 17th nationally in FCS with 2,882 passing yards a year ago while throwing 18 TDs and 11 interceptions.
Junior Terrance Gipson, who is listed as “athlete” on the EIU roster, transferred from East Los Angeles College and competed in spring ball, where he showed off his running and passing skills.
“I’m looking forward to watching them compete,” Wilkerson said. “We’ll make that decision (on a starter) as we get closer to Aug. 31 in Terre Haute (against Indiana State).”
Takeaway mindset
Eastern’s defense collected 20 turnovers last season, which was just shy of its “Take 25” mantra under former defensive coordinator Adam Gristick.
Under new defensive coordinator Clay Bignell, the Panthers’ thirst for takeaways won’t change, said junior defensive back Mark Aitken, who was part of EIU’s contingent in Nashville and among the watch list selections.
“None of those things that we were trying to get done (last year) really changed,” Aitken said. “We’ve got a lot of the same players. You won’t see anything but improvement. We’re going to continue to be aggressive.”
Despite going 2-9, Eastern lost four games by seven or fewer points last season.
“We’ve talked about flipping the script,” Wilkerson said. “We’ve got to find a way to finish and win those close ballgames.”
Making it special
Aitken is a core special teams player for the Panthers and returned a blocked field goal 65 yards for a touchdown last fall against Tennessee Tech.
He sees special teams as just another way to impact the outcome of games.
“We take it seriously,” said Aitken, who praised the work of special teams coordinator Kyle Derickson, who is also the team’s associate head coach and wide receivers coach. “We spend a lot of time on it. Our thing is, ‘One play. All out.’ One play can change the tide of a whole game.”
Barry Bottino is a co-founder of Prairie State Pigskin and a 19-year veteran of three Illinois newspapers. He has covered college athletics since 1995.
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