Quarterback Pierce Holley transferred to EIU from Georgetown University. (Photo by Sandy King, EIUPanthers.com)
By Dan Verdun
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Eastern Illinois got contributions in its season-opening win at Indiana State from a trio of transfer skill players.
Quarterback Pierce Holley, receiver Eli Mirza and running back Kevin Daniels all played key roles in the Panthers’ 27-0 non-conference victory Aug. 31.
Holley, who transferred from Georgetown University, won the starting QB spot in fall camp. The redshirt junior completed 19-of-30 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns in his EIU debut.
“I thought it was a great opportunity for me,” Holley said of his transfer decision. “I wanted to play in a system like Coach (Joe) Davis’s. It lined up perfectly. I’m so glad that I picked Eastern.”
The 6-foot-2, 215-pound Holley started 11 games at Georgetown last season and passed for 2,882 yards and 18 touchdowns. He earned second team All-Patriot League honors while setting school single-season records for pass attempts and passing yards.
“I wanted somewhere that football was a main priority. That’s what it felt like at Eastern. These players and coaches were hungry to win and so was I,” Holley said. “It all aligned.”
Holley seems to have aligned well with Mirza, a junior transfer from Sierra (Calif.) College, who caught four passes for a team-high 82 yards against Indiana State.
“He’s one of those guys that’s always open. I probably should have gotten him the ball a little bit more,” Holley said.
Mirza doesn’t seem concerned with not getting the ball enough.
“Pierce is a really athletic quarterback. He knows what he’s doing in the pocket,” he said. “When you have a really good offensive line and quarterback, it makes it easy on my part. I just have to run my route and catch the ball.”
Meanwhile, Daniels led EIU with a team-high 57 rushing yards on 13 carries.
Daniels, a redshirt sophomore, was a preseason All-Big Sky Conference selection last season at Northern Arizona. However, he appeared in just the first three games, making two starts and rushing for 113 yards.
In 2021, Daniels ran for 1,146 yards and was named to a freshman All-American.
Motion pictures
Eastern consistently used pre-snap motion in its offense against Indiana State.
Second-year head coach Chris Wilkerson explained the reasoning behind the strategy.
“Number one, we want to provide some information for the quarterback. You can get a tip or a tell, if you will, whether it’s going to be man or zone (coverage),” he said. “Sometimes we do it to try and gain an advantage with some leverage. And certainly, there are some matchups that we want to create.”
One such matchup came about for the Panthers’ first score against the Sycamores.
“Our game plan was to get them on the motion,” Mirza said. “That’s why we started off with that reverse play (that Mirza carried for a 27-yard gain). We wanted to shift that defense over.”
The Panthers followed with four straight runs, including three by Daniels for 11 yards. After junior Kendi Young ran up the middle for five yards, EIU sprung a surprise.
Mirza went in motion to the left, allowing Holley to gain some much desired intelligence.
“I basically had my eyes on the field safety,” Holley said. “He didn’t drop at all. When I saw he didn’t get any depth, I threw it over his head.”
The ball over the safety’s head landed in the waiting hands of sophomore receiver Justin Bowick for a 35-yard touchdown off a play-action fake to Young.
“That’s a cross country route with a big post,” Wilkerson said. “Justin did a great job running by his guy and Pierce did a good job putting the ball on him.”
Despite the 1-0 start, the Panthers aren’t resting on their laurels.
“Coming into the first game, the number one thing was trying to get the W,” Holley said. “It’s a good start to the season, but we’ve got a lot to clean up, especially in the red zone.”
Mirza added, “It’s our first game all together. We’re mid-year transfers, so I can expect some kind of hardship to begin with. We’re going to watch the film, clean it all up and be good going into week two.”
Dan Verdun is a co-founder of Prairie State Pigskin. He has written four books: NIU Huskies Football, EIU Panthers Football, ISU Redbirds Football and SIU Salukis Football.
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