Running back M.J. Flowers had a breakout season for Eastern Illinois, finishing second in the voting for the Jerry Rice Award, given to the nation’s best freshman in FCS. (Photo by EIUPanthers.com)
By Barry Bottino
Change is a constant in college football. At Eastern Illinois, the Panthers have had their share of it already this off-season.
Offensive coordinator Joe Davis departed for the head coaching job at Western Illinois, which joins the Big South/OVC Football Association this fall.
Defensive coordinator Clay Bignell took a job leading the defense at FBS Southern Mississippi.
In addition, three key defensive players – second-team All-America safety Blake Ruffin, linebacker Elijawah Tolbert and cornerback Tyris Harvey – departed via the transfer portal.
How those changes impact the Panthers, who had an impressive turnaround season under second-year head coach Chris Wilkerson, will help tell the story of their 2024 season.
Prairie State Pigskin examines five key questions facing the Panthers this off-season.
How can the defense bounce back?
Tolbert and Ruffin were the team’s top two tacklers and part of an aggressive, opportunistic group on defense that helped EIU rank No. 1 nationally in turnover margin and among the top 10 in turnovers gained and fumbles recovered.
The Panthers have a deep secondary group and welcome back Ruffin’s primary backup, Kaelin Drakeford, next season. Drakeford has started 18 games in his career, including all six games as a true freshman during the spring 2021 COVID season.
Who fills the spot of Tolbert, EIU’s leading tackler with 87 stops, isn’t immediately clear as his backup, Alexander Oyawale, is out of eligibility.
Bignell’s replacement will have plenty to build on as only seven of the 22 players on Eastern’s two-deep roster for November’s season finale will not return.
What did going 8-3 this season bring about?
Going from two wins in a season to eight wins put Eastern in the national playoff conversation, a place it hasn’t been since 2015. Eastern hadn’t won at least eight games since 2013.
During the season, linebacker Phoenix Porter said the team’s success created a buzz around campus, and the student section was more populated at O’Brien Field than it has been in years.
Wilkerson, who finished sixth in voting for the national Eddie Robinson FCS Coach of the Year voting, also can sell the Panthers’ success to recruits, both from high school and those from the transfer portal who can make an immediate impact.
What’s the next step for the Panthers under Wilkerson?
The obvious next goal is winning the Big South/OVC title and earning the league’s automatic playoff berth.
How can that happen? The Panthers can start by beating UT Martin and Southeast Missouri, two of the league’s biggest heavyweights over the past 10 years. The last time Eastern beat either team was 2018, when the Panthers beat UT Martin in overtime.
The last time EIU beat both teams? That was way back in 2015, the year of the last Panther playoff appearance.
What were the biggest revelations on offense?
The most memorable breakout players were running back M.J. Flowers, quarterback Pierce Holley, wide receiver Eli Mirza and offensive tackle Nic DiSanto.
Flowers – a player Wilkerson said had a bright future more than a year ago — thrived when he took over as the starter, rushing for 854 yards and eight touchdowns to finish second in the voting for the Jerry Rice Award, given to the best freshman in FCS.
Holley, a Georgetown transfer, was a cool customer while throwing for 2,741 yards – the most by an Eastern QB since Jimmy Garoppolo in 2013 – and completing 61% of his passes.
Mirza caught only three touchdowns, but his skills as the slot receiver and his versatility gave Eastern a unique weapon. Mirza’s 61 receptions nearly doubled the amount of the second-leading receiver this season.
As a true freshman, the 6-foot-5, 320-pound DiSanto started the final six games of the season.
What off-season questions are the top priorities?
First and foremost, the Panthers must limit sacks allowed in 2024.
Eastern allowed 35 sacks, including 13 in a two-week span against FBS Bowling Green and Illinois State in September.
In three November games, though, EIU allowed only five sacks total.
With Stone Galloway’s career ending, the Eastern kicking game is thrown into flux. Julian Patino, who filled in while Galloway was injured, was unfazed by jumping into the role. Expect Patino, one of only two kickers on the spring 2024 roster, to get the first shot at taking over the job permanently.
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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