Following a turnaround season in which it quadrupled its win total, Eastern Illinois strives for a league championship and FCS playoff berth. (Photo by EIUPanthers.com)
By Dan Verdun
Expectations certainly have changed for Eastern Illinois football.
A year ago, EIU was coming off a two-win season and was picked for the bottom of the newly formed Big South-Ohio Valley Conference Football Association.
After an eight-win season that resulted in a near-miss at a playoff appearance, head coach Chris Wilkerson’s Panthers were picked to finish second behind UT Martin in the league’s preseason poll, which was revealed Wednesday before the league’s virtual media day.
“We learned how to win last year. (Though) we didn’t win as many as we wanted to,” Wilkerson said.
The sting of missing the playoffs, however, provided some added motivation.
“We were able to take another step forward last year and be more competitive, but the ultimate goal here, as a place that’s very tradition-rich in football specifically, is to compete for a Big South-OVC championship and to have a seat in the NCAA 2024 national championship playoff field,” Wilkerson said. “And we were short last year.”
Despite EIU’s 8-3 record, the Panthers were not chosen as an at-large selection for the 24-team playoff field in 2023. EIU’s only mention on the playoff selection show was being listed among the “First 4 Out” in an ESPNU graphic.
With last season in the rearview mirror, Wilkerson and his staff have shifted focus to EIU’s upcoming fall camp.
“Now it’s about learning how to take the next step,” said Wilkerson, a former EIU defensive lineman and assistant coach.
He outlined the next steps Wednesday in the path to team success.
“When we came back here (two seasons ago), the first thing we wanted to do was to learn how to compete. And I feel like we did that in year one,” he said. “We doubled our win total from the previous year. We built some relationships and established some trust. And then we really focused on development.
“And then it was about learning how to win and playing to the strengths of our skill set and the hand we’d been dealt.”
Wilkerson added that everything begins with preparation and work ethic.
“And those things don’t change,” he said.
Defensive lineman and team captain Tre’jon Lewis is excited to embark on his final collegiate season.
“Last year we had a really good turnaround, and this year it’s all about taking the next step and leaving no doubt out there on the field,” he said.
Preseason accolades
Quarterback Pierce Holley was selected as the preseason Big South-OVC Offensive Player of the Year.
Holley, a graduate student who transferred to EIU a season ago, was 240-of-394 (61%) passing in 2023. He threw for 2,741 yards and 17 touchdowns.
While being recognized has its rewards, Holley isn’t wowed by the honor.
“It was humbling, but preseason stuff doesn’t really matter. At the end of the day, we’re still preparing every day (for the season),” the quarterback said.
Wilkerson, however, recognizes the importance of Holley to EIU’s success.
“Pierce came to us (last year). He’s got his degree in finance from Georgetown. He’s extremely intelligent. He had multiple opportunities as he transferred and wanted the opportunity to be QB1 at Eastern Illinois with the quarterback tradition that we have with (Sean) Payton, (Tony) Romo, (Jimmy) Garoppolo and (Mike) Shanahan and a number of other guys.”
A dozen games ahead
Eastern Illinois will play a 12-game schedule this fall. The Panthers, ranked in the Top 25 in multiple FCS preseason polls, face two Big Ten Conference opponents in Illinois and Northwestern.
“Certainly our schedule is going to be extremely challenging,” Wilkerson said.
In addition to the two in-state FBS opponents, EIU will play regional rivals Illinois State and Indiana State from the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
“And then it’s eight quality, very talented, very well-coached football teams in the Big South-OVC,” Wilkerson said. “We’ll have to put our best foot forward every Saturday.”
News and notes: Eastern Illinois will have new coordinators this fall. Kyle Derickson takes over the offense with the departure of Joe Davis, who left Charleston to become the head coach at Western Illinois. Collin Geier replaces departed defensive coordinator Clay Bignell, who is now leading the defense at FBS Southern Mississippi. Andrew Brady will coordinate special teams for EIU. All three were on Wilkerson’s staff last season. … The Panthers have 109 players on campus this summer and expect to open camp July 28 with 119 members, according to Wilkerson. … The OVC welcomes three new head coaches: the previously mentioned Davis, who spent two seasons as EIU’s offensive coordinator before accepting the WIU job; Cris Reisert, who takes over at Gardner-Webb; and Bobby Wilder, the former Old Dominion head coach who was hired at Tennessee Tech this past winter. Wilder, whose son Drew is an offensive lineman at EIU, spent nine days with Wilkerson and his staff last fall. Wilder said during Wednesday’s media session that neither he nor Wilkerson had any idea then that they would be competing against each other this season. Wilder said he has used Wilkerson as an example of how to build a team and turn around a program.
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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