D’Airious Smith’s strong start last season was cut short by a broken leg that ended his season. The graduate student returns for his sixth and final year. (Photo by Sandy King, EIUPanthers.com)
By Dan Verdun
Quarterback-receiver connections don’t just happen on the field.
In fact, what happens away from the field sets the stage for success, two returning veteran Eastern Illinois pass catchers told Prairie State Pigskin.
“What I’ve learned from football is that it’s not just what’s inside the lines,” graduate student D’Airious Smith said. “It’s what connects us with each other outside of football. Building a real bond on and off the field so once you’re out there, everything connects.”
As EIU opens spring practice Tuesday under fourth-year head coach Chris Wilkerson, the Panther offense will have a different leader under center.
Cooper Willman, also a graduate student, noted, “We’ve got to build that relationship quickly.”
Pierce Holley, a transfer from Georgetown University, quarterbacked Eastern the past two seasons. He passed for 5,866 yards and 36 touchdowns. Moreover, he took nearly every snap over that period.
With Holley departed, the Panthers enter spring ball with five quarterbacks, however, only two – redshirt sophomore Blainey Dowling and redshirt junior Kevin Conway – have seen game action for EIU. Dowling, as Holley’s backup last season, is the lone QB to have actually thrown passes.
EIU added transfer Cole LaCrue, a redshirt sophomore who spent two years at the University of Wisconsin, in January.
“Pierce was the guy for the last two seasons,” Willman said. “There’s going to be competition. Whoever earns that job is going to be our QB1, and we’ve got to have that connection.”
How is this connection established?
Smith and Willman enter their sixth seasons in Charleston. Both have experienced the highs and lows of the collegiate game. Each wants to play winning football in his final fall.
Recognizing their roles as leaders, Smith and Willman listed tangible ways for the QB-receiver bonds to get established.
“Honestly, it’s just constant communication,” Smith said. “What do they want us as a receiver to do, and what do we need them as a quarterback to do? For instance, getting the timing down (on completing a pass off a given route). That’s pretty important.”
Both stress that while talk is valuable, the position groups need to actively get out on the O’Brien Field turf.
“It’s a long process,” Willman said. “There’s work to be done.”
The path back from injuries
Both receivers know the value of patience and perseverance.
Willman suffered a grade one strain to the medial collateral ligament (MCL) in his right knee during Eastern’s 2023 opener at Indiana State. Though he returned briefly in the middle of that season, Willman wound up taking a redshirt.
He returned with a vengeance last fall, earning first team All-Big South/Ohio Valley Conference Football honors at both receiver and as an all-purpose player. Willman set the EIU record with 291 receiving yards on 11 catches with three touchdowns against Gardner-Webb. The Sterling, Ill. product led the Panthers with 66 receptions for 955 yards and eight TDs.
“The main thing that brought me back is the fact that I could,” Willman said. “It would be dumb of me to not use all of the eligibility that I have. Once it’s gone, that’s it.
“On top of that, I had a pretty successful season last year. I’d love to build off of that.”
Willman’s breakout year could well serve as a model for Smith, a player whose career has been dogged by ankle injuries.
Smith appeared to start off last season on a strong note. The Lexington, Ken. native caught five passes for 63 yards in the season opener at the University of Illinois. After reeling in a 47-yard reception against Indiana State, Smith was once again felled by injury.
“I broke the fibula in my right leg. No surgery was needed, but it put me out for the season,” he said.
It also dropped Smith into what he called “a dark hole” as he stood on the sidelines while the season played out.
“I felt like I couldn’t do anything to be out there to help the team. It sucked,” Smith said. “(I kept asking) ‘What is this? Why do I keep getting injured? What is it that I’m not doing?’”
Smith said it was his teammates that eventually pulled him out of his funk.
“Everybody was there for me and had my back,” he said. “By midseason, I came back around (mentally). I started coaching within the receiver room. Last year showed me what being a coach truly is.
“That’s all I was doing, learning the plays and trying to help the young guys make their games better. Coach (Tino) Smith was teaching me. That’s another thing that opened my eyes. You can sit out with an injury and still learn.”
There were also conversations with Willman.
“I told him what I had gone through and why it was best for me to take the redshirt season and use it to my advantage. We definitely chatted about it,” Willman said. “I’m super excited to be able to share the field with him again for one more year.”
Spring news and notes
EIU will culminate spring practice with the annual spring game April 26 at O’Brien Field. … Wilkerson announced that Andrew Strobel, last year’s safeties coach, has been promoted to defensive coordinator and that Andrew Brady will take over the safeties and remain as special teams coordinator. … Eastern also hired Spencer Treadwell as running backs coach as well as recruiting coordinator; Rodman Neal was added as linebackers coach. … Matt Lindsey, last year’s director of player personnel, is this year’s defensive quality control coach. The Panthers also added D.J. Jelin (offensive quality control) and Kevin Moynihan (special teams quality control) to the staff.
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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