Eastern Illinois wide receiver Landers Green caught a touchdown last weekend against UT Martin, his first TD since the 2023 season at Division III Union College in New York. (Photo by EIUPanthers.com)
By Barry Bottino
Landers Green arrived at Eastern Illinois as a transfer before last season coming off a career-high 41 catches and four touchdowns.
His 2024 campaign produced only three catches, but plenty of lessons.
“Patience was very important,” said Green, a senior wide receiver for the Panthers. “I feel like everybody’s time comes when it comes. I was just waiting for my opportunities to come and not getting down on myself or getting frustrated.”
Last weekend, in a 27-20 overtime loss to UT Martin, Green got a big opportunity when he caught a 25-yard, fourth-quarter TD pass from Connor Wolf.
“In the receiver room, we call it ‘finding the paint,’” Green said. “The time came, the opportunity came and I took advantage of it this time.”
After playing two seasons on the D-III level, the 6-foot-3, 190-pound Green used last season to work on releases off the line of scrimmage with wide receivers coach Tino Smith and sharpening his overall game.
“It was definitely a pretty big adjustment coming from two divisions down,” Green said. “I was confident and ready to play at this level. In D-III, you don’t see the caliber of athletes and playbooks and defenses that you see (in FCS).”
So Green worked consistently each practice to elevate his skills.
EIU head coach Chris Wilkerson took notice.
“He’s continued to grow and improve as a player every single week that he’s been here,” Wilkerson said. “He had a lot of production before he arrived at Eastern. I think it was a little bit of a shock to the system that it didn’t happen as fast as he had hoped. But he stayed with it.”
Green has provided help at the outside receiver position, grabbing 14 receptions for 234 yards. His 16.7 yards per catch average ranks second on the team.
When the Panthers (3-6 overall, 2-4 OVC-Big South) host No. 5 Tennessee Tech (9-0, 6-0) at noon Saturday at O’Brien Field, Green is expected to start his third game this season. While EIU has lost four in a row, Tech is on a 14-game winning streak.
TTU is No. 1 nationally in scoring offense (47.9 points per game), rush defense (52.4 yards) and defensive touchdowns (four).
“The numbers just go on and on and on,” Wilkerson said. “They are physical, and they are aggressive.”
This week’s opponent
TTU is 9-0 for the second time in school history and the first time since 1952. The Golden Eagles currently have a 14-game winning streak, the longest streak in FCS. Quarterback Kekoa Visperas is completing 64.5% of his passes and has thrown for 1,953 yards and 21 touchdowns. Nine different players have at least one rushing TD. Running backs Quintrell Quinn and O’Daryius Jennings each have nine of the team’s 31 scores on the ground. … Senior Drew Wilder, TTU’s starting center, played the previous two seasons at Eastern. … Tech’s defense leads FCS with 36 sacks, thanks in part to senior defensive linemen Maurice LaPierre (six) and Theron Gaines (4.5). Nineteen different players have at least one sack.
Kickoff: Noon; TV: ESPN-Plus; Radio: WEIU.net.hitmix
Key matchup to watch
EIU O-line vs. TTU pass rush: The Panthers are allowing nearly three sacks a game. With TTU and its potent pass rush coming to town, EIU is facing a difficult task.
What’s at stake?
For the Panthers at this point, their role is to play spoiler. A win today would bump Tennessee Tech from its lofty Top 5 perch and could knock the Golden Eagles out of a potential first-round playoff bye.
Quick hits
EIU is second-best in the conference in time of possession at 31 minutes, 55 seconds. But extended drives against Tennessee Tech using the run game could prove difficult. “We broke down all nine of their games. There were only seven explosive runs (by opponents) for the entire season,” Wilkerson said. “Almost every one of those was late in the game.” … Redshirt sophomore QB Cole LaCrue had his most productive passing game of the season last weekend in the Panthers’ 27-20 overtime loss to UT Martin. LaCrue was 14-for-18 passing for a career-high 140 yards and two touchdowns. LaCrue has a team-high seven total touchdowns and is the Panthers’ second leading rusher with 460 yards. … Sophomore cornerback Isaiah Houi has nine pass breakups this season, which is the fifth-highest total in FCS. Only 10 players in the country have more PBUs this season than Houi. … Linebackers Ja’Wuan Nickson (78) and Tylan Foster (77) lead the Panthers in tackles, while defensive end Samuel Robles has four of the team’s 10 sacks. … Eastern is the second-least penalized team in the conference, averaging just under 40 yards a 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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