Redshirt junior Cole LaCrue is the lone returnee in the five-player Eastern Illinois quarterback room this year. LaCrue and graduate transfer Jeremiah Salem are listed as possible starters for Thursday’s season opener at Murray State. (Photo by Barry Bottino, Prairie State Pigskin)
By Dan Verdun
While Eastern Illinois will face an old foe in its season opener Thursday at Murray State, Panther fans may be far more concerned with their team’s offense.
A season ago, EIU averaged 17.5 points per game – the program’s lowest output since head coach Chris Wilkerson took over in 2023. Opponents ran 59 more plays than Eastern.
Meanwhile, EIU allowed nearly 30 points a game on defense as the Panthers posted their second consecutive 3-9 season. The Panthers enter this year on a seven-game losing streak from last fall.
Perhaps complicating matters, EIU will play five of its first six games on the road this season. The team won just once away from O’Brien Field last fall.
“We’not looking at any (one) game, to be honest,” Wilkerson said. “Every play has a life and history of its own. What you did on the previous play will not impact the next play, or you can’t allow it to.”
The Panthers will instead focus on improvement, building toward the Ohio Valley Conference schedule, which begins Oct. 10 at Gardner-Webb.
“We’re just going to continue to grow and compete our tails off six seconds at a time. I don’t want them to focus on the result. The result is nothing but a distraction. We’re going to continue to try to get better and do things the right way,” Wilkerson said.
Third-year offensive coordinator Kyle Derickson views Thursday’s opener as “a blank slate.”
“It’s a new season,” he said. “You don’t know what you’re going to get, so there’s some anxiety to it, bit at the same time there’s excitement.
“Last year was last year. You’ve got to learn from those things.”
While the coaching staff may look at the Murray State game as part of the whole, players see it as an important first step.
“It’s huge,” said senior Charles Kellom, last year’s leading rusher. “We’ve got to come out and set the tone for the rest of the season. We’ve got to start out with a strong foot forward.”
Offensive lineman Panayiotis Mihalopoulos said: “Oh, my goodness, it’s setting the tone. It’s how you start the season and how teams are going to look at us because that’s what we put on tape.”
Derickson, who previously served as Wilkerson’s offensive coordinator at the University of Chicago, likes what he saw in fall camp.
“The guys are starting to understand what we’re looking for,” he said. “They’re starting to understand the box (defense) with the plays that we’re running. The defensive understanding has grown immensely, especially with the summer OTAs by having the guys walk through it.”
QB depth chart
EIU lists two quarterbacks as possible starters for Thursday. Redshirt junior Cole LaCrue – who started seven games last fall and is the only returning QB – and Eastern Michigan graduate transfer Jeremiah Salem are the top two at their position.
“Being the returner, Cole has that athleticism so you never know what he can do with the football. If everything is bad downfield, he can pull it down and go,” Derickson said. “Jeremiah Salem has been in an FBS program where he pushed for time. He possibly could have been the (starter) in a situation where they were returning the best guy in the conference.
“He was looking for a spot (and came here). He’s a coach’s son. His dad was the offensive coordinator at Michigan State when (head coach Mark) Dantonio was there. Jeremiah has been around football and has great knowledge. You can put a lot on his plate.”
While one of those two quarterbacks will get the starting nod for the opener, it’s likely that both could see action.
“Our quarterbacks are starting to make some checks up front, which puts the offensive line into a better position. Confidence is rising,” Derickson said. “I could call the worst play in America, but if they have confidence in it, they could run it and still get a touchdown.”
Kellom and fellow running back Jacarre Fleming-Page will also be keys to offensive success.
“Obviously, (we have to) run the ball. That’s the core of everything,” Kellom said.
Kickoff: 6 p.m.; TV: ESPN-Plus; Radio: WEIU.net/hitmix
Key matchup to watch
EIU offense vs. Murray State defense
Opening night gives the Panther offense the opportunity to show it has moved on from last year’s struggles.
“We’ve got all the pieces. We just need to execute,” Fleming-Page said.
Kellom added: “We’ve got to be able to spread the ball out and be able to use all 55 yards of the field (width). We’ve got to be able to get the ball out and rip the slant (routes).”
What’s at stake
An EIU victory would mark four straight wins against FCS opponents to open the season. The Panthers defeated Indiana State in 2023 and 2024 as well as beating Dayton in 2025. However, only one of those wins came on the road.
Quick hits
Eastern’s lone home game in the first six will occur Sept. 12 against regional rival Indiana State. … EIU will face four members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference this season. In addition to Murray State and Indiana State, the Panthers will play Top 5-nationally ranked Illinois State (Sept. 19) and South Dakota State (Sept. 26) in road games. … Murray State was an Ohio Valley Conference member from the league’s inception in 1948 before joining the MVFC in 2023. The Racers won eight OVC championships, the last coming in 2002 when they shared the title with EIU. … This marks the fifth straight season EIU has opened with a Thursday night contest. … The August 27 calendar opening date is the earliest season opener in program history.
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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