It has become common practice for Big Sky area football teams to fill the role of dual-threat quarterback, and Eastern Washington is no different in that regard.
Last season, the Eagles weren’t afraid to put multiple quarterbacks on the field at once, each capable of throwing or running the football.
But one of the Eagles’ preseason goals is to get more rushing yards from the players who traditionally score the most, and as practices progress, there is confidence that their group is capable of more than it was a year ago.
“The most important thing is to get more out of our running game as a running back,” EWU head coach Aaron Best said Tuesday, “without the discussion about the quarterback.”
The Eagles were neither particularly good nor particularly bad at running the football last season, finishing seventh in the Big Sky in yards per game (154.3) and yards per carry (4.1).
But they and anyone who watched the Eagles last year saw what other teams did in the running game against Eastern. Within the conference, effective running correlated with success: All four of the Big Sky’s FCS playoff teams last year ran for more yards per run than the Eagles.
Tuna Altahir was the Eagles’ best player last year with 534 rushing yards on 125 carries. Now a redshirt junior, Altahir is closing in on 1,000 yards (984) in three seasons with the Eagles. He was the first running back in team drills throughout training camp.
But the spot behind him is less secure than it was last year, when Justice Jackson – who transferred to Idaho State – filled in for Altahir and rushed for 472 yards on 76 attempts, a rate of 6.2 yards per attempt.
“They all have a bright future,” Altahir said of the team’s running backs. “They could all play right now.”
The big question, however, is who will play.
The first candidate for more action appears to be Malik Dotson. Dotson transferred from Feather River College before last season – where he played with current EWU quarterback Jared Taylor – and got on the field early last September, completing 13 carries for 44 yards.
However, the Eagles decided not to let him play in order to give the 6-foot-4, 215-pound Dotson two more years of eligibility.
“Juice. Explosiveness,” Altahir said of what Dotson, who had 1,057 rushing yards at Feather River in 2022, brings. “He’s a guy I think is going to breakout this year.”
It remains to be seen whether the Eagles will use more than two running backs this season.
Last year, only two other running backs besides Altahir and Jackson – Talon Betts and Nick Adimora – played at all. And they didn’t play many, only making five appearances in total.
Betts and Adimora, both redshirt sophomores, are back on the team this year. Redshirt junior Brandon Montoya (eight career appearances) is also on the roster.
Joining this quintet of returnees are two newcomers: true freshman Kevin Allen III and junior transfer Marceese Yetts. Allen was a star at Helix High School in La Mesa, California, where he rushed for 1,295 yards as a senior and 944 yards as a junior.
Yetts began his career at Air Force but then transferred to El Camino College in Torrance, California. He played two seasons there and ran 85 times for 550 yards and caught 27 passes for 358 yards in 2023.
“They know they’re going to play an important role on our teams,” Taylor said of the running backs, “and they know we’re going to need them.”
What makes the use of running backs complicated is the way the Eagles use their three primary quarterbacks, each of whom can run and is sometimes on the field to do just that.
Redshirt junior Kekoa Visperas is the clear starter and most accomplished passer, leading the Big Sky in yards per game (275.4) a year ago. But he also gained 319 yards in the run game, sometimes by fumbling and sometimes by design.
Senior Michael Wortham returned kicks, caught passes, threw the ball and ran with it last season. The Eagles will continue to use him in all of those ways this season (maybe he’ll return punts, too). Last year, he rushed for 269 yards and five touchdowns, caught five passes for 57 yards and completed 4 of 7 attempts for 38 yards and a touchdown.
And then there’s Taylor, the redshirt junior who played in four games last season, including a start against Idaho in which he threw for 92 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 121 yards and two scores.
Taylor, who like Dotson was limited to four games so he could wear a redshirt, is optimistic this season that all three quarterbacks will improve when they are all on the field.
“We benefit most from having each other,” he said. “We are such a close-knit group.”
Considering what they have in running backs and quarterbacks, the Eagles have plenty of options in the backfield, one of which may be the most versatile in the Big Sky.
“I would say we can do it all,” Altahir said. “Having these guys that are basically both running backs and quarterbacks is really big for us.”
