SPOKANE — Coming off a 3-8 season, Eastern Washington head coach Aaron Best showed his enthusiasm about moving on to the upcoming 2023 campaign at Monday’s Big Sky Media Day in Spokane.

“We didn’t have the best season last year, (there’s a) bad taste in your mouth,” Best said. “I’m very excited for the guys to get back at it.”

After opening the year with a 36-29 win over Tennessee State, the Eagles only added two conference wins throughout the course of the 2022 season: a 17-10 win over Cal Poly on Oct. 2, 2022, and a 45-21 season-ending win against Northern Colorado on Nov. 19.

Eastern’s 2-6 record in the Big Sky was the worst since its 1-6 Big Sky record in 1995, and its 3-8 overall record from last season was the first time the Eagles finished below .500 since 2006. With that, the emphasis this off-season has been on getting tougher, according to Best.

“The common place where all of us are is we’ve got to get tougher in tougher moments,” Best said. “We’ve got to stand up when we get knocked down and do it in a faster tempo. Do it in a motivated tempo. It’s going to happen; life does it, football does it — but I don’t think we did it as well, as efficiently and as excitedly as we should last year. As a team, myself included, we’ve got to get back up.”

Of Eastern’s six conference losses last season, only two of them were by one score (38-35 vs both Portland State and Montana State). The four other losses were by an average score difference of 35 points. While the Eagles gave up the fewest passing yards in the Big Sky last season (1,377), they allowed the most yards in the run game (2,352).

“We didn’t do enough up front in passing situations to force errant throws,” Best said. “Tackling is the No. 1 piece, and (to) be more fundamentally sound from front to back. We’ve got to tackle people and make the quarterback uncomfortable, we were not close to where we need to be to be able to call ourselves a championship-caliber football club last year on defense, and it’s been a big emphasis in the off-season.”

Cornerback Darrien Sampson noted the importance of focusing on the mental aspect of the game during this past off-season, with much of the defense staying together over the summer to work on the task at hand.

“We grew as a team,” Sampson said. “We got the mental aspect down. The game’s 90% mental and 10% physical, so we took the approach this off-season to get together in our meetings all summer. We had the whole defense together this summer, we’re just working as a group. We’re a pretty (veteran) defense now, so we’re just ready to go out there and play.”

Redshirt seniors Demetrius Crosby Jr. and Marlon Jones Jr., along with Sampson, have led the way in player-run meetings throughout the summer and studying film with younger cornerbacks, he said.

“We’ve been doing a lot of film study and player-ran meetings,” Sampson said. “I’ll be up on the board during a meeting asking a younger player what they’re going to do next during this play or this play. You just trinkle it down and get everybody on the same page.”

With Gunner Talkington exhausting his eligibility after last season, redshirt sophomore Kekoa Visperas is in line to open the season as the starting quarterback for the Eagles. Visperas started the final game of the season last year for Eastern

“We’re excited to see where he can go,” Best said. “He studies the game, he helps his teammates study the game. He understands the seriousness of this because he’s at a different stage of his career. He’s not a backup anymore, he’s vying to be the starting quarterback at Eastern Washington University.”

Incoming transfers Michael Wortham, from Sierra College, and Jared Taylor, from Feather River CC, also helped prepare Visperas through competition, Best said.

“With Mike (Wortham) and Jared (Taylor) coming aboard from the junior college ranks, we needed to develop some of those competition areas during the spring,” Best said. “Both of those young men did a great job in trying to raise their game, as well as (Visperas’) game during the spring.”

Wide receiver Efton Chism III, who posted a team-high in catches (62) for the Eagles last season, is no stranger to developing on-field chemistry with a new quarterback.

“I’ve had a blast doing it, because I’ve had three different (quarterbacks) and I’ve had good chemistry with all three,” Chism said. “Me and (Eric Barriere) were cool, and then me and Gunner (Talkington) and me and (Visperas) are cool. As soon as they come in, before we even start throwing around, I just try to connect with them as a human being.”

Eastern’s average points per Big Sky game (25.5) was the fourth-fewest in the conference last season, but Chism showed optimism in a changed product once the Eagles hit the field in September.

“We’re bought in on the new offense that we put in with the new (offensive coordinator), and our running back room’s deep,” Chism III said. “I really like the running back room, and I think on o-line we’re deep too. People don’t know that yet.”

Four Eagles were named to the Big Sky’s Preseason All-Conference list Monday, with Chism, Jones Jr., tight end Blake Gobel and punter Nick Kokich all receiving honors. In the same release, Eastern was tabbed seventh in the Big Sky in both the coaches and media preseason polls.

“It’s an honor, but I’ve always been told that preseason is preseason,” Chism said. “I’m still blessed and still honored to have received it, but I actually want to go get it this year.”

Eastern will open the season with a neutral site game against North Dakota State at U.S. Bank Stadium, the home of the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings. The game will be the first college football game played at the stadium.

“That’s memories these guys can go home with; when they have kids (they can say), ‘We were the first collegiate game at this stadium, against a very, very good opponent in North Dakota State,'” Best said. “It’s good, it’s all experience-driven.”

Ian Bivona may be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.