A soft rebuild is in the cards for the boys from Ypsilanti, but that doesn’t mean there’s a lack of talent on the roster.
Despite fielding one of their weaker teams in recent memory, Coach Chris Creighton’s Eastern Michigan Eagles remained the face of consistency in 2023, making their third-straight bowl and fifth bowl in the last six seasons at season’s end.
This year, transfers on offense should improve what was a liability, while coaching changes and significant losses will shift the team’s backbone.
Cole Snyder leads the offense
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Eastern Michigan’s pass offense has been steadily declining since the graduation of their second-leading passer, Brogan Roback. The Eagles’ yards per game has steadily declined every year since 2019. In 2023, the pass offense hit rock bottom, averaging 152 yards per game and a paltry 55 percent completion percentage between Austin Smith, Cam’Ron McCoy and Ike Udengwu III. The 152 yards per game was Eastern Michigan’s lowest output since 2014.
Luckily, help is on the way from across the Great Lakes. Cole Snyder crossed over to the western side of the Ontario Sandwich Rivalry in the offseason, arriving from Buffalo to lead the Eastern Michigan offense in 2024.
Snyder has shown the chops to lead an offense in the past, throwing for over 3,000 yards in 2022 before regressing along with the rest of the team in 2023, finishing with 2,109 yards last season. Snyder brings experience the Eagles lacked last year and has an experienced top target in JB Mitchell, who caught 35 passes last season. Additionally, he has safety blankets in tight ends Blake Daniels and Jere Getzinger, who combined for 29 receptions last year. The Eagles should end the trend of decreasing passing averages this year.
The eternal Samson Evans is gone; who’s next?
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Samson Evans ended his career with one of the most illustrious resumes for an Eastern Michigan Eagle, scoring the most rushing touchdowns in school history with 41 and logging the ninth-most rushing yards of all time (2,319 yards). Running mate Jaylon Jackson (576 yards, two touchdowns) also departs the program after exhausting his eligibility, leaving some rather large holes in the running game.
Coach Creighton’s moves in the offseason points towards sticking to the tried-and-true thunder-and-lightning combo, bringing in the pair of Donte McMillan from Weber State and Delbert Mimms from North Carolina State via transfer portal.
McMillan (five-foot-ten, 195 lbs.) arrives from Weber State, where he accumulated 1,683 yards and 5.7 yards per carry in his career as a Wildcat. Delbert Mimms (five-foot-11, 220 lbs.) looks to be Eastern Michigan’s short-yardage specialist, a role he excelled in at NC State with eight touchdowns in 96 carries. An improved passing game with Cole Snyder at the helm will open holes for the Eagles’ run game to improve on their disappointing 111-yard per game average in 2023.
Questions at linebacker
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Eastern Michigan had one of the country’s most underrated linebacker tandems in the country. Chase Kline (143 tackles) and Joe Sparacio (136 tackles) anchored a defense which carried the burden for an offense that topped 30 points just twice.
Some reinforcements from the transfer portal arrive this offseason, as JT Killen looks poised to man the middle linebacker position after a four-year career at Coastal Carolina. Killen totaled 198 tackles in his time on the teal turf. Justin Jefferson looks to take a more central role as well after showing promising pass-rushing skills with 7.5 tackles-for-loss and 11 quarterback hits.
Overall, the defense should take a lighter load with an improved offense. Nonetheless, the task of replacing Kline and Sparacio will be daunting as they enter fall camps in Ypsilanti.
Will special teams maintain its spark?
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Eastern Michigan’s special teams units have had pretty stellar reputations under Coach Creighton, and 2023 was perhaps their best performance under his tenure.The kick return unit was especially a weapon, picking up the slack for the offense with three kick return touchdowns— including one on an onside kick.
This year, the Eagles lose both their return specialists in Hamze El-Zayat (142 punt return yards, 10.9 PR average, and a 96-yard kick return TD) and Jaylon Jackson (976 career kick return yards and two touchdowns). To make matters worse, the Eagles lose first-team All-MAC long snapper Steve Bird as well from the field goal and punt operations.
Despite the immense losses in the return game, the kicking game remains steady. Jesus Gomez returns after converting 12 of his 16 field goals last year. Punter Mitchell Tomasek looks to improve his stellar 45.7 average and 41.4 net average last year.
Arguably, the most significant change for special teams is on the staff. Kasey Teegardin arrives after six years in the same position at Indiana. Teegardin’s units with the Hoosiers were some of the most aggressive in the country, with 10 blocked kicks over six seasons as the ST coordinator and logged multiple return touchdowns in 2022. Teegardin’s players were noted for great performances as well, with six of his players earning all-Big Ten honors and three players named freshmen All-Americans over the past two seasons.
Since 2016, Eastern Michigan has found ways to remain consistent and make it to the postseason. This year brings new questions, but Coach Creighton has weathered the storm several times. Time will tell if the Eagles’ departures or the new talent gained define their 2024 season.