BIG SKY FOOTBALL KICKOFF: Vandals, Eagles, former Eags and respect
In this screengrab from Pluto TV, clockwise from top left: Matt Shotwell of Cal Poly, moderator Mariluz Cook, Josh Davis of Weber State, Eric Barriere of Eastern Washington and Christian Elliss of Idaho.
Idaho senior linebacker Christian Elliss is continuing the Elliss connection in Moscow.
Eastern Washington senior quarterback Eric Barriere chose Cheney over Honolulu.
Cal Poly senior linebacker Matt Shotwell said he’s already seeing better things since the arrival of new coach Beau Baldwin, the former Eastern Washington head man.
Those were some of the tidbits from Thursday’s Day 2 of the virtual Big Sky Football Virtual Kickoff, which featured one player from each of the 13 conference schools answering questions submitted in advance by media and fans.
ALL IN THE FAMILY
Christian Elliss’ older brother, Kaden, is a former Vandal star who was a seventh-round pick of the New Orleans Saints in the 2019 NFL draft. His younger brother, Noah, is a junior defensive lineman for the Vandals.
His dad, Luther, is Idaho’s defensive line coach, and a former NFL All-Pro.
Christian, 6-foot-3 and 233 pounds, played with Kaden his first two seasons in Moscow, and with Noah last season.
First, thanks to Coach P (Petrino) for even allowing me to come to play,” said Christian Elliss, a preseason all-conference selection this year. “But just being able to play with my brothers, and to be coached by my dad, is just something that I would never trade for the world.”
WHY EASTERN?
Barriere said he “kinda knew” about Vernon Adams, a former Eastern quarterback and a similar run-pass threat as Barriere. But it wasn’t EWU’s long line of highly successful QBs that attracted the Inglewood, Calif., native to Cheney.
It just came down to Eastern or Hawaii, and I just felt more comfortable coming to Eastern,” Barriere said.
Why, he was asked.
“I took a trip to Hawaii, it was beautiful, I had a great time, but I felt like it was more of a vacation spot, and I just felt too far away from home,” he said. “And I couldn’t see myself just trapped on an island.”
NEW COACH, NEW ATTITUDE
Cal Poly went 1-10, 5-6 and 3-8 in Shotwell’s first three seasons with the Mustangs. Exit coach Tim Walsh, who was fired after 11 seasons and a 59-66 record.
Enter Baldwin, the highly successful EWU coach who spent the last three seasons as offensive coordinator at California.
“It started out really awesome,” the 6-foot, 230-pound Shotwell said of the new regime. “Coach Baldwin and his staff bring a great deal of energy, and (stressed) some things that had been lacking, a lot of importance on details for us specifically. And then COVID-19 hit, and we haven’t been able to do our spring ball, or anything like that.”
RESPECT FOR BARRIERE
In 31 games at Eastern, the 6-foot, 200-pound Barriere is 16-7 in 23 career games as a starter, with 6,300 total passing yards and 7,519 yards of offense as an Eagle.
In a 42-41 win at Cal Poly last year, Barriere passed for a touchdown, and also rushed for 189 yards and a score.
“He ran all over us last year,” Shotwell said.
Earlier in the season in Moscow, Idaho built a 28-0 halftime lead but Barriere ran for two second-half touchdowns as the Eags rallied before falling short to Idaho, 35-27.
Barriere threw for 365 yards and ran for 57 more.
“For me, the biggest pain (to defend in the Big Sky) is Eric, I’m not gonna lie,” Elliss said. “I remember our game this year, in the fourth quarter, when we started pass rushing, he just kept running sideline to sideline, and I just got tired (chasing him) ... I was like, this dude needs to stand still so I can sack him.”
DEALING WITH COVID-19
Players said they missed the bonding with their teammates when COVID-19 came along, canceling spring football and leading to online instead of in-person learning.
“We get to meet (as a team, and in position meetings) through Zoom, but I miss being around the guys,” Elliss said. “I miss being able to do spring ball, do summer workouts, and being able to compete with our guys. Being able to see them, and have barbecues ... that’s the part I miss the most.
Barriere said he thought he was going to make a quick trip home for spring break, then return for spring ball.
Then spring ball was canceled.
“I only took two weeks’ of clothes home with me, and I ended up staying for like three months,” he said.