After closing out last fall with a 3–9 record, Eastern is aiming for a fresh start as it opens the 2025 season at home Thursday when it hosts the Dayton Flyers at O’Brien Field.
Alongside standout captain and graduate wide receiver Cooper Willman, an Ohio Valley Conference-Big South preseason player to watch, newcomer Cole LaCrue takes over at quarterback in his first season with the Panthers, bringing fresh energy to a unit determined to take a step forward.
The Panthers hope the electricity of their home opener can spark a bounce back year. In his first season at Eastern, head coach Chris Wilkerson finished 2-9. He then had a turnaround season in 2023 finishing 8-3, but the team didn’t build on that in year three.
Wilkerson is confident in the changes made to the football staff and adding a few players during the off season will be a great year.
“They [coaches and players] have done a phenomenal job building a strong foundation and establishing great chemistry,” Wilkerson said. “This year’s group has been amazing to watch how they have built a foundation of trust and connection and consistency. I’m looking forward to watching us compete this fall.”
Senior running back Jay Pearson feels like this is the season the Panthers have success like similar to the 8-3 season back in 2023.
“Our o[ffensive] line got way better than the past years, and our quarterback got way better,” Pearson said. “In my opinion I think everyone is on the same page, and it feels great.”
Graduate linebacker Jesse Garza said the defensive unit has taken noticeable strides since the end of last season, crediting both incoming talent and offseason development under new linebackers coach Rodman Noel.
“In the linebacker room we’ve got so much talent and depth,” Garza said. “The guys we brought in are tremendously talented, and the players who were already here have always been strong. The combination of the two, along with coach Noel’s knowledge and coaching style, has led to all-around improvement. As a team overall we’re bigger, stronger and faster, and the numbers we track show how much we’ve improved. It’s kind of ridiculous.”
Captain and graduate wide receiver Cooper Willman said the Panthers progress won’t matter unless they stay disciplined and healthy, a lesson learned from last year.
“Obviously, we know we have talent in every position,” Wilman said. “It’s a matter of focusing on the details, having everything come together, and playing winning football that plays to our strengths. The number one thing that held us back last year was injuries, but it’s about having guys ready to step in and keep the same level of competition and intensity when they’re called on. One of the biggest things for us is continuing to develop everybody and making sure we’re ready when that time comes.”
Here are two aspects to keep in mind for the 2025 season:
- The Quarterback Situation:
During offseason training, there was a great deal of quarterback competition. Right now, there are five quarterbacks on the roster: freshman Brady Ford, redshirt freshman Connor Wolf, redshirt sophomores LaCrue and Blainey Dowling and redshirt junior Kevin Conway.
After the Panthers second scrimmage of the offseason, the decision was made that LaCrue would be the starting quarterback
“Cole [LaCrue] is a phenomenal athlete and certainly a polished thrower,” Wilkerson said. “But he doesn’t have the complete knowledge of the system yet. He’s getting more comfortable with it.”
LaCrue said the quarterback competition has helped him turn on another gear, and said fans should expect “fireworks” from his performance on the field.
“I’m a playmaker, and anytime I step on the field it’s showtime,” LaCrue said. “So I’m excited about it.”
- Return of players
Despite an influx of transfers, Eastern hopes for improvement in 2025 will rest heavily on the leadership of its returning veterans.
Willman headlines the group, while offensive lineman and captain Nic DiSanto, a three-year starter, provides stability up front.
“I think certainly on the offensive line, I would say Nic DiSanto is a guy that has certainly had a lot of individual accolades for the program,” Wilkerson said. “He has done an awful lot. He’s played an awful lot of football. He’s one of our captains, one of our biggest, strongest, and most competitive guys.”
DiSanto said a strength about his position room is their communication, and coach Cole Hoover putting confidence in the players.
“Coach Hoover put a lot of confidence in us to just go out there and do what we have to do to be successful,” DiSanto said.
Another key returner that only played two games last season due to a leg injury is graduate wide receiver DeAirious Smith, who said the coaching staff is putting more responsibility on the players and focusing on paying attention to detail as a team.
“They’re focusing more on detail and more of an effort standpoint, but more emphasis on the details because that’s what we lacked last year,” Smith said. “We beat ourselves in certain games, and just in certain instances. So, our main focus this year is just trying to stay as healthy as we can and focus on those little details.”
On defense, veterans such as graduates Tienne Fridge in the secondary and linemen Drake Van Hyfte and Alton Jefferson supply much-needed experience to balance a roster full of new additions.
Graduate linebacker Phoenix Porter is another key return on the defensive side of the ball.
“We got a lot of new faces around, we had a great fall camp and we’re just trying to keep it rolling going into the season,” Porter said. “We got a lot of new guys, two transfers that will be key contributors. It’s good to have that depth in there where you can rotate guys in and out.”
Eastern is set to play Dayton to kick off the season on Thursday at O’Brien Field. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.
Payton Liggins can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected].
