It seems like Eastern Washington could put in a high school freshman at quarterback and still find a way to score 28 points.
The Eagles won’t have to go to that extreme when they march into Autzen Stadium on Saturday. Instead, Eastern Washington will have a six-year senior with two career starts under his belt.
Gunner Talkington waited a very long time to get his shot on the red field in Spokane and yes, it was just one game, but so far so good. He was named the Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Week as the Eagles defeated Tennessee State 36-29. Talkington was 29-of-36 passing for 348 yards and five touchdowns and no interceptions. Talkington was also his team’s leading rusher with 60 yards on the ground.
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The last time the Eagles visited Oregon, the Los Angeles Rams’ Super Bowl MVP Cooper Kupp set a stadium record with 246 receiving yards and three scores. If the Ducks don’t want that situation to happen again, there are a couple of receivers they’ll need to pay attention to.
First is Freddie Roberson, a 6-foot-2 junior from Seattle who was the Eagles’ lone member on the preseason All-Big Sky First Team. He got off to a good start with six catches for 91 yards last week.
Next is Efton Chism III, who came into the season with 1,000 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. He added two more score last week to go along with 73 yards.
The Eagles’ run game is sporadic at best with Talkington leading the team in rushing. Justice Jackson is their returning tailback and he just has 359 career yards to his name. His biggest game last year came against Central Washington where he gained 100 yards and a touchdown.
On the offensive line, 6-foot-5, 310-pounder Wyatt Musser holds it down as he was a preseason Second Team All-Big Sky selection and his fellow lineman, Wyatt Hansen (6-5, 305) was a Third Team selection.
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