CHENEY, Wash. — The Eastern Washington Eagles adopted the theme of “joy” during their 2025 season. The Eags went on to win three games in a row and finish above .500 the rest of the season, causing that positive mindset to carry over into the 2026 calendar year.
The Eagles are looking for joy in everything, whether it’s the chance to put their helmets back on, or for Malik Dotson, coming back from a broken foot and getting back on the field with his teammates for the first time in months.
“Joy is important because like, we dreamed of this. A lot of us kind of take it for granted. I’d say especially, you know, we’re doing conditioning and stuff, no one really wants to condition and everything, but just having the joy and just being thankful every single day. Again, the good, bad, and ugly,” Dotson said.
The Eagles aren’t all joy and fun, though, with this spring practice window allowing the Eags to immerse their freshman class further after their redshirt season, and find the starting quarterback going into the fall.
“We will find a number one quarterback. We will name a number one quarterback out of spring. That is at least the plan right now. We’re not gonna let this linger going into summer. I don’t think that’s beneficial for the team or the individual,” head coach Aaron Best said.
The two front-runners for the job are Nate Bell and Jake Schakel, who both started games last season for the Eags. Best also mentioned the benefit of the team being solidified earlier than in years prior, with only one transfer portal window, where there have been departures from Eastern at the end of spring practice in years prior.
The Eags also have much more depth than in years prior, which will aid them in team-on-team scrimmages and increase the competitiveness of their spring window. The increase in numbers also aims to increase the joy, with more players to pick each other up in the mundane.
“Football gets tiring, like you got to show up every day and so when you’re able to like bring joy to it every day and just have fun with your guys like it’s easier to show up and play fast and just do all the things that you need to do,” safety Jaylon Jenkins said.
EWU will continue to practice three times a week as they gear up for their first live scrimmage April 18 and the Red-White game planned for May 1 at 5 p.m.