EIU Set To Begin Football Practice For 2021 Season

EIU head coach Adam Cushing is excited about this second season of 2021 after the squad went through the spring season after last year's season was postponed ldue to Covid.

"What an exciting time to be a football fan, two football seasons in a calendar year,"' said Cushing. "Our team is thrilled to be on the doorstep of the football season again."

The Panthers will open the fall season August 28 at Indiana State. Effingham's Logan Brown, a 6-foot-2, 195 pound linebacker, is a member of the team. He's a freshman and appeared in two games during the 2020 season and played in the spring of 2021. He saw time on special teams.

"What I'm most excited about this team is the complete committment from top to bottom," said Cushing. "The true mesaure of success is sustainability. "

The Panthers have had a heavy freshman population on the squad for the last several years and do again this year with 71 listed on the roster along with 22 sophomores, 11 juniors and only eight seniors.

"We've been double digit freshmen starting the last two seasons," commented Cushing. "We're excited to have not that many freshmen in the starting lineup this year. We have had a great group of freshmen on campus all summer. What we're really, really excited for is going into this season after a competitive spring season. Our guys are ready to build on that and turn that into W's."

The theme for the Panthers is . . . Lead, Follow or Get Out Of The Way.

"We have set a standard from the day we walked in the door and that has been held by us. All the plays have to be made by the players. It's time for these guys to make those plays and hold them accountable."

"The second thing is just finishing. Finish everything we do. That was disappointing not to finish those games. But it's exciting to have those players back who were on those teams. We need to use the lessons from the spring.

"A great thing in off season for the players to understand is what they are a part of and that they stand on the shoulders of giants who came through this program. It's impactful. But In the moment, in the season, the focus has to be on that one team. You're never going to have that group together ever again. We're doing this for us, not for anything else.

"First thing we did was sat down with Eric Stine and told him this is a marathon not a sprint. We want to make sure we're building graduatlly throughout the summer. We wanted them to take care of their bodies and they had time to go home, recover their bodies, then slowly grow so we can peak when we reach August 28 and beyond. We want to have everybody physicaly, mentally and emotionally ready.

"It's going to be real important to use those opportunities to improve. It's going to be a more competitive OVC in a long, long time during the season from top to bottom. All the players in the league are coming back. We have to use these non-conference games to get us ready for a phenomanl season. I believe that 99 percent are going to come down to those last seconds in a strong conference.

"I think that's what makes us excited about this group. The guys who came in 2019 and those guys in the spring who now have that game experience and understand how hard it is to win. Those tiny little things add up, in the weight room, conditioning, in the moment in the fourth quarter. those are what's going to push us over the edge. "

Quarterbacks listed for EIU include Otto Kuhns (Fr.), Chrs Katrenick (So.)  Zach Trainor (Fr.) and Zach Weir (Fr.)

"We better always be talking about the quarterback position," said Cushing. "The four guys we have on the roster had an incredible summer. Certainly right now Otto Kuhns is returning with game experience. Statistically the points we were scoring with Otto brings that element. Making plays with his feet, incredible patience, not just take off but extend the play.

"Chris Katrenick has picked up the offense in a big, big hurry. He and Otto Kuhns are neck and neck, incredible competititors and good athletes. Zach Weir our other returner, has a great undstanding of the offense and he has great confidence. Zach Trainor, freshman, is coming in and won't leave practice until he has improved. We have had to legitimately throw him out of practice several times to make him stop. He has a really bright future.

"Jaelin Benefield (running back, sophomore) is an incredible, incredible player. From the day he walked into the program he's made an impact on the football field. What makes us so excited is the leadership. He embraces leadership and has since the day he walked in. That will make the biggest diference for us as a program.

It's only his third year, he's an incredible running back. He'll run over you, runs 50 pounds heavier than he is. We're going to be looking for as many ways for him to touch the football.

"We're making progression, we got better every single week. The guys grew up as the season happened and that was awesome to see. We are really sound at defense and tackles as well. Jason Johnson another name seems to be everywhere and making all the tackles. Our ability, execution and assignemnts actually went up. playmaking, execution actually increased."

EIU won't host the first home game until September 18 against Illinois State.