Oct. 7—In mid-August, Casey Brink said he felt that the Eastern Washington football team had "five or six" wide receivers they felt very confident in.
But now? In mid-October?
"By necessity that number has multiplied — in a way that is very pleasing," Brink, EWU's wide receivers coach, said Monday.
It's no secret that the Eagles' position group most affected by injuries during this 1-5 season has been the wide receivers. In each of their games, at least one receiver has left the game because of an injury and hasn't returned the following week.
That may again be the case this week after redshirt sophomore Bode Gardner suffered a lower-body injury in the Eagles' 49-38 loss at UC Davis, a result that dropped their Big Sky Conference record to 0-3.
From a playoff standpoint, the Eagles are in a dire situation. But as far as the mood goes, even in the receiving room, there is no panic, Brink said. And the ever-rotating cast of receivers is only getting better with more reps.
"If you see a team that's 1-5, you'd think we'd be down," redshirt sophomore Drew Carlson said. "But we're juiced up to go get a win."
At 4 p.m. on Saturday at Roos Field in Cheney, the Eagles are out to get that victory against Northern Colorado (2-4, 1-2).
The Bears will present the Eagles with a pass defense that has allowed 224.5 yards per game, the fourth fewest in the 13-team Big Sky Conference. The only teams so far with a better pass defense are Idaho State (169.8 yards per game), Montana State (218.0) and Utah Tech (223.5).
Nate Bell's 413-yard passing performance last week boosted the Eagles' season average to 270 passing yards per game, fifth-most in the Big Sky.
Carlson, who has missed two games because of injuries, has the second-most receptions (23) and receiving yards (264) on the team, behind redshirt senior Wesley Garrett, who has caught 26 passes for 335 yards in five games (he, too, missed a game because of an injury).
The only EWU wide receiver to play in all six games so far is sophomore Rylin Lang, who has 18 catches for 180 yards. He's still looking for his first collegiate touchdown.
Lang, fellow sophomore David Cabrera and freshman Oliver Luebkert are three players who have stepped up amid injuries to Carlson, redshirt sophomore Jaxon Branch and redshirt seniors Jamai East and Cole Pruett.
Pruett has been out all season with a lower-body injury. East missed last week's game after suffering an injury late in the Cal Poly game. Branch, who has nine catches for 116 yards and two touchdowns, has left two games early because of injuries.
"Rylin and David probably didn't think they'd have the role they have now and they are excelling," Carlson said "Oliver, too. As a freshman I don't think I'd be able to do the stuff they are doing. It's a testament to how we practice and try to keep everyone ready."
Carlson has also adjusted by shifting from being an outside receiver, where he said he is most comfortable, to playing some snaps in the slot.
"It's definitely made me learn a lot of new things and really expand my game," Carlson said.
Carlson, who caught his first collegiate touchdown pass last week, has seen his role increase steadily in a way that stands out to Brink.
"He is a guy who came in as a walk-on, earned a scholarship and then a starting role, and then had his first touchdown of many more to come," Brink said. "That's a very consistent upward trajectory. That doesn't happen by accident. I am extremely proud of Drew."
As nice as it's been for the Eagles' younger receivers to get more reps, the fact remains that the Eagles are down two preseason starters in Pruett and Branch. And it seems that every week the two-deep, which contains six receivers, lists nearly all of the team's healthy players at the position.
But the Eagles are doing the only thing that they can, Brink said: They are facing the adversity and trying to overcome it.
"The record, 1-5, that's a record, not a culture or belief system," Brink said. "If you're inside our walls, it doesn't operate like that (record), doesn't feel like that, doesn't look like that, doesn't play like that.
"Coach (Aaron) Best and the culture he has created, I think that's insulated us and allowed us to attack the process. We've had a couple things go against us, but we are improving and growing as a football program every single week. That's what we show up every day to do. The results will come as long as we keep attacking the process."
