9/5/2018 football Edit

Opponent view: Eastern Michigan

Matt Stevens • BoilerUpload

Staff

Purdue is looking to rally from its season-opening loss to Northwestern as it hosts Eastern Michigan Saturday afternoon (Noon, Big Ten Network).

GoldandBlack.com reached out to EMU's long-time radio play-by-play broadcaster, Matt Shepard, to get some answers on an Eastern Michigan program currently in the midst of its most successful run since the late 1980s. Shepard is also the radio announcer for University of Michigan basketball and does television play-by-play for Detroit Lions preseason games.

GoldandBlack.com: So for the Purdue fan that doesn't know much about Eastern Michigan's program or the 2018 team, please fill us in about the Eagles this year. It seems like they have a confident football team with a Big Ten-caliber quarterback, no?

Shepard: "They had a big-time quarterback last year in Brogan Roback but they lost too many close games last year, but head coach Chris Creighton has really turned this program around. I know some people will say he has a 16-34 overall record here but you have to understand what he inherited and how difficult it is to recruit in order to turn a program like Eastern Michigan around. Roback is part of the Cleveland Browns practice squad after leaving here as the all-time leader in passing yards, touchdown passes and was No. 2 in completions and all-purpose yards. Now Tyler Wiegers comes in after not playing a lot at Iowa but looked really good last week against Monmouth. Now, understand, it's hard to compare what Monmouth is compared to Purdue and it's honestly not much of a comparison at all. Still, he was 18-of-21 for a couple of touchdown passes. However, it's not just him. They have some guys that can back him up. Mike Glass III came in and he was effective as well.

"The offensive line is back fully intact with all five starters from a year ago. They have their returning starters at running back and tight end as well are back this year. The wide receivers are all brand new and that is the hard part. Replacing the wide receivers and the quarterback was the biggest challenge but at least through camp with what I've seen, very impressive and in week one was very impressive. I don't know how many people you're going to win over playing Monmouth. What you're supposed to do is blow them out and that's exactly what Eastern Michigan did. Now we'll see their first true test when they take on the Boilermakers on Saturday."

GoldandBlack.com: I was extremely impressed with Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz's comments about Wiegers and how much work he puts into his craft and his leadership skills after his transfer. Has he been a stabilizing force at the quarterback position?

Shepard: "In talking with a lot of players, the difference between Tyler Wiegers and Brogan Roback is Brogan Roback has got a NFL arm. I call Lions preseason on television and I saw him and Baker Mayfield throwing out routes the other day and Brogan Roback's arm is just as good if not better than Baker Mayfield's, doesn't make him a better quarterback but I'm just talking arm strength. Tyler Wiegers is a much more controlled and less aggressive type quarterback. He's not going to take the chances that Brogan Roback did in Eastern Michigan's offense. (Wiegers) is probably a much more accurate quarterback and he has a much calmer disposition. Has he stabilized the position? I don't know if that's necessarily fair and here's why: I think for the first time since I've been calling Eastern Michigan football for almost 20 years, they have depth there like I've never seen before. EMU's third-string quarterback is a freshman named Jairus Grissom and he's a big, 6-foot-2, 205-pound mobile quarterback who can really spin it. They've got six scholarship quarterbacks on the roster and they've never had that as far as I can recall."

GoldandBlack.com: Do they bring in Mike Glass III as a change-of-pace-type quarterback intentionally as a rotation?

Shepard: "Yeah but he can spin it too now. He went 3-of-5 with a couple of touchdowns last week and also ran for one score as well. He's not a big guy, only 6-feet and 212 pounds, but he is a guy who is very accurate. He's fearless. He's a guy that plays with a great deal of confidence and the team plays with a great deal of confidence behind him as well."

GoldandBlack.com: In your impression, what has Chris Creighton brought to this program that has allowed Eastern Michigan to have this kind of success?

Shepard: "Really good question. I would say accountability and belief. You and I have always heard all kinds of coaches and probably used the phrase before but it's about the change of a culture. At Eastern Michigan, that's a very difficult thing to do. EMU is seven miles from Ann Arbor. It is a massive imposing figure for EMU athletics no matter what the sport may be but especially in football. When you look at the state of Michigan, that has some really good talent all across the country, think about what EMU is trying to do. They're not only trying to recruit against Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, Ohio State and Notre Dame but also against two regional MAC schools in Central Michigan and Western Michigan and another MAC school in its backyard in Toledo. Toledo is one of the more successful MAC programs historically and has beaten some big-time programs in the past. That is a daunting challenge. That means Chris Creighton has to strike it rich with some transfers and junior college players and he's been able to do that. He's got to find ways to sell his program to other players and sell them on playing sooner than they normally would at other programs and convincing them that they're going to get better. EMU has guys in the NFL now and that's unique for this program. Andrew Wylie is on a NFL roster (and currently listed as a starter at right guard for the Kansas City Chiefs), Brogan Roback is on a practice squad and a couple of other guys have represented Eastern Michigan well in the past. I think Chris Creighton has done a wonderful job of bringing alumni back and making it a prideful thing and making sure his players are accountable on and off the field. He got rid of his best offensive weapon coming back from this past season - a wide receiver with an NFL body and he said goodbye to that receiver because he wasn't doing what this program expects players to do. Usually at a Purdue, you can get away with that because of depth. At Eastern Michigan, you're not always able to do something like that because you don't have many of those types of guys. He said goodbye to a defensive lineman who would've been a starter. Both of them for disciplinary reasons and (Creighton) holds true to his promises and I love how he holds his players and his coaching staff accountable."

GoldandBlack.com: Tell me a little bit about this defense that seems to play with a lot of speed and effort.

Shepard: "A little undersized at times at linebacker but I'll tell you this, Eastern Michigan dominated Monmouth last week without its best defensive player and a player who I would argue is the best defensive player in the Mid-American Conference. Maxx Crosby was sidelined for disciplinary reasons last week but he and Jeremiah Harris are the best defensive end duo in the Mid-American Conference. Maxx Crosby is a dominating force in No. 92 in green. He'll play the left defensive end spot and you watch this kid and he's an NFL-type player. He has long arms, can shed blocks, stop sweeps and can get after the quarterback. It's going to be a hell of a matchup on Saturday afternoon."

GoldandBlack.com: In your estimation, what would a Eastern Michigan win at Purdue this weekend mean for that program?

Shepard: "Well, that's another part of what Chris Creighton has talked about. You try not to get too high with wins. So beating Rutgers, beating Wyoming and being competitive against certain teams is almost expected now. I won't say that would be a program-changing moment by any stretch but any time a Mid-American Conference team beats a Big Ten team, it's a plus. Especially if you're a mid-level MAC team, and Eastern Michigan was projected fourth in the Western Division - the better of the two divisions - any time you do something like that and beat a Big Ten team, it's a feather in the cap of not only the team but the entire Mid-American Conference."

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