EMU Football Depth Chart and Snap Counts: Week 6
Depth charts, snap counts, notes, and quotes ahead of Ball State on homecoming week.
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Coming off of a really disappointing loss at Central Michigan, the upcoming homecoming matchup against Ball State will be a pressing time for this team to come away with its first conference win. Eastern Michigan (2-3 overall, 0-1 MAC) had a lot it wanted to prove with its offense last week and certainly showed that it was better than what it was earlier in the year, but all the moves forward weren’t enough to come away with the rivalry win.
“Big-picture, I think that we’re encouraged by some of the production that our offense showed which had been off to a really slow start to the season,” EMU coach Chris Creighton said Monday at his weekly press conference. “Knowing that all three phases can play at a high level is encouraging but the isolation of the week when you’re trying to win the game and you lose your first MAC game, it was definitely a painful loss.”
EMU comes home with a MAC loss, and Ball State (1-4 overall, 0-1 MAC) is aiming for that first step upward in the MAC West standings as well. But get this as a fun little stat to hang on for homecoming: of the last eight games played in this series, the road team has won six times. Last year, EMU won 20-16 at Muncie. The last time EMU beat Ball State at Rynearson Stadium was 2017 (56-14).
Ball State’s not the main attraction for most team’s MAC slate and it still isn’t anything more than a pesky, non-rival, divisional foe to EMU. But as Creighton said during the presser, he’d be doing a poor job if he can’t get his team to focus on the importance of winning this game.
As with every press conference, the team’s somewhat updated depth chart is posted in the game notes. Below is EMU’s provided depth chart along with some of my personal notes, quotes from the presser, and snap counts via Pro Football Focus.
Previous depth charts: Spring/Summer | Week 1 vs. Howard | Week 2 at Minnesota | Week 3 vs. UMass | Week 4 at Jacksonville State | Week 5 at Central Michigan
OFFENSE
QUARTERBACK
#4 Austin Smith
#8 Cam’Ron McCoy / #3 Ike Udengwu III
The Central game was, again, the best we’ve seen from Austin Smith so far. Last year, even in the win at Arizona State, he was very green. This year he led the offense to one of the slowest starts in the nation but looked like a more consistent version of his most confident self against CMU. He was 20/26 passing, led the team with 71 rushing yards on 19 carries, and had a touchdown each way.
Said Creighton Monday on the performance by Smith and the offense: “I wouldn’t say relief, we’re just encouraged. We’ve seen him play before. He’s played really good football. Outside of Howard, it just wasn’t clicking for him. So that’s the Austin that we’re used to and we know that we’re capable of.”
“After Jacksonville State, we as a team, we as an offense, you’re as disappointed, frustrated as you can be. And then you’ve got to make a decision. We can feel sorry for ourselves, throw in the towel, or say the season’s over, or you can make a decision that we’re going to respond. Somehow we’re going to practice better. Somehow we’re gonna be better in meetings. Somehow we’re going to be mentally, physically, emotionally more into this, and the vast majority of our guys took that approach.”
“Obviously, [Smith] has confidence. He had confidence going into all four of those games and I get the fact that it didn’t go well and at times it looked like he wasn’t playing confidently. So… he’s not going to be skipping around the practice field now like everything’s okay. I know he believes in himself. He’s a confident, poised, unrattled, calm, not-extraverted personality and so I think we’ll continue to see the same Austin. … After four games of not doing it to the level that we wanted to do it, seeing it has definitely pumped some air into our tires.”
RUNNING BACK
#22 Samson Evans / #28 Jaylon Jackson
Samson Evans tied the school record with his 31st career rushing touchdown on Saturday. The record for most touchdowns scored (rush + receiving) is Gary Patton (1984-1987), and now he’s just one away from owning the record all to himself.
X RECEIVER
#17 JB Mitchell III
#7 Von Swinton
Z RECEIVER
#2 Tanner Knue
#7 Von Swinton
H RECEIVER
#1 WR Hamze El-Zayat
#5 TE Max Reese
After missing the Jacksonville State game, Tanner Knue came back and was instantly the leading receiver at CMU (7 catches, 68 yards, 1 TD), but J.B. Mitchell was able to get five catches on the day too — the most he’s had in a game so far.
Y RECEIVER, TIGHT END
#83 Jere Getzinger / #88 Blake Daniels / #85 Andreas Paaske
LEFT TACKLE
#63 Mickey Rewolinski
#76 Chris Mayo
LEFT GUARD
#54 Zack Conti
#50 Owen Snively
CENTER
#70 Dimitri Douglas
#67 Broderick Roman
RIGHT GUARD
#68 Alex Howie
#75 Carson Lee
RIGHT TACKLE
#77 Brian Dooley
#73 Joshua Anderson
Two Eagles came down with injuries during the CMU game: LG Zack Conti and C Broderick Roman.
Though it’s not reflected by the published depth chart, Roman made his first career start on Saturday at CMU.
Said Creighton of the 2019 signee: “[Roman] has come back from back-to-back ACL injuries… He played at Okemons (in Lansing) and his first start after all of that was just an incredible chapter to his story which isn’t done being written. So, so proud of him.”
DEFENSE
LEO
#11 Mikah Coleman
#49 Jaden Gaines
DEFENSIVE END
#45 Joey Zelinsky
#47 Justin Jefferson
NOSE TACKLE
#94 Peyton Price
#99 Melvin Swindle II
DEFENSIVE TACKLE
#98 Tim Grant-Randall
#74 Jez Janvier
Mikah Coleman’s 5 TFL so far this year is tied for sixth in the MAC, and tied for fifth in sacks (3). First-year starter Joey Zelinsky also has 3 TFL this season (1 sack).
CMU definitely won against EMU’s defensive front in the last game, but the good news is that DE Mikey Haney played his first game since being injured in the 2022 spring game. First-year JUCO transfer Ugo Nosike also saw a handful of snaps, his first action since the Howard game.
Said Creighton on EMU’s run defense at CMU: “We were concerned about explosive runs from QBs last week and feel as though we did a pretty good job in that area. I think in the second half, we lost the edge of our defense and they were able to get the ball outside, so that’s something that can be corrected. Ball State has our full attention. They can both run it and throw it and, obviously, we want to start with the run in limiting that. We’ve seen that [running] back before, he was in the conference at Kent State. He’s explosive, so we’re putting that plan together now.”
MIKE, LINEBACKER
#6 Chase Kline
#44 Luke Cameron
WILL, LINEBACKER
#19 Joe Sparacio
#12 Elijah Williams
By the national records, EMU has one of the top linebacking duos in the country. Both Chase Kline and Joe Sparacio are both top-5 nationally in total tackles made per game — Kline is fourth at 12.25, Sparacio is tied for fifth at 12.
Said Kline on Sparacio: “I can trust that him. I can trust that he’s going to give his full effort, I can trust that he’s going to give his full heart and that he’s laying it out on the line every single time. And I’m willing to go to war with somebody like that any day of the week.
And Sparacio on Kline: “Chase is a great player, great person for our defense. He gets everybody lined up, everybody knows what’s going on with the calls, where everybody needs to be. A lot of clarity when he’s out there, the communication’s great, and he’s also a really good player. He makes good plays and he’s somebody the offense needs to account for and makes my job easier and more fun.”
STAR
#4 Daiquan White
#39 Barry Manning
FREE
#16 Cameron Smith
#27 David Carter Jr.
BANDIT
#3 Quentavius Scandrett
#8 T.J. Peavy
CORNERBACK
#29 Kempton Shine
#14 Keylen Gulley
CORNERBACK
#17 Bennett Walker
#26 Tristen Hines
With Joshua Scott out for the season, true freshman Daiquan White has slid into the Star role to dial-in on his coverage against slot receivers. His four pass breakups currently lead the EMU defense.
Scandrett had his second interception of the season against CMU. His first was a heist job through the air against UMass. In Mt. Pleasant, Scandrett was in the right place in the right time after Sparacio tipped the pass into the air to come down in Scandrett’s direction.
SPECIAL TEAMS
PUNTER
#30 Mitchell Tomasek
#33 Ryan Kingston
PLACEKICKER
#35 Jesus Gomez
#37 Kenyon Bowyer
Tough day for Gomez to grapple with. His first field goal kick was good and re-tied his personal and the school’s longest kick of 55 yards, but his second attempt from 46 yards out, which would’ve tied the game with less than a minute left, sailed a little too right of the uprights.
Not that he let the defender get through, but he also suffered through the blocked PAT that turned into a 2-point swing for CMU. Gomez’s first 48 PAT makes were gravy, but two of the last four PAT tries have been no good; his second PAT kick against UMass hit the left upright.
LONG SNAPPER
#46 Steve Bird
#51 Mitchell Dietzel
KICKOFFS
#33 Ryan Kingston
#35 Jesus Gomez
KICK RETURN
#28 Jaylon Jackson
#1 Hamze El-Zayat
PUNT RETURN
#1 Hamze El-Zayat
#28 Jaylon Jackson
#23 Elijah Jackson-Anderson
HOLDER
#30 Mitchell Tomasek
#33 Ryan Kingston