2018 Eastern Michigan Eagles football team

2018 Eastern Michigan Eagles football
2018 Eastern Michigan Eagles football
Camellia Bowl, L 21–23 vs. Georgia Southern
Conference	Mid-American Conference
	West Division
Record	7–6 (5–3 MAC)
Head coach	Chris Creighton (5th season);
Offensive coordinator	Aaron Keen (2nd as OC; 5th overall season)
Defensive coordinator	Neal Neathery (3rd season)
Home stadium	Rynearson Stadium
	Seasons ← 2017 2019 →

The 2018 Eastern Michigan Eagles football team represented Eastern Michigan University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by fifth-year head coach Chris Creighton and played their home games at Rynearson Stadium in Ypsilanti, Michigan as members of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 7–6, 5–3 in MAC play to finish in a three-way tie for second place in the West Division. They were invited to the Camellia Bowl where they lost to Georgia Southern.

2018 Mid-American Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
East Division
Buffalo x	7	–	1	10	–	4
Miami (OH)	6	–	2	6	–	6
Ohio	6	–	2	9	–	4
Akron	2	–	6	4	–	8
Bowling Green	2	–	6	3	–	9
Kent State	1	–	7	2	–	10
West Division
Northern Illinois x$	6	–	2	8	–	6
Western Michigan	5	–	3	7	–	6
Eastern Michigan	5	–	3	7	–	6
Toledo	5	–	3	7	–	6
Ball State	3	–	5	4	–	8
Central Michigan	0	–	8	1	–	11
Championship: Northern Illinois 30, Buffalo 29
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions

Preseason

Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released

Award	Player	Position	Year
Rimington Trophy^[1]	Dakota Tallman	C	SR
Chuck Bednarik Award^[2]	Maxx Crosby	DE	JR
Doak Walker Award^[3]	Ian Eriksen	RB	SR
Bronko Nagurski Trophy^[4]	Maxx Crosby	DE	JR
Outland Trophy^[5]	Jimmy Leatiota	OL	SR
Wuerffel Trophy^[6]	Jeremy Hickey	OL	SR
Ted Hendricks Award^[7]	Maxx Crosby	DE	JR

Preseason media poll

The MAC released their preseason media poll on July 24, 2018, with the Eagles predicted to finish in fourth place in the West Division.^[8]

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
West Division
1	Northern Illinois	133 (15)
2	Toledo	125 (7)
3	Western Michigan	87 (1)
4	Eastern Michigan	67
5	Central Michigan	58 (1)
6	Ball State	34

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31	6:30 p.m.	Monmouth*	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI	ESPN+	W 51–17	14,357
September 8	12:00 p.m.	at Purdue*	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	BTN	W 20–19	47,661
September 15	6:00 p.m.	at Buffalo	UB Stadium Amherst, NY	ESPN+	L 28–35	18,384
September 22	10:30 p.m.	at San Diego State*	SDCCU Stadium San Diego, CA	CBSSN	L 20–23 ^OT	30,898
September 29	6:00 p.m.	Northern Illinois	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI	ESPN+	L 23–26 ^3OT	14,779
October 6	12:00 p.m.	at Western Michigan	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI (Michigan MAC Trophy)	ESPN+	L 24–27	24,282
October 13	12:00 p.m.	Toledo	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI	ESPN+	W 28–26	17,998
October 20	3:00 p.m.	at Ball State	Scheumann Stadium Muncie, IN	ESPN+	W 42–20	14,022
October 27	12:00 p.m.	Army*	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI	CBSSN	L 22–37	22,627
November 3	12:00 p.m.	Central Michigan	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI (Michigan MAC Trophy/rivalry)	ESPN3	W 17–7	13,468
November 10	12:00 p.m.	Akron	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI	ESPN3	W 27–7	12,403
November 23	12:00 p.m.	at Kent State	Dix Stadium Kent, OH	ESPN3	W 28–20	6,125
December 15	5:30 p.m.	vs. Georgia Southern*	Crampton Bowl Montgomery, AL (Camellia Bowl)	ESPN	L 21–23	17,710
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^[9]

Game summaries

Monmouth

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hawks	0	3	7	7	17
Eagles	13	17	14	7	51

At Purdue

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	7	3	0	10	20
Boilermakers	6	6	0	7	19

At Buffalo

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	0	21	0	7	28
Bulls	14	14	0	7	35

At San Diego State

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Eagles	3	7	7	3	0	20
Aztecs	3	14	0	3	3	23

Northern Illinois

	1	2	3	4	OT	2OT	3OT	Total
Huskies	3	10	0	0	7	0	6	26
Eagles	10	0	0	3	7	0	3	23

At Western Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	0	10	7	7	24
Broncos	7	7	0	13	27

Toledo

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rockets	3	0	3	20	26
Eagles	21	7	0	0	28

At Ball State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	7	14	14	7	42
Cardinals	0	6	7	7	20

Army

	1	2	3	4	Total
Black Knights	3	13	7	14	37
Eagles	0	0	14	8	22

Central Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
Chippewas	0	7	0	0	7
Eagles	7	0	0	10	17

Akron

	1	2	3	4	Total
Zips	0	7	0	0	7
Eagles	7	0	0	17	24

At Kent State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	7	14	7	0	28
Golden Flashes	10	0	7	3	20

Vs. Georgia Southern (Camellia Bowl)

	1	2	3	4	Total
GASO Eagles	7	10	0	6	23
EMU Eagles	0	7	7	7	21

Eastern Michigan taking the field before the 2018 Camellia Bowl

Roster

2018 Eastern Michigan Eagles football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
QB	`3`	Aaron Jackson	Sr
RB	`5`	Shaq Vann	Sr
QB	`7`	Isaac Stiebeling	So
WR	`8`	Line Latu	Jr
QB	`9`	Mike Glass III	Jr
QB	`10`	Preston Hutchinson	Fr
WR	`11`	Isaac Holder	Jr
QB	`12`	Tyler Wiegers	Sr
WR	`14`	Carl Swopes	Fr
WR	`15`	Greg Jean	Fr
WR	`16`	Lemar Harris	Sr
WR	`18`	Keyan Marshall	So
QB	`19`	Jarius Grissom	Fr
RB	`20`	Blake Banham (C)	Sr
RB	`22`	Karmi Mackey	Fr
WR	`23`	Kevin Bradley	Fr
WR	`24`	Tanner Knue	Fr
RB	`25`	Ian Erikson	Sr
RB	`26`	Willie Parker	So
RB	`27`	Marc Hairston	Fr
RB	`30`	Bo Bell	Fr
RB	`33`	Breck Turner	Jr
RB	`38`	Dez Horne	Fr
WR	`40`	Eddie Daugherty	Sr
FB	`43`	Tyler Lyle	So
WR	`44`	Hassan Beydoun	Fr
FB	`45`	Ashton Clemons	Jr
OL	`50`	Sam Dervil	Sr
OL	`54`	Ka'John Armstrong	Sr
OL	`56`	Jimmy Leatiota	Sr
OL	`57`	Michael Smith	So
OL	`60`	Mike Van Hoeven	So
OL	`62`	Sidy Sow	Fr
OL	`64`	Thomas Major III	Jr
OL	`65`	Lucas Tesznar	Fr
OL	`67`	Jeremy Hickey	Sr
OL	`68`	Alex Howie	Fr
OL	`69`	Jake Donnellon	So
OL	`70`	Samari Saddler	Fr
OL	`71`	Marcellus Johnson	Fr
OL	`74`	Steve Nielsen	Jr
OL	`75`	Yannik Rohrschneider	Fr
OL	`76`	Jim Gregory	So
OL	`77`	Brian Dooley	Fr
OL	`78`	Dakota Tallman	Sr
WR	`80`	Dylan Drummond	Fr
WR	`81`	Quian Williams	Fr
TE	`82`	Gunnar Oakes	Fr
TE	`83`	Tre'Shawn Fields	Jr
WR	`84`	Logan Giordano	Fr
TE	`85`	Thomas Odukoya	Jr
WR	`86`	Michael Thompson	Jr
WR	`87`	Mathew Sexton	Jr
TE	`88`	Bryce Hemp	Jr
WR	`89`	Arthur Jackson III	Jr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DB	`1`	Jalen Phelps	Jr
DB	`3`	Vince Calhoun	Jr
DB	`4`	Kevin McGill	Jr
LB	`6`	Jaylen Pickett	Sr
DB	`7`	Ikie Calderon	Sr
DB	`9`	Carthell Flowers	Fr
LB	`10`	Kobie Beltram	Jr
DB	`12`	Jeff Hubbard	So
DB	`13`	Justin Moody	Sr
DB	`14`	Ross Williams	Sr
DB	`17`	Robert Daniel	Fr
DB	`21`	Jordan Porter	So
DB	`23`	Blake Bogan	Fr
DB	`24`	Brody Hoying	Jr
DB	`28`	Isaiah Watson	Fr
DB	`29`	Timarcus Simpson	Fr
DB	`30`	Rich Jones	So
DB	`31`	Otis Jackson III	Fr
LB	`32`	Terry Myrick	So
LB	`34`	Konrad Dixon	Fr
DB	`35`	Freddie McGee III	So
DB	`36`	E. J. Williams	Fr
DB	`37`	Kymani Brown	So
DB	`38`	Joey Hiser	Fr
DB	`39`	Jerodd Vinces	Fr
DB	`41`	Russ Vaden IV	Fr
LB	`42`	Tyrone Neal	Jr
LB	`48`	Matthew Buschman	Fr
LB	`49`	Desean Boyd	Fr
LB	`51`	Kyle Rachwal	Sr
DL	`52`	Desmond Kelly	Jr
DL	`55`	Ville Valasti	Sr
DL	`58`	Carter Stagner	Fr
DL	`59`	Thad Abram	Jr
DL	`61`	Nicholas Gill	So
DL	`63`	Vince Boyd	Fr
DL	`66`	Rafe Reyes	Fr
DL	`73`	Ty Eddington	Jr
DL	`90`	Jeremiah Harris	Sr
DL	`91`	Clay Holford	Sr
DL	`92`	Maxx Crosby	Jr
DL	`93`	Mikey Haney	Fr
DL	`94`	Hunter Andrews	Jr
DL	`95`	Shawn Simeon	Jr
DL	`96`	Tyler LaBarbera	Sr
DL	`97`	C. J. Hunt	Fr
DL	`98`	Marqualin Scott	Jr
DL	`99`	Turan Rush	So

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K	`18`	Paulie Fricano	Jr
K	`21`	Jesse Kelly	Sr
P	`27`	Vinnie Patteri	Fr
P	`31`	Jake Julien	So
P	`34`	Max Chaffee	Fr
K	`44`	Chad Ryland	Fr
LS	`46`	Steve Bird	Fr
LS	`47`	Drake Sutton	Jr

Head coach

Chris Creighton

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Aaron Keen (offensive coordinator / quarterbacks)
Neal Neathery (defensive coordinator / linebackers)
Todd Frakes (safeties / co-recruiting coordinator)
Herb Haygood (wide receivers)
Luke Meadows (run game coordinator / offensive line)
Ben Needham (defensive line)
Jay Nunez (special teams coordinator / co-recruiting coordinator)
Jay Peterson (running backs)
Fred Reed (cornerbacks)
Rob Reeves (tight ends)
Dylan Saccone (assistant ad for football operations)
Brian Overholt (video coordinator)
Casey Monahan (graduate assistant - defense)
Tevyn Stevenson (graduate assistant - defense)
Will Temizer (assistant recruiting coordinator)
Jason Daniels (student football operations assistant)
Travis Hensley (recruiting assistant)
Keaton Kelly (offensive quality control)
Robert McFadden III (offensive graduate assistant)
Vontrell King-Williams (graduate assistant - recruiting quality control)
Ryan Olson (offensive graduate assistant)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Roster
Last update: August 18, 2018

After the season

The following Eagle was selected in the 2019 NFL draft after the season.^[10]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL club
4	106	Maxx Crosby	Defensive end	Oakland Raiders

References

^ "Rimington Trophy Press Release". May 30, 2018. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
^ "2018 Bednarik Award Watch List". July 16, 2018. Archived from the original on July 16, 2018. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
^ "2018 Doak Walker Award Candidates". July 18, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
^ "2018 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Preseason Watch List". July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
^ "22018 OUTLAND TROPHY WATCH LIST UNVEILED". July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
^ "Wuerffel Trophy Unveils 2018 Watch List". July 26, 2018. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
^ "Preseason Watch List - 2018 edition of the Ted Hendricks Award" (PDF). August 14, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
^ "NIU & Ohio Picked as Divisional Winners in 2018 MAC Football Media Preseason Poll".
^ 2018 Eastern Michigan Eagles football schedule FBSchedules.com. Accessed April 11, 2018.
^ "2019 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 7, 2024.

[1] "Rimington Trophy Press Release". May 30, 2018. Retrieved July 14, 2018.

[2] "2018 Bednarik Award Watch List". July 16, 2018. Archived from the original on July 16, 2018. Retrieved July 16, 2018.

[3] "2018 Doak Walker Award Candidates". July 18, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.

[4] "2018 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Preseason Watch List". July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.

[5] "22018 OUTLAND TROPHY WATCH LIST UNVEILED". July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.

[6] "Wuerffel Trophy Unveils 2018 Watch List". July 26, 2018. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018.

[7] "Preseason Watch List - 2018 edition of the Ted Hendricks Award" (PDF). August 14, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 16, 2018.

[8] "NIU & Ohio Picked as Divisional Winners in 2018 MAC Football Media Preseason Poll".

[9] 2018 Eastern Michigan Eagles football schedule FBSchedules.com. Accessed April 11, 2018.

[10] "2019 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 7, 2024.

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