Just when Eastern Illinois proved to be among the elite footballteams in the Gateway Conference, the Panthers are following EIU'sother programs to the Ohio Valley Conference.
And they're not taking a lot of returning starters along. Amongthe positions hit by graduation are quarterback, tailback, fullback,receiver and middle linebacker, where Tim Carver set school recordsfor tackling.
"We lost right down the middle of our offense," coach Bob Spoosaid. "We lost very skilled players."
The Panthers return six starters, including tackle BrianMcGavock, who had eight sacks last season, and linebacker RodneyWilson, last year's second-leading tackler. Junior Ibrahim Bawa,Eastern's second-leading rusher with 388 yards on 93 carries, returnsand should find running room. The offensive line averages 312pounds.
Eastern was 10-2 last season and tied Northern Iowa atop theGateway with a 5-1 mark. The Panthers were picked to finish fourthin the OVC by the league's coaches and sports information directors.But Spoo isn't worried. Eastern was picked to finish sixth in theGateway last season.
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