CHENEY, Wash. — Eastern Washington's defense is looking to make improvements heading into the 2023 campaign. The Eags got a pair of experienced transfers that they think will play big roles this season.
"You know, coming in as new, I think respect is kind of earned," said fifth year transfer linebacker Ben Allen. "You know, you have to show it through your play a little bit."
Ben Allen knows just because it's his fifth year of college football he won't get instant respect from his new teammates. But, if first impressions mean anything, it certainly helps that he's built like a pro wrestler.
"I've been trying to get a little leaner so I don't get as many of those comments, but I don't know if it's working," said Allen with a laugh.
Allen has no plans of jumping from the top rope anytime soon and that's Something the Eags are thrilled about. The Bucknell transfer figures to play a big role between time at the inside linebacker position and as an edge rusher.
"He is a powerful guy. You know, you can tell he's no stranger to the weight room. The thing that is surprising about him is he moves better than he looks. He's very explosive," said Eastern Washington defensive coordinator Jeff Copp. "He's one of the strongest guys on the team, which is going to allow us to do a lot of different things with him."
Allen isn't the only fifth year transfer that the Eagles are excited about on the defense.
Fresno State transfer defensive end Da'Marcus Johnson has turned heads since arriving in Cheney.
"He's a long defensive end. He can really run. You know, we do an effort cut-up every day and Da'Marcus is on it almost every day," said Copp. "He's just a different athlete than we've had at defensive end in a while."
Johnson intends to be a nightmare to opposing quarterbacks.
"That's what I'm here for. If that's not what I'm wanting to do, then I should go home," said Johnson with a laugh. "It's you versus everybody. Not saying that's against my team, of course I'm a team player. But you just got to be ready to go beat somebody every play."
Both have been applauded for providing leadership on the defense. They credit getting out to Cheney in the summer to help build camaraderie with their new teammates.
The Eagles gave up 466 points last season, the most in the Big Sky Conference. The two veteran transfers are hoping to change that in 2023.
"You know, last year is last year. Leave that in the past," said Allen. "a whole new approach this year, a different mentality. I've definitely seen that in our room this year and a lot of improvement throughout camp and you know, I just think we got a lot of guys that are ready to prove people wrong."
"Another big thing is making sure that we're not bringing each other down when we do mess up. We got to turn the page encourage each other to do better because we all know what we're capable of," said Johnson. "We're capable of being great, to win FCS championship."