Follow this week (April 7-11) for Eastern Illinois Football Spring Position Previews with EIU Spring Game set for Saturday, April 26 at 11 a.m. at O'Brien Field.
 
April 7 – Quarterbacks (Click To Read)
April 7 - Safeties
 
Eastern Illinois football will have some new faces on the back end of the Panthers defense and also a different position coach as they enter the spring.
 
Andrew Brady will move from coaching outside linebackers to the safeties group as Andrew Strobel takes over the role as defensive coordinator.  The overall defensive staff includes just one new position coach, but some moving around in coaching responsibilities.
 
The group returns five players that saw time on the field with returning graduate student Tienne Fridge the main veteran returning in the group.    Fridge played in all 12 games last season making two late season starts at the Nickel position.  He made 17 tackles, the most of any returning EIU player in the safeties room.
 
Makhi Wilson and Isaiah Richardson were both special teams starters and reserve safeties last year as redshirt freshmen.  Wilson had five tackles for the season with Richardson making four stops.
 
Dillon Conway and Josh Brown both played in four games last season as true freshmen seeing time on special teams and as reserve safeties before taking the redshirt season under the NCAA's participation rule.
 
Coach Andrew Brady has experience with those players from his special teams coach duties and looks forward to that young group getting a chance to develop this spring.
 
"The safety group has a great mix of new guys and young talent. They love ball and come to work every single day wanting to improve and get better. Excited to see how we grow over these 15 opportunities this spring," said Brady."
 
With the loss of three starters in that position group, EIU bolstered the depth of the safeties room at the semester break with the three transfer players.
 
Jihad McCall, Nick Vecchiarelli and Brandon Worsley all transferred into the Panthers program this spring.  McCall was a five-year member of the Morehead State program.  Vecchiarelli was a three-year member of the Marist College program.  Worsley transferred in after playing last fall at San Diego Mesa College.  The final member of the safeties group is Taylor Goodson, transfer from Iowa Western CC who redshirted at EIU last fall.
 
Coach Andrew Strobel, who coached the position group last fall, looks forward to the develop of the overall defense this spring.
 
"I am extremely excited to be leading this group on defense," said Strobel. "We return twenty-eight guys from the 2024 roster and eight who transferred in this January. The transfers will provide us with much needed depth and experience."