Cowboys cut Nichols

Sad news for Eastern fans coming out of Dallas. It appears that Matt Nichols' time in a Cowboys uniform has come to an end.

After a very lackluster performance in last weeks game the Cowboys decided that was all they needed to see.

They cut Nichols to make room for tight end Martin Rucker on the roster.

Hopefully another NFL team will give him a shot. He has a lot more potential than just a few snaps in the preseason.

Matt Nichols update

In the Dallas Cowboys first preseason game on Sunday Matt Nichols out of Eastern Washington University got to play at the end of the game as the 4th string quarterback and pretty much just handed the ball off.

Tonight in the Cowboys second preseason game he got more of chance to show what he has, only it could have certainly went better.

I didn't watch the game but only read the message boards and the game log. It doesn't appear things went good for Nichols. He came into the game in the middle of the 4th quarter and finished 8 for 14 for 72 yards. He threw 0 TDs and had 2 interceptions. That gave him a very very low passer rating of just 31.5.

Not a good way to win the coaches eye and gain a roster spot. His 2nd interception came in the endzone as time expired for a touchback. The Cowboys would lose to the Raiders 9-17.

But hey, it was his first real action in an NFL game. So there's only up to go from here. Hopefully the next time he's given an opportunity he can take full advantage of it.

Nichols to Seahawks?

We've posted a lot about Matt Nichols of Eastern Washington University. The reason, we're kinda bias toward EWU.

A few weeks back I posted a clip from ESPN that talked about how Nichols was perhaps the most under the radar quarterback.

Well today on Seahawks.com they were talking about the quarterback class for this draft and ranking the players based on NFLDraftScout.com.

The first few picks were easy but then the remaining quarterbacks start to clump together.

Here's what they had to say about the former Eagle quarterback:

Don’t forget about: Matt Nichols. The Eastern Washington University QB didn’t get invited to the combine. But he did get to show his stuff at the East-West Shrine all-star game, and displayed better size (6-2, 220) and arm strength than the bigger-school passers on the West team – Kansas’ Todd Reesing and BYU’s Max Hall. Nichols also was productive at EWU, setting 14 school and six Big Sky Conference records in 47 games. But he’s still rated No. 15 among the QBs in this class.

I have a strong feeling that whichever team takes a chance on Nichols will become the "official" team of Just South of North.

Matt Nichols NFL bound? Sure seems that way.

I came across this today on ESPN.

Under the radar quarterback: Matt Nichols

Todd McShay thinks so. He says that Nichols reminds him of a young Tony Romo. And don't be surprised if in 5 years we see Nichols as a potential starting in the NFL.

Pretty sweet for an Eastern star.

Skip to 2:15 for the Nichols part:

Epic Video: Coach Baldwin mic'd up

Eastern hasn't played a game in far too long. I miss EWU football.

Here's Coach Baldwin mic'd up over the 2009 season.

My favorite part is at 1:29 when he's just chatting with Nichols.

Matt Nichols is the greatest player in EWU history

Matt Nichols has had quite the career at Eastern Washington University as today he set the Big Sky Conference career record for total offense. Yeah that's a big deal or something...

A career-long 52-yard touchdown run was just part of a sensational day for Eastern Washington University senior quarterback Matt Nichols as he broke the Big Sky Conference career record for total offense in 18th-ranked EWU's easy 41-28 non-conference football victory over Southern Utah Saturday (Nov. 14) at Eccles Coliseum in Cedar City, Utah.

Nichols passed for 380 yards and four touchdowns to finish with 455 yards of total offense and account for five TDs on the day. He now has 12,440 yards in his 45-game career, breaking the 17-year-old record of 12,287 held by Weber State's Jamie Martin (1989-92).

Oh, and Eastern Washington still has it's post-season hopes alive, which is more than what they had at the beginning of the season. Here's hoping the best for Mr. Nichols.

Hopefully Matt Nichols is not on steroids

Thank you Dave Cook, there's nothing like sending me a little good news via email after Ortiz-gate.

On the cusp of breaking Eastern Washington University's career records for passing and total offense, senior quarterback Matt Nichols has been selected by The Sports Network as a preseason candidate for the Walter Payton Award given to the top player in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision.

A 33-game starter for the Eagles, Nichols was named to the Payton Watch List for the second-straight season after earning All-America honors and Big Sky Conference Offensive MVP accolades as a sophomore in 2007. The 2005 graduate of West Valley High School in Cottonwood, Calif., earned honorable mention All-Big Sky honors a year ago, and enters his senior season with 8,786 yards passing, 9,376 yards of total offense and 63 touchdown passes in his career.

In other words, EWU quarterback Matt Nichols is really, really, really freakin good. I thought I had seen the best QB in school history when Erik Meyer was under center but Nichols might surpass him. While he wont have as much post-season success - that's kind of unfair because of the NCAA infractions slapped on the school this past year.

Oh and Nichols can grow one badass beard. Seriously, he looks like Tom Hanks in Castaway. Come late August, he'd better have a Peter Griffen-esque beard otherwise I will not be happy.

Eastern Washington University Red-White game

After spending the morning at Camp Cross in Couer d'Alene, I made a bee-line back to Cheney for the annual Red-White spring game of the Eastern Washington University football team. They may have had NCAA sanctions put against them so that they cannot reach the postseason next year, but it was sure nice to see some college football being played again. The weather was terrible - cold and slightly rainy - but apparently everyone decided to wear shorts to the event which boggled my bundled up mind. Here are some images from the event...


Meet senior tight end Nathan Overbay, who happens to be catching a touchdown pass in this photo. The thing about Overbay that stuck out in the Red-White game was that nobody could stop him. One drive consisted of Nichols just throwing the ball to him every single down (give or take). And there's nothing you can do about this guy - he's 6-5 and plays like he's about Dikembe Mutumbo's height. Eastern Washington could telegram the other team what plays they're going to throw to Overbay and there's nothing they could do about it - he's that talented.


Properly named Beau Baldwin yelling or chewing out a player or something on the sidelines. Is that not the best football name? It's right up there with Hayden Fox, Joe Paterno, Vince Lombardi and Knute Rockne. I'm just rooting for this guy to win a national championship so they can name the stadium or field after him.

"We're here at Beau Baldwin field for the Eagles vs. the Grizzlies. By the way, don't forget to stop by the Brandon Hansen concessions stands in the lower level."

That would be perfect.


Michael Roos, former EWU lineman and current Tennessee Titans player. Which instantly makes him one of my favorite people in the NFL. If he were a ginger - it would be perfect - but he's obviously bald. He does have his own Wikipedia page though - that's big-timing it.


Eastern Washington University quarterback Matt Nichols was the only signal caller with a blue jersey, meaning that all the backups actually got sacked. Which was entertaining, and sad for the backups.


Here's your new playmaker for the Eagles - Taiwan Jones - who switched from cornerback to running back and boy, is he going to be a playmaker. He had two long touchdown runs in the scrimmage prior to the Red-White game and scored twice today. After seeing him in person, he seems like the kind of guy that if you give him any sort of open space he'll be gone.

Aaron Boyce doing his thing. Big Sky cornerbacks take notice and make sure you can take a hit on your backside.


Okay, Eastern Washington Athletics, I'm sure this is athletic tape or something but PLEEEEASE put a white stripe on the helmets. See how cool this looks?


Is that Tony Davis striking a HEISMAN POSE?

Matt Nichols punting... no joke, they wont have another punter until fall. So Nichols took the punts and did quite well. He even had a one over 60 yards. Somebody get that quarterback a contract!