Football | October 18, 2019

KALAMAZOO, Mich. - It could have been a gigantic problem for Western Michigan when senior cornerback D'Wayne Eskridge went down with a season-ending injury against Syracuse.

Instead, as many teams say, it has been next man up and time for everyone to step up.

That's what the starting secondary of cornerbacks Anton Curtis, a senior, and Patrick Lupro, a sophomore, along with senior strong safety Justin Tranquill and junior free safety A.J. Thomas had in mind against Miami (Ohio) last Saturday. It worked to the tune of a 38-16 WMU victory.

The four along with Kareem Ali, a senior, and Calin Crawford, a junior, will all be tested again Saturday when Western Michigan (4-3 overall, 2-1 Mid-American Conference) travels to Eastern Michigan (3-3, 0-2) for a 7 p.m. game. The Eagles have the fourth-best passing offense in the MAC, averaging 270.8 yards per game.

Last Saturday against the RedHawks, Lupro had an interception, as did linebackers Drake Spears and Najee Clayton.

''I'm just thankful for the depth we have in the secondary,'' Tranquill said. ''For example, we have five solid cornerbacks our coaches feel comfortable rotating into a game.''

It's quite the turnaround from last year. Like, a huge turnaround.

''Last year, we were ranked No. 126 in the country in yards per completion and this year we're 29th,'' WMU head coach Tim Lester said. ''We've played some dynamic passing offenses, not teams who just line up and try to run the ball on every down. The defense is getting turnovers, which is huge. We're No. 1 in the MAC in takeaways and need to continue doing that.''

Tranquill, one of the senior leaders in the secondary with two interceptions and 49 tackles, almost wasn't around to make those plays, though. His cranky knees, which have been operated on three times, almost convinced him to stop playing football after last season, one where he wore a knee brace for every game.

His third injury came during the second game of the 2017 season. Then came the 'brace' season of 2018.

"Wearing that brace I felt stiff," Tranquill said. "In my first game back last year, against Syracuse, I had man-to-man coverage on a 6-foot-4 guy (Tranquill is 5-11) and it was back-to-back fade routes over me. I really got down on myself, thinking I was not the athlete I used to be. The coaches have done a great job of encouraging me. Our strength staff and training staff helped me recover to get to the point where I don't have to play with the brace anymore.''

If Tranquill needed an example of his recovery, it came in the Miami game. Spears intercepted a pass in RedHawks' backfield and took off for the end zone 74 yards away. Tranquill sprinted down field to help his teammate, just trailing Spears for much of the touchdown run.



''Justin made a great block, not doing a blindside block, but staying in front of the one guy who could catch Spears,'' Lester said.

That block and those two interceptions almost didn't happen.

''To tell you the truth, this season I was very much on the fence of playing or not,'' Tranquill said. ''The reason I chose to come back doesn't have anything to do with football itself, but with the guys on the team, especially our senior class. I didn't know any of them when I came to Western and now the majority will be at my wedding in February. I've had the same roommates all my years here (quarterback Jon Wassink, tight end Giovanni Ricci and linebacker Alex Grace) and they will all stand at my wedding.

''Even on those days when I'm not feeling it, I quickly remind myself it's such a blessing to be part of this group," Tranquill continued. "We want to finish out on a high note.''

An improving secondary could help WMU finish on that high note.



First there is fellow senior Curtis, who has 25 tackles and three passes broken up.

''He is one of those dudes who is a light for this team,'' Tranquill said. ''He's cracking a joke, dancing, talking about something which has nothing to do with anything and always talking to everyone. It's just one of those naturally gifted things he does.''

Thomas has 40 tackles, two of them for losses and three passes broken up.

''I think he has the most potential of any of our safeties,'' Tranquill said. ''Mentally, physically, across the board he is an incredible player and growing in his leadership. This year, he's making some tackles which are really difficult, and making them look easy.''

Lupro has started three straight games in place of Eskridge. The sophomore has 29 tackles and is tied with Tranquill, Spears and Clayton for the team lead in interceptions with two.

''You can see the improvement in Lupro (who took over for Eskridge) from week to week,'' Tranquill said. "It's fun to have him out there and see him grow."



''The guys in the secondary have been fun to watch,'' Lester said. ''They do make mistakes, but they look their coach in the eye and it doesn't happen again. They take ownership of their mistakes and move on. In the past, one or two long pass plays would turn into 400 or 500 yards in passing. They would get down and start pressing. This year, they keep battling.''

None more than Tranquill, who has battled those injuries and realizes his prospects for an NFL career are probably dim. Well, at least on the field.

''I have my degree in sales and marketing and I'm working on my masters in business administration,'' he said. ''I have a job to start in January for Rise Sports Advisors, which serves as business managers for NFL athletes. I get to stay around the NFL, but not play in it.''

And then he adds with a huge smile, "We'll say I'm in the NFL. Yeah, let's call it that.''

#LetsRide