As Eagles search for top target, Joe Gallagher makes jump from DIII into crowded receiver room

Aug. 18—From a statistical standpoint, what Joe Gallagher accomplished over the last two seasons is difficult to dismiss. Indeed, his back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons are two big reasons that the Eastern Washington football coaches noticed Gallagher and wanted to bring him to Cheney. "Multiple 1,000-yard seasons at the college level, whether it's Division I, Division II, Division III, that's impressive," EWU wide receivers coach Casey Brink said. "You can't fake that." But to what degree does that production translate from Division III to Division I? That's the question playing out for Gallagher and the Eagles during preseason camp this week, as they prepare for their final intrasquad scrimmage on Friday in Cheney. "I feel like I am starting to get the offense down," Gallagher said last week, two days before catching one pass in the Eagles' first scrimmage at ONE Spokane Stadium. "I'm just trying to spend some time with (the playbook) every night, and guys in the receiver room have been great." Gallagher spent the last four seasons at the University of Puget Sound, which competes against Whitworth in the Northwest Conference. His biggest season came in 2024, when he caught 133 passes for 1,323 yards and seven touchdowns in a Loggers offense that ranked eighth nationally among Division III teams in passing yards per game (315.5). Even though the Loggers went 2-8 that season, Gallagher finished with the second-most receptions and sixth-most receiving yards in the nation , and set program single-season records in both categories. Gallagher wasn't quite as productive in 2025 but still managed to catch 97 passes for 1,006 yards and five touchdowns — for a Loggers team that finished 1-9. Across four seasons at UPS, Gallagher played in 32 games and caught a program-record 310 passes for 3,049 yards. But with a year of eligibility still to use, Gallagher was ready for a change — and a new challenge. "I had a great experience at UPS, made some really great friends," he said. "But I felt like I had accomplished everything I wanted to do there." And, he said, the team struggled to win games. In Gallagher's four years there, the Loggers went 7-31. "I wanted a higher level of competition, to see how I stacked up and to challenge myself," Gallagher said. "It got a little dull where I was at, having similar performances and feeling like I was at the top of the room. I wanted almost a reset to challenge myself." Gallagher appears to have some work to do to crack the receiver rotation: During Thursday's scrimmage he ran primarily with the third-team receiver groupings. Brink said the team is confident in starters Jaxon Branch, a redshirt sophomore, and Wesley Garrett, redshirt senior. Branch caught three passes — two of them for touchdowns — in Thursday's scrimmage, while Garrett led the group with four directions that went for 35 yards. "Outside of them, we are repping a number of guys, really trying to build depth and to see who is going to be the starter next to them," Brink said. Redshirt senior Cole Pruett was in line to be that third starter before he was sidelined last week with a lower body injury. His timeline to return is uncertain. The others competing for time at wide out include redshirt senior Jamai East; redshirt sophomores Bode Gardner and Drew Carlson; sophomores David Cabrera, Rylin Lang and Sean Embree Jr.; redshirt freshman Trenton Swanson; Gallagher; and then a trio of true freshmen, Bennett Juve, Giulio Banchero and Oliver Luebkert. All of them caught at least one pass in the scrimmage. "Just like last year, you end up playing five, six or sometimes even seven guys throughout a game," Brink said. "I think we have five to six guys we are very confident in." One of the challenges facing the Eagles this season is establishing their key targets in the passing game after the transfer of Miles Williams (524 yards last season) and the graduation of Noah Cronquist (374). Garrett, with 288 receiving yards last year, is the team's leading returner at the position. It's part of what makes Gallagher such an intriguing member of the group, given that his career production exceeds that of all his teammates combined. But making the jump to Division I is challenging for anyone, EWU head coach Aaron Best said. "Whether it's (from) DIII, DII, NAIA, JUCO, out of high school, it takes commitment to the playbook," Best said. "Our playbook is different from a lot of playbooks out there. It's thick. They get the first one and think, 'this ain't bad' — no, that's the first install." "It doesn't matter what year you are or where you came from or what level you played at or how many yards you had, what's done is done," Best said. Another challenge that Brink, Gallagher and Best all acknowledged was that terminology in one offense doesn't necessarily mean the same thing in another. But Gallagher's experience playing college football is helping the team in other ways. He said he knows how to approach each day looking to improve, and that he knows how to handle himself in meetings and how to focus. "He's adapted very well," Brink said. "He's very intelligent, which is very helpful. And he's great in the classroom and great with the guys. He's been able to hit the ground running." Gallagher's choice to play at UPS in the first place was somewhat reactionary to the experience he had at Seattle's O'Dea High School, a program that emphasizes running the football over throwing it. He said he is grateful for the chance he had at UPS to be the focal point of a highly effective passing game. But ultimately, Gallagher — who said he got no Division I offers out of high school — was ready for a new challenge. So far, Eastern has given him that. "You have to earn it," Gallagher said of playing time. "Guys have been here. Being a competitor, I expect to be in those conversations. I am competing and trying to get on the field as much as possible."