The CWU football team competed in the annual Crimson vs. Black spring football game which took place on April 23.

Redshirt sophomore running back Tyler Flanagan said both sides of the ball looked good in the game. 

“I feel like the offense played really well and the defense played really well,” Flanagan said. 

Flanagan got injured during the 2021 season, but played very well when he did play, averaging 6.4 yards per attempt. The redshirt hopes to stay healthy in the upcoming season and help lead CWU to another successful season. 

“I feel pretty confident,” Flanagan said.“[Erik] Hoium, our strength coach, has been doing really well in getting us ready to go … I feel like I’ve been doing the best in the weight room as I’ve been in a while, so I just gotta stay healthy for the season and hopefully it’ll be good.”

Flanagan had a career night in the playoffs last season, posting a three touchdown performance against Northwest Missouri State, but the Wildcats ultimately fell short in the 50-21 loss that ended their season. Flanagan believes that CWU can make it back to the playoffs this coming season.

“The team is really confident,” Flanagan said. “We’ve lost some key pieces and we’re pretty young, but we have some really good leaders on the team. In the spring ball we made some huge strides in the right direction, so we’re pretty confident and we’ll be pretty good next year.” 

The 2022 season marks head coach Chris Fisk’s fourth season leading the charge at CWU, and he’s ready for the team to take the next step towards success. 

“We’re in our fourth year here running the program and you can start to feel the culture that we’re trying to develop,” Fisk said. “Our quarterback Quincy Glasper was poised and has been playing well in scrimmage … Our defensive and offensive lines, which right now are the strength of our program, have had a very physical spring session.”

Glasper threw for 103 yards and a touchdown during the Crimson vs. Black spring scrimmage game. In the 2021 season, Glasper averaged 195.9 passing yards a game, and threw for 18 touchdowns. 

Fisk and Flanagan said they hope to compete in the national championship for next season. Fisk said they could win, but they need to focus on things they can control. 

“We say to our guys all the time ‘Your best ability is your availability,’” Fisk said. “We’ve gone through some injury bugs the last two seasons, and so that’s something that’s been a big focus for us … and if we just focus on the things that we can control before we worry about outcomes of games, the outcomes of the games will be what we’re hoping for.”