© Kyle Padron is showing with his arm and attitude that he belongs at Eastern Washington (Photo: SWX)CHENEY, Wash. -
Now that fall camp has started at Eastern Washington, all eyes are on Kyle Padron.
Padron, the transfer from Southern Methodist, is battling Vernon Adams and Joey Vitto for the starting quarterback job for the Eagles. Once a record-setting quarterback at SMU, he understands he has to win the starting job fair and square.
Even he will tell you it won't be easy. But his positive attitude and strong arm are helping win over his teammates and coaches.
"You know, it's not going to be given to me," said Padron, who missed spring practice and didn't arrive in Cheney until summer. "I'm not here competing, I'm trying to earn everything I get. These guys aren't going to make it easy on me. They're going to come out here, and they're trying to get the first spot too. That's the beauty of this game: there's only one spot for quarterback and we're all going to compete as hard as we can."
Coach Beau Baldwin, who knows a thing or two about developing quarterbacks, has liked what he has seen so far from Padron.
"He just adds that competitiveness of the position," said Baldwin. "Obviously he brings a wealth of experience. He has more experience than anyone in terms of games. He's played a lot of football."
The knowledge Padron has of the Eagles' offensive system to this point has come from his own studies but also from teammates who now understand why Baldwin was so eager to bring him into the fold.
"We worked with him throughout the summer as much as we could in our 7-on-7s and our routes on air," said receiver Brandon Kaufman. "Yeah, he brings a lot to the table. He looks really good."
