MAC Mitten Report: Why practice #3 is also practice #41 for Eastern Michigan

This report was originally produced by Mitten Football's Andrew Graham, and is being published here as part of a collaborative partnership with By The Belt to help inform our readership. You can support more of Andrew's work by following the link here. 

Chris Creighton might be in his 50's and well into his second decade coaching Eastern Michigan, but that doesn’t mean he’s outgrown time-honored traditions like a post-practice ice pop. 

With the thermometer climbing through the 80's as the morning sun gave way to the midday blaze, Creighton got just what he needed after breaking down Eastern Michigan’s third spring practice, with an assistant coach’s son delivering him an unidentified flavor — watermelon or pink lemonade, most likely — from the cooler sitting off in the corner at Rynearson Stadium. 

“Whatever flavor he brings me is my favorite,” Creighton said after asking the youngster about a recent bass fishing trip, hyping up his prized catch. 

Starting fall camp a week early with a Week 0 matchup against Sacramento State — the first ever Week 0 game for Eastern Michigan — the Eagles began padded practices on Friday, the third practice of the fall period. And despite fall camp itself opening just a few days ago, the Eagles are looking at this not as the start of a new season but the continuation of all the work that’s happened since the end of the 2025 season.

That, plus some roster continuity have Creighton and Co. excited about being somewhat ahead of the curve, even if he could come up with plenty to fix after the first padded practice of fall. Here are some takeaways from Eastern Michigan’s first padded practice of fall camp:

Opportunity No. 3 is also opportunity No. 41, thanks to no spring portal 

While Friday is just the third time Eastern Michigan has practiced since starting fall camp, this isn’t the first week this team has worked out or practiced together in some capacity. 

And so while Friday was the officially the third practice of fall camp, Creighton is getting the team to internalize it as the 41st time they’ve practiced together or worked in some capacity, thinking back to winter, spring and the summer. 

“It's been the first time we've had helmets and shoulder pads on since April 17th, but we're not letting ourselves, like, just start over," Creighton said. "Even though we are starting over. ... [I]t's opportunity three, and it's opportunity 41. ... I think that the guys have received that well."

The elimination of the spring transfer portal window, which disrupted rosters after spring practice and throughout the summer, has created a much more streamlined team-building timeline, something Creighton emphasized when talking with him.

"We're not starting from square one because the vast majority of our team has been here since January, which hasn't been the case in about four years," Creighton related.

Creighton lauded how the Eagles signed 31 freshmen and 19 enrolled early; they might be in their first camp but they’ve been part of this 2026 EMU team for more than half the year now. Coaches and players talked about how much more self-starting and internally accountable on a player to player level this team is. 

Quarterback Noah Kim, a veteran of the college game going on his second year at EMU, has noticed the difference in continuity too. 

“I feel like the feeling in fall camp this year is a little bit different than last year because the opportunities we had throughout the summer just to be together and be out just playing football on the field,” Kim said. “So, like, it kind of feels like we've been practicing and just been together the whole time. The whole entire offseason. So like when we got out here, it's like we hit the ground running.”

So as much as Friday was practice number three for Eastern Michigan, it’s really just another step in a far longer journey to open the 2026 season on a positive note against Sacramento State in Week 0. 

Defense turns up the takeaways

Turning over opponents is a big point of emphasis for the EMU defense in 2026, and Friday was a good step in that direction, as Creighton said the defense produced three takeaways– the expected goal in every practice. 

“It's hard to take the ball away when we're doing what we call an NFL finish, and we're in helmets, but then today we're in pads, and they took the ball away three times and that's our goal,” Creighton said. “That's at least three. And so there was really good intensity. There were some big plays given up now, too, though.”

That comes after two practices in helmets and no pads where, without the ability to get physical, they repped the aforementioned details and the defense didn’t really have much ability to take the ball away. 

Friday, though, changed that. The defense played with a lot of energy and looks bigger, faster and more physical than it did a year ago. Time will tell on some key parts, namely the pass rush, but the group had a solid day on Friday. 

“It had a good, intense feel to it, too,” Creighton said. 

The talented Mr. Kim and his leadership mantle

A seventh-year quarterback, Kim is one of the oldest players not just on EMU’s roster but in college football.

Not only is Kim entering Year 2 leading the Eagles on offense, he also recently got engaged to his fiancee, one of several Eagles to either propose or get married recently.

As a result, Creighton has gotten to calling his veteran quarterback “Mr. Kim,” as much an acknowledgement of Kim being an elder statesman as it is poking some fun at the fact Kim is nearly seven years older than some of his teammates. 

“He knows what he's doing,” Creighton said. “He's mature, he's composed. He's not a real vocal guy, but whenever he talks, you know, people listen to him and yeah, it's a big deal.”

Kim’s return is an undeniable boon for the EMU offense.

Quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator Mike Piatkowski discussed the advancements that Kim has made and the increased comfort and control that the quarterback is displaying. From this time last year when he was still learning the system and battling in camp for the starting job to now, the difference is hard to ignore. 

“It was really in the spring when it got to it, whether it was him playing or him just watching it on film,” Piatkowski said. “He's more comfortable and we saw it in the spring because he was talking. He was using his voice and really commanding the offense was the biggest thing. Just communicating.”

Kim himself has also noticed a difference in terms of his comfort and control. And with that knowledge, he’s working to take on more responsibility as a leader. 

Kim’s not the most naturally vocal person, but he’s grown comfortable being demanded — and having much demanded of him — in such an important role. 

“I think it's just like, if I'm not on my game, you know, I expect Nick Devereaux, Josh Long, like the other guys to, you know, say, ‘Hey, make that throw there,’” Kim said.’” And I expect myself to tell them if they drop the ball, it's like, ‘Come on, we need those.’ But it's all out of love.”

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