Eggleston Having Fun Again Playing Football For Central

Bellevue's Adrian Eggleston gained a lot more than a year of football eligibility when he transferred from Oregon State University this fall.

The 6-foot-4, 243-pound defensive tackle also got a place to play near home, not to mention a place to play at all. And if things go well Saturday at the Tacoma Dome for his new team, the Central Washington Wildcats, he might even have a national championship - something they don't spend a lot of time thinking about in Corvallis.

"I'm just having a great time," said Eggleston, a 1993 Bellevue High graduate who went to Oregon State on a football scholarship. "This is the most I've played since high school.

"It was great timing for me to transfer. Especially with Oregon State going 1-10."

The Wildcats (10-3), on the other hand, play Findlay of Ohio (10-1-1) for the NAIA Division II title Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Tacoma Dome. It's Central's first title-game appearance in football.

Eggleston, a sophomore, didn't play a down in two seasons at Oregon State and was granted an extra year by transferring to the lower-division school.

Although he backs up senior Shawn Raykovich at his position, Eggleston has played in almost every game and is coming off his most productive game of the season: six tackles, including five primary and three for losses in a 48-7 semifinal victory over Mary of Bismark, N.D.

"I feel like that was my best game," he said. "It was exciting. I was really focused and kept my mind in the game."

He has 25 tackles this season, including four for losses and three sacks.

Eggleston, 20, left Oregon State after the defensive line coach there left for a job at Michigan. "The new guy came and things just weren't working out," he said of changes with the new regime that included a position change to tight end. "And I kind of wanted to get closer to home and get out of there when I could - with some time left to play."

So he looked into Central, Western and Eastern Washington. Walking on at Washington was not an option because the two years of eligibility lost by transferring to another NCAA Division I school would have left only one season.

Besides, he'd already had enough of big-time, big-bucks programs.

"D-I - they give you scholarships, but the thing is they own you," he said. "I felt down there like I was just another number. I came here, and these guys are just having fun. You're not on scholarships getting paid and you get a lot closer to the coaches in NAIA than NCAA. . . . That's what D-I is to me - you're statistics in a business for the school."

So when he came back here, he visited Western. Then Central. Then canceled a visit to Eastern.

"I really liked the atmosphere here and the coaches," he said. "I'm really enjoying it. Of course, the national championship, you're going to enjoy that. But I think the main reason I'm enjoying myself is the relationship with the guys. This is about as close as I've been to my teammates since high school. It's easier here than at Oregon State. They all accepted me right away."