Big Sky football: Eteuati, Smith lead WSU preseason honors

PARK CITY — Bryant Eteuati has spent his career at Weber State making defenders miss him and forcing Division I recruiters to look foolish for ignoring him.

Eteuati, a two-time all-conference return specialist, added another honor to his collegiate career on Monday. He was the only player named to the Big Sky's preseason all-conference team at two positions.

Eteuati earned the honor at both receiver and return specialist. The announcement was made at the annual Big Sky Kickoff in Park City on Monday. The preseason media and coaches polls will be released on Tuesday.

"I'm thankful," Eteuati said. "I've been blessed with a lot."

Eteuati didn't waste any time in using his physical gifts when he arrived at Weber State. He began returning kicks as a freshman and became the Big Sky's most dangerous returner during his sophomore year. He returned a kickoff for a 100-yard touchdown in a home loss to eventual conference champion Montana in 2006.

Montana safety Colt Anderson, also a preseason all-conference pick, stood on the sideline, helplessly watching Eteuati break the long run for a score.

"He's just one of those guys that's one of the impact players," Anderson said. "Any time he has the ball in his hands, he's going to make a play. You've got to scheme him. You've got to game plan him."

That certainly isn't easy to do. Eteuati, a former Northridge star listed at 5-foot-7, 160 pounds, is lightning quick and tough to bring down.

"I remember watching him my sophomore year. He was a little guy running like a chicken with his head cut off," said Sacramento State linebacker Cyrus Mulitalo, a candidate for the Buck Buchanan Award. "He's a quick little guy. He's hard to get your hands on. He's one of the hardest guys to tackle in the open field. He's going to get his yards. You can only hope to contain him."

Eteuati developed into a big-time threat at receiver last year while continuing to be a weapon as a returner. He led Division FCS in all-purpose yards with an average of 207.5 yards per game. He had 53 receptions for 720 yards and four touchdowns. He returned two punts for touchdowns and one kickoff for a score.

Those numbers won't be easy to top, but Eteuati is expecting to do so during his upcoming senior season.

"To me, I feel like I need to do better than last year," Eteuati said. "That's always my goal — to do better each year."