Eagles Perez takes on prestigious honor at EWU

OTHELLO – On June 12, Eastern Washington University Eagles defensive lineman Isaiah Perez earned the honor of wearing No. 4 this upcoming season. Head coach Aaron Best announced this in a team meeting, an honor that Perez was pleasantly surprised to receive.  

“I was pretty surprised by it in the meeting when they announced it. I know it was between a few guys on the defense, and I was just honored and excited that they called my name,” Perez said.  

This tradition began back in 2008 when Jason Belford wore the jersey number. According to a press release by Eastern Washington Athletics, this honor is given to someone who embodies grit, toughness, effort, leadership and academic success. Perez will be the 19th player to wear No. 4.  

For Perez, he experienced a surge of emotions when his name was called to continue the Eagles' tradition.  

“I truly feel that my teammates believe in me, and my coaches believe in me, and they've all supported me since I've got to Eastern, and that's the feeling I continue to feel, and when they said that in the meeting, that's the same feeling I got,” Perez said.  

Growing up in Othello, Perez dreamed of making the NFL ever since he first put on a pair of pads in third grade. He said he remembers watching Marshawn Lynch pull off the notorious Beast Quake play when he watched the Seahawks with his dad. According to Perez, his dad was a die-hard Seahawks fan. They would spend a lot of Sundays watching them play and even made it out to the Super Bowl parade back in 2014.  

As he grew up playing youth football, Perez played on both sides of the ball. On defense, he played as a defensive lineman and linebacker. On offense, Perez said he channeled his inner Marshawn Lynch at running back and took snaps at quarterback, as well.  

By the time he joined the Othello Huskies, he continued to split playing time between fullback and defensive line. According to Huskies defensive coordinator Kevin Hale, Perez had an impressive work ethic. 

“He was a humble guy, and I know that because he worked his tail off. He worked harder than anybody I've seen. I've been coaching for 20 years, and I've never seen a kid with his kind of drive on the field. It's just not something that I had to coach or get out of him,” Hale said.  

Both Hale and Perez attributed his work ethic to the example set by his parents growing up. According to Perez, his dad was a mechanic at McCain Foods, and his mom was an instructional coach at Othello High School. He said his parents worked hard to give him everything they could; his dad took overtime work every chance he had.  

“I could see the efforts and the sacrifices they made for me, and not wanting to let that go to waste and wanting to make them proud has always been a big part of it,” Perez said.  

Hale said Perez possessed a lot of natural talent. He recalled a play he made on the defensive side of the ball his senior year against Ephrata. Perez exploded past the pass protection at the snap of the ball while the Tigers quarterback looked for a screen pass that was intercepted for a pick-six by Perez.  

During his time at Othello, Perez began to garner attention from Division One schools. According to Perez, many of the schools he heard from were in the Pac-12 conference, but in his junior season, he committed to BYU. He said his decision to commit early came down to it being the most comfortable fit.  

“Both of my uncles, my mom's brothers, played there, and I had just grown up going to their football camp and being on their campus, and it was a very comfortable fit for me. It aligned with my standards and what I wanted to do with my life,” Perez said.  

Perez said he redshirted his freshman year, which was beneficial to balancing life back home in Othello. According to Perez, he would travel 10 hours home every Friday to see his wife and daughter before returning to campus on Sunday. It proved to be a challenging time in his life, he said.  

The challenges of driving back and forth every weekend began to add up by the end of his freshman year. Additionally, a complication with his scholarship influenced his decision to eventually enter the transfer portal in January 2023.  

“I ended up coming home early from my mission when my dad passed away, and so I was enrolling at BYU earlier than I was supposed to, so I didn't have my scholarship available yet, and they told me that I would get it after one semester,” Perez said.  

He said with coaching turnover and new staff not being informed of his scholarship, one semester turned into two, which increased uncertainty for Perez.  

“I wasn't willing to take that uncertainty and be making that drive and that sacrifice if I wasn't getting my scholarship in return. So, I just thought it was best to be close to home and on scholarship where I wouldn't be making that extra payment,” he said.  

Once in the portal, Perez reached out to Eastern Washington’s coaching staff to express his interest in joining the program. He said he told staff there that he would commit on the spot if offered. After he spoke with coaches and took a visit, Perez was offered a scholarship and like he promised, he committed that same day.  

Ever since, Perez has been with the Eagles program as he heads into his fourth year of college football. Since joining, he said he has gotten to work with the best defensive line coach he’s ever had. According to Perez, he has made improvements in his game that he feels he would not have done elsewhere, most importantly, his confidence.  

“With my confidence and having people that believe in me and push me to be the best, it really helps me with that problem and allows me to play more freely and to believe in myself as well," he said.  

While at Eastern, Perez is studying mechanical engineering. According to him, it’s a subject that he finds interesting and sees himself doing. However, before he gives that a go, he hopes to make a run in the NFL.  

He holds at least two more seasons of eligibility, which he said he will use if that’s what it takes to have an opportunity. He said he gives his all in training and aims to be the best in the room.  

    Isaiah Perez hurdles a Quincy player back when he played for the Huskies. Perez was a highly decorated player, including being a three-time league defensive MVP.
  

    Isaiah Perez running up field in a game for the Huskies. Perez was a three-star recruit when he committed to BYU during his junior year at Othello.
  

    A young Isaiah Perez from his youth football days posing with his helmet and the Steve Page Memorial Award he earned. Perez said he has been playing football since he was in third grade.