EAGLE, Idaho — The Eagle High School football program will start a new era Friday night at Thunder Stadium under first-year head coach James Cluphf. After serving as the Mustangs' offensive coordinator under John Hartz, Cluphf took the reigns in April.
Eagle publicly announced Hartz' decision to resign on March 23, and named Cluphf as head coach on April 10. While Cluphf told KTVB the transition has been relatively easy for the team since he's been a longtime member of the Mustangs' staff, it was made even easier through Eagle's senior leadership, especially between coaching announcements.
"They went through a break, they didn't have a coach for about a month and they had to take over," Cluphf said. "Everybody leaned on that senior class and they did a phenomenal job of carrying us through that transition."
The Mustangs return at least six starters on both sides of the ball from last year's squad that had a runner-up finish in the 5A Southern Idaho Conference and made it to the state quarterfinals. The class has talent, but it quickly had to learn how to lead like seniors in the spring of their junior school year.
"The seniors coming into this year that really stepped up and took initiative and leading the rest of the guys to develop the team we have today," senior cornerback Tristan Walker said. "I think if no one stepped up during that early period, there still wouldn't be that much unity within this team. There wouldn't be a lot of comradery. We've already faced some adversity in this early season, so I'm excited to see what we can do."
Eagle's offseason comradery has continued all the way up to game week, as the roster is excited to see their former offensive coordinator take the top job in the program.
Cluphf joined the Mustangs as an assistant back in 2011. He left for another job in the 5A SIC, before returning to Eagle as offensive coordinator in 2017, a position he held the past six years. Senior offensive lineman Leon Evans told KTVB Cluphf not only knows the offense, but "knows all the players, the ins and outs of the school."
"We know his coaching style, we know how he really responds to his players to instances – to anything that really happens on the team – and I definitely think it helped a lot of us get to know him better and just set himself up for a role in leadership," Walker added.
Another big change for Eagle this year comes behind center, as another familiar face returns to wear the Mustang green. Senior quarterback Davis Harsin, the son of former Boise State head coach Bryan Harsin, returns from Alabama to play his final season of high school football with the teammates he grew up with.
During his father's head-coaching job in the SEC, Davis played his junior season at Auburn High School, helping his team to a state runner-up finish in Alabama's 7A classification. Davis was able to "reconnect" with members of the Eagle program after his family moved back to the Treasure Valley, something he said is "really fun."
Cluphf said the proven quarterback and Idaho State commitment made it a priority to earn his teammates' trust once again after returning to Eagle.
"He came back in, he really got after it in the weight room, really earned that respect before he commanded things from his teammates," Cluphf said.
All around, the Mustangs return a solid group. Five Eagle seniors rank among the top-25 prospects in the Gem State in the 2024 recruiting class, per 247Sports. Three-star defensive end Seth Brock and Harsin rank No. 8 and No. 9, respectively.
From the defense to the boys in the trenches, to the skill positions and special teams, the Mustangs "got a lot of dawgs," Evans said. Harsin said the Mustangs' offense has grown by competing daily with "one of the best defenses in the state."
"It's a fantastic group of guys, just so much energy," Walker added. "The culture on this team is like one that I've never seen before."
Outside of its 37-6 loss in the state quarterfinals to eventual 2022 5A champion Rigby, Eagle lost just three games last fall. Two of those losses came to Meridian, who is defending a 5A SIC title in 2023. The Mustangs host the Warriors on Friday at 7 p.m.
"We're one of the rare programs in 5A that has their own town," Cluphf said. "Everything with us is about representing our community, our school and our families. Friday nights, obviously we want to put a good product that we're proud of and that our community's proud of."
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