Eastern quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is the unquestioned leader of the Ohio Valley Conference championship-winning football team. He leads by example and is among the best quarterbacks in the nation.

Garoppolo, like red-shirt junior wide receiver Erik Lora, has cemented himself as an elite player under first-year head coach Dino Babers. Garoppolo thrived under Babers’ up-tempo offense, throwing for 3,823 yards, 31 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.

“As he goes, we go,” Babers said. “When you watch him operate on the football field, when you look at his decision-making, it’s beautiful to watch.”

Garoppolo’s 3,823 yards of total offense rank first in program history, as he moved ahead of Eastern great Sean Payton for total offense in a single-season. Garoppolo narrowly missed edging Payton for the program record in passing yards in a single-season, too, but fell just 20 yards short of surpassing Payton for the program record.

Garoppolo’s 31 touchdown passes also had him in elite company with another Eastern great, as he fell just three touchdowns short of surpassing Tony Romo for the single-season touchdown record.

“It’s nice to be chasing them,” he said. “If I am in the same realm of those guys, I’m in a good place.”

Outside of chasing the top two quarterbacks in program history, Garoppolo has been the leader of a team that became just the fourth team in OVC history to record a worst-to-first turnaround.

“I feel like Jimmy (Garoppolo) has made so many strides the last two years,” Lora said. “Jimmy is a great quarterback, and he is the leader of our team.”

The Panthers recorded back-to-back 2-9 seasons in Garoppolo’s first two years under center, but have transformed themselves to a playoff team in 2012.

“Coach Babers came in here and switched the program around and changed the mindset of the team,” Garoppolo said. “You really have to be in the locker room to see what he has done to this program.”

The Panthers’ transformation has been sparked by the arrival of Babers and his up-tempo offense, but has been led by Garoppolo’s consistent play under center. Garoppolo posted six games where he threw for at least 300 yards, four games where he threw for at least four touchdowns, three games where he threw for five touchdowns, and had thrown a touchdown in 26 straight games dating back to his freshman year before seeing his streak come to an end against South Dakota State on Saturday.

Garoppolo’s consistent play had him being nominated for the Walter Payton Award for the nation’s top FCS player and had him setting the OVC record for passing yards in a single-season, totaling 3,823 passing yards.

His success in the passing game also had Eastern ranking as one of the best offenses in the nation. The Panthers 470.92 yards of total offense per game ranked eighth nationally, while their 334.92 passing yards per game ranked sixth in the nation. The Panthers also proved to be one of the highest-scoring teams in the nation, averaging 36.5 points per game.

If the 2012 season is anything to show for what’s to come, year two of the Dino Babers era could have Garoppolo chasing all-time program records and could have the Panthers gunning for their first playoff win since 1989.

Jordan Pottorff can be reached at 581-2812 or jbpottorff@eiu.edu.