Redshirt junior quarterback Joey Sprinkle is getting ready to go into his second year with Eastern’s program. 

Sprinkle, from Monticello, played soccer and baseball growing up and didn’t start playing football in sixth grade. After one year, Sprinkle went back to playing soccer until he got to high school. 

Sprinkle graduated from Monticello High School and spent two years at St. Ambrose University before transferring to Eastern. 

In this Q&A, Sprinkle shares the biggest strength in the quarterback room, what his perfect postgame meal would be and how many strikes he’s bowled in a row. 

Q: When did you first start playing football? 

A: “I played one year in my sixth-grade year. Before that, I didn’t play any and I didn’t play any after that until high school. I played soccer growing up the whole time. I only played one year at JFL [Junior Football League] at my hometown, and our program wasn’t that good that year, so I went back to playing soccer after that until high school.” 

Q: Were you always a quarterback? 

A: “That year, yeah. Because of soccer, I was a kicker and punter. I played a little bit of safety too.” 

Q: If you could have anything, what would be your postgame meal? 

A: “Probably a Monical’s pizza. Back at home, Monical’s is big in my hometown; it’s at least my favorite pizza joint. There’s another place called Filippo’s Pizza, and that was a go to for my family after games.” 

Q: If you weren’t playing football, what sport would you play? 

A: “Probably baseball. Just as long as I played soccer, I played baseball growing up.” 

Q: Who on the team are you giving the aux to? 

A: “Probably Ruben [Popoca]. Ruben is normally the go-to, everyone likes it. He’s got a good array.” 

Q: Who has the best style on the team? 

A: “Probably Surahz [Buncom], maybe Landers [Green], maybe the [Ajose] twins. They all throw on some fits when we go out.” 

Q: Why did you transfer to Eastern? 

A: “The whole situation at my last school St. Ambrose, it wasn’t working out. The new coaching staff, whenever I got there, it never seemed like anything was put together. I wasn’t going to waste my time, and everybody there was telling me that I shouldn’t even have been there, like I should’ve been bigger. I reached out after that fall semester my sophomore year. I was talking to here, Western [Illinois] and Indiana State. When I came here, it was a good experience the first visit I took.” 

Q: How do you like your steak cooked? 

A: “Medium rare. I’m not a psycho.” 

Q: Do you have a favorite musical artist? 

A: “I bounce around a lot of genres, but I’d say Tyler Childers has been my recent [favorite].” 

Q: How do you balance being a student and an athlete? 

A: “It’s not as hard as they make it seem. You just got to stay ahead of work and understand what you got to get done.” 

Q: If you had the power to bring one celebrity to this campus, who would it be? 

A: “The first person that came to mind was Adam Sandler. I grew up watching all his movies. The next person I could think of is Shaq[ielle O’Neal].” 

Q: Do you have any conspiracy theories? 

A: “Aliens got to be real, right? There’s so much out there that we don’t even know. We can’t be the only things out there.” 

Q: Pancakes or waffles? 

A: “Depends on the day, but I’m probably a waffle guy.” 

Q: Do you put anything on your waffles? 

A: “I like just butter and syrup.” 

Q: Who do you think the greatest football player of all time is? 

A: “Tom Brady. He’s just the G.O.A.T., especially at the quarterback position.” 

Q: Do you think the Earth is round or flat? 

A: “Round.” 

Q: If you had a walk out song, what would it be? 

A: “In high school, we had walkout songs for baseball. I had ‘Bad’ by Michael Jackson and hit a leg kick one time. It was pretty cool. The year before that, I think my walkout song was ‘Hakuna Matata,’ so one of those.” 

Q: What has been your favorite memory with the team? 

A: “Last spring, the whole team went bowling, and I was actually the one who won the whole thing. That was a pretty good time. The lane next to me, Jesse Garza was right there, and he bowled a strike and yelled, ‘Four in a row.’ As he’s yelling at my team, I rolled a strike, and I was like, ‘One, two, three, four, five in a row.’” 

Q: How many strikes did you roll in a row? 

A: “I think I got up to six.” 

Q: What do you think is the biggest strength in the quarterback room? 

A: “Especially right now, we all do different things good. We’ll have different strengths, and that really just helps us all build off of each other. Right now, there is no set starter, so we’re all fighting, but we’re all learning off of each other. I think it’s honestly bringing the whole quarterback room and the whole team up as we go.” 

Q: Who’s the funniest person on the team? 

A: “I’ll probably have to go with CJ [Nelson] or J[ay] P[earson]. They’re both pretty funny.” 

Q: Who on the team would be your emergency contact? 

A: “Probably Alex Herrera. He’s my roommate right now, him and [Tienne] Fridge. [Alex]’s like my best friend right now and same with Fridge, so one of those two. I spend a lot of time with Herrera, so that’s probably the guy I’d go to.” 

Q: Knowing everything that you know now, what would you tell 10-year-old you? 

A: “Start lifting, figure out how to run faster. I’d say to trust the process, just get everything going right away, and trust God because he’ll find your way.” 

Zaria Flippin can be reached at 581-2812 or at zhflippin@eiu.edu.