Five years after his college career ended, red continues to run deep in the veins of Greg Peach.
If he’s not busy playing in the Canadian Football League, you’re likely to find the congenial, humble 6-foot-3, 255-pounder on the sideline at Roos Field, cheering on the Eastern Washington Eagles.
In March of 2012 he got down on a knee on the red turf and proposed to his fiancé Kobli. Nine months later, at his wedding reception in northern Idaho, he was huddled around a smartphone with former teammates monitoring Eastern Washington’s near miraculous comeback over Sam Houston State in the FCS semifinals.
“We’re so tight-knit,” said Peach, the former All-American defensive end, who ranks 39th on the list of the Big Sky Conference’s “50 Greatest Male Athletes.” “A bunch of us all train together in the offseason. Eastern can change guys attitudes and character and make them all one. It brings us all together. I’ve been looking at the schedule, seeing the games I might be able to go to.”
Before the Eagles played on a red field, and before Beau Baldwin guided the program to the 2010 National Championship, Peach was terrorizing opposing quarterbacks en route to the 2008 Buck Buchanan Award, given annually by the Sports Network to the top defensive player in FCS football.
Peach won the Buchanan by the largest margin in history. He tallied 18 sacks – one shy of the Big Sky single-season record – and 22.5 tackles for loss. He led the nation in both categories. The Vancouver, Wash., native also amassed 72 total tackles. He became the second straight Big Sky player to win the Buchanan, following Montana’s Kroy Biermann.
“When I saw Kroy win it, it did kind of cross my mind that it would be awesome to win the award,” Peach said. “I don’t think I set my sights on it. It was more on being an All-American and letting the chips fall where they may. It worked out. It is one of the greatest achievements for me and my teammates.”
Peach wasn’t an instant star, in fact, he called his freshman season, “terrible.” He was forced into action as a true freshman in 2005, when he had 20 tackles and one sack.
“I was like 200 pounds and getting bullied every game,” Peach said. “I ended up starting the last six games. At the time, I was like, ‘what am I doing?’ But looking back, it was one of the best things. I understood I needed to get bigger if I wanted to be productive. It made me tougher and gave me a goal. The first year was pretty rough.”
Peach tallied 5.5 sacks, 9.5 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and 42 tackles as a sophomore in 2006. In the final game of the season, he registered two sacks against Idaho State, including one for a safety.
“That was the most productive game I’d had to that point,” Peach said. “I ended up getting Honorable Mention All-Conference that season. That’s when I decided I’m going to go for it and go as far as I can. That’s the game where I remember thinking I can be a lot better.”
As a junior, Peach was second in the league in sacks to Biermann with 11. He also had 15 tackles for loss en route to earning First Team All-Conference honors.
Peach finished his career with 35.5 sacks, which ranks second in league history to Idaho State’s Jared Allen. Peach currently ranks sixth in tackles for loss with 49.5.
Peach said he prided himself on conditioning, and being able to wear down the man across from him.
“Get to the fourth quarter, and that’s where you take over,” he said. “It’s what I’ve done, and what I still do. I’ve never been the most athletic guy, but I will work the offensive line. That’s where I take advantage of him, when he’s tired and I’m not. I’ve done it my whole career. Even if I’ve been unproductive for 3½ quarters, at the end of the game you can make something happen.”
After his All-America campaign of 2008, Peach joined the Edmonton Eskimos of the CFL. He led the team in sacks as a rookie. After three seasons in Edmonton, Peach signed with the Hamilton Ti-Cats. The 6-foot-3, 255-pounder is currently with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
“This is a huge, huge honor,” Peach said of being selected as one of the “50 Greatest.” “It’s all the athletes, not just football. That makes it even more special. Honestly, I didn’t think I would be on it.”