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# Eichman ready to step into the spotlight for Merrimack football
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/eichman-ready-step-spotlight-merrimack-football/
- Published: 2017-08-15T12:00:53.000Z
- Updated: 2017-08-15T12:00:53.000Z
- Description: Kip Jackson has a nickname for the seniors who will play for the Merrimack High School football team this fall. "We've been calling these guys the shadow men," the Tomahawks coach said. "They've been in the shadow of the class that's been in front of them, and for good reason. It's going to be inter
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Division I, football, Merrimack, NH High School Sports Insider, slider, Tomahawks, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

*\[Editor's Note: This story also appears in the 2017 Football Prospectus.\]*

Kip Jackson has a nickname for the seniors who will play for the Merrimack High School football team this fall.

"We've been calling these guys the shadow men," the Tomahawks coach said. "They've been in the shadow of the class that's been in front of them, and for good reason. It's going to be interesting."

It should will be, at least in the beginning, for the Tomahawks. Merrimack has two starters on both sides of the ball returning from a team that made it to the Division I semifinals, the Tomahawks' first playoff appearance since 2005\. But the coaching staff has confidence that those players who were buried on the depth chart last season will be able to hold their own once the games begin.

Joe Eichman is one player Jackson knows he'll be able to count on when the season starts.

One of those returning starters on offense, Eichman wasn't exactly in the shadows last season - he was named first-team all-conference - but he was one of many weapons Merrimack had on offense.

This season, the Tomahawks are going to need the senior to do a lot more, and not just on the field.

"Last year, we had so many leaders, I could just play, and not worry about it," Eichman said. "This year I've got to come out of a shell and be more vocal because someone has to do it."

After playing with the group that just graduated for most of his time on the football field, Eichman finds himself in the spotlight when it's time for someone to step up and say something to the team.

"I've led by example," he said. "I've been younger and played up, so I never was that guy. It's something new. I know the kids respect me. It's a little uncomfortable, but you've got to do what you've got to do. You don't want to be fake about it, but with other guys around you, working hard, you've got to speak up."

When it comes to leadership, Jackson isn't worried about Eichman stepping into that role, and he expects some other players to be able to step up to take on that responsibility, too.

"The kids we had last year, everybody knows they were good athletes, but from a leadership standpoint, if we as a team can't pick up some of the things they were doing, then we're just not very good," the coach said. "We do a really good job with the kids with identifying leaders when they’re younger and that they work together with some of the older kids so they can see what we expect of them as leaders."

Eichman started playing with the varsity as a freshman, getting in on defense a couple of times, and as a sophomore, he saw time on both sides of the ball, playing running back and strong safety.

But with the depth the Tomahawks had a year ago, he focused mostly on offense, getting in on defense for a few series here and there.

This year, there may be times when he doesn't come off the field.

"He could have played more, but we had good kids at those positions," Jackson said. "There was no need to get him physically beat up on defense when we could just play him on offense. He's one of the best tacklers on the team."

Eichman was about 9 years old when he started playing football in North Carolina. His family moved to New Hampshire not long after that and he started playing in the Merrimack Cardinals youth program.

"I've always been a running back and in the slot, and I've always been a safety," he said.

Jackson believes Eichman could fill one of those positions in college.

"Based on his body type and the way he moves, his size, that's something that at the next level, he could be a safety or a linebacker," the coach said. "He's put on some good size the last couple of years."

While he does want to continue playing at the next level, Eichman realizes that there's still a lot that has to happen before he can make that decision.

"I'm going to play at the next level," he said. "That's been my goal since I was little. That's starting to pick up now, but you've just got to trust the process."