Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Insider Podcast – Season 8, Episode 29
4/13/2026 4:22:00 PM | Football, General, Lacrosse
Sias Sets the Tone Up Front, Borgert Reflects on Senior Season and Leadership Journey
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) — Spring weather, a packed home schedule, and the return of football placed Eastern Michigan at the center of a week filled with movement across athletics. Tennis, lacrosse, baseball, and rowing all filled the calendar, while an added layer off the field came in the form of the annual athletics garage sale, giving fans a different way to engage with the program.
Greg Steiner and Elena Davis opened the Eastern Insider Podcast Powered by DTE with the same energy, moving quickly from one topic to the next while keeping the focus on what made the week stand out. The conversation shifted between competition and community, blending what was happening on the field with what fans could experience around it.
The garage sale quickly became part of that conversation, highlighting the connection between fans and the program beyond game day.
"It's your chance to come with trash bags and leave with gear," Steiner said.
Davis added her own perspective, pointing out the range of items available.
"There's some baseball jerseys that I've never even seen before," she said.
Attention then returned to competition, where the week brought both challenges and opportunity. Baseball looks ahead to a key Mid-American Conference series, while lacrosse prepares for a matchup with Robert Morris that carries added meaning.
That meaning comes in the form of senior day, as the program prepares to honor a group that helped build its foundation, including senior Samantha Borgert. For Davis, the importance of that moment stood out.
"She joined when it first started and wanted to be a part of that history," Davis said.
Spring football also entered the conversation, as practices continue and a new defensive identity begins to take shape. With new leadership guiding that side of the ball, the focus has been consistent throughout camp.
"They want takeaways, they want tackling, and they want effort," Steiner said.
That identity leads directly into one of the featured conversations in this week's episode, as Steiner sits down with defensive tackles coach Zac Sias. His journey and personality bring a different perspective to the program, something that stood out immediately during the interview.
"It might be one of the best lines I've ever been given," Steiner said.
The episode also took time to acknowledge the lighter side of the day, with National Scrabble Day and National Peach Cobbler Day offering a brief pause before shifting back into the demands of the week ahead.
The result was an episode that moved the way spring in college athletics often does, quickly, across sports, and without much pause. A senior class preparing for its final home game, led by Samantha Borgert. A football program shaping a new identity. A campus full of events both on and off the field. At Eastern Michigan, the week was already in motion.
Segment 1 – Samantha Borgert
As Eastern Michigan lacrosse approaches senior night, Samantha Borgert finds herself caught between reflection and realization, looking back on a journey that began with uncertainty and turned into something lasting. A native of Indiana, Borgert did not choose Eastern Michigan by accident. She chose it for the unknown, for the chance to help build something from the very beginning. "I wanted to go out of state," Borgert said. "Eastern was a great distance, and it was our inaugural season. I really wanted to be a part of building something." What started as a leap into the unfamiliar has now come full circle, with Borgert preparing to take the field one final time as part of a program she helped shape.
That perspective makes the moment feel different. "It's honestly surreal," Borgert said. "I fully remember being a freshman, stepping foot on campus and being terrified, not knowing anyone." The nerves, the adjustment, the early days of a brand-new program, all of it still sits close. Yet when she reflects on what matters most, it is not defined by wins or milestones, but by the quieter moments that filled the space in between. "It's more so the small memories," Borgert said. "Cooking dinner with my roommates or just hanging out and playing games. That's what I'll miss the most." Those moments, often overlooked in the middle of a season, have become the foundation of her experience.
Her impact at Eastern has stretched well beyond lacrosse. As president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Borgert stepped into a leadership role she never initially planned to pursue. "I didn't even know what SAAC was," she said. "But I fell in love with it because of how much those people cared about student-athletes." Now in her second year leading the group, she helps guide conversations on NCAA topics, supports fellow athletes, and plays a central role in organizing major events across campus. One of those moments, the Ipsys, brings a different kind of challenge. "I have to give like a three-minute monologue," Borgert said. "I'm going to practice like seven times." The humor reflects growth, but also honesty about the work behind it.
Balancing those responsibilities has not come easily. Borgert does not try to present it as effortless. "Honestly, I don't," she said when asked how she manages everything. "I feel like I have to pick and choose what I prioritize." That reality has shaped her approach, forcing decisions and sharpening focus as she navigates the demands of athletics, academics, and leadership. As an exercise science major with a marketing minor, her path forward is already taking shape, with plans to enter medical device sales after graduation.
Through it all, the biggest change has come internally. "Confidence and public speaking," Borgert said, pointing to the areas where she has grown the most. That confidence now carries into how she represents both her team and the broader student-athlete community, a role she has embraced fully.
With one final home game ahead, Borgert hopes others will take notice of the sport that helped define her college experience. "It's the fastest growing game in America," she said. "If you like soccer, basketball, or hockey, you'll probably love lacrosse." And if she could speak to the version of herself who first arrived on campus, the message would be clear and simple. "Don't be so scared," Borgert said. "Once you let go of that, you're able to just have fun and enjoy the experience."
Segment 2 - Zac Sias
Zac Sias does not describe his path in terms of titles or stops. He starts with something simpler, something that grounds both his journey and his purpose. "It was all God, man," Sias said on the Eastern Insider Podcast Powered by DTE. "It was a blessing, designed by God, and it's truly been great." That belief frames everything about his first season at Eastern Michigan, where the new defensive tackles coach arrived from a winding journey that began far from Ypsilanti, built through patience, and shaped by perspective.
Raised in Mississippi, Sias did not follow a direct path into Division I football. He built it step by step, starting at Mississippi Delta Community College, moving on to Arkansas State, and then continuing his growth at Kansas, each stop adding to his understanding of the game and, more importantly, the people within it. "The greatest thing I learned through the journey is just patience," he said, before expanding on what truly defines his approach. "The greatest thing I learned is about the players. It's not about me." That mindset now carries into his role at Eastern, where development goes beyond the field and into daily investment in the lives of his players.
That philosophy aligns closely with Head Coach Chris Creighton, whose program culture made an immediate impression. "It's about relationship, not just the transaction," Sias said. "One of the greatest motivators in the world." For Sias, the consistency between words and actions stands out most. "Everything that we say we mean, and everything that we say is truly in alignment," he explained. "We're making this the greatest experience for these guys." It is a standard that has already resonated with him, both professionally and personally. "I've been in a happy place since being here," he said. "It's truly amazing to pour into these guys' life every day."
On the field, Sias inherits a defensive line group in transition, replacing production lost to graduation while developing a mix of returning contributors and younger players eager to prove themselves. "The group is coming together very good," he said, highlighting leadership as a key early strength, particularly from Makhi Gilbert as he works back from injury. "Doing phenomenal as a leader." Around him, the emphasis remains steady and clear, rooted in what Sias calls "fundies," a phrase that quickly sticks inside the room. "Our fundamentals are like our undies," he said. "We put them on every day." Beneath the humor sits a focused plan built on alignment, stance, and eyes, all designed to create a unit that plays fast, physical, and connected.
The results, Sias believes, will follow that foundation. "The sacks will come as we earn the right to pass rush," he said, pointing instead to early-down success as the true starting point. "We got to do a great job on first down, stopping the run," he added, reinforcing a mindset centered on discipline and physicality. That approach is sharpened daily through competition, particularly against an experienced offensive line that forces growth on both sides. "This offensive line is making us better every day," Sias said, noting the value of those reps in shaping identity before the season begins.
Within the defensive staff, Sias continues to learn, working alongside co-coordinators whose styles complement each other. "Coach Teegardin is a phenomenal teacher, and Coach Omley is extremely detailed," he said. "It's been a great yin and yang relationship." That collaboration adds another layer to his development, even as he takes on a larger role.
Away from football, Sias stays connected to his roots, returning to Mississippi traditions that still define him. "I can skin a deer, kill it, eat it in the same day," he said, describing his passion for hunting with the same straightforward tone he brings to coaching. From Rolling Fork to Ypsilanti, his journey has been built on patience, purpose, and belief, and now, at Eastern Michigan, all of it comes together in a role that feels exactly where he is meant to be.
