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CARBONDALE, Ill. — A great pass rush is a defensive coordinator’s best friend. Just ask Southern Illinois assistant head coach Kraig Paulson.

“(Pass rush) has everything to do with how you can call a game,” SIU’s defensive coordinator explained. “It’s all about how much pressure you can put on the offense with how many guys does it take to do that? Our concept has always been a four-man rush, but saying that and doing that are often different things.”

Through 10 practices of training camp, Paulson has to be pleased with the amount of heat SIU’s front four has applied to the quarterback, especially the defensive ends. Sophomore DE Anthony Knighton is a budding superstar, who led the team in sacks (6.5) and tackles for loss (11.0) last year and finished runner-up for Missouri Valley Football Conference Freshman of the Year. Paulson wants even more from the 6-foot-2, 253 pound edge rusher.

“If you ask me about Anthony Knighton, I’d say, ‘play every down like you play some of the downs you see on film,” Paulson said. “That’s the challenge to everyone, not just him.”

What has been most impressive in camp has been the depth at defensive end. Sophomore Jordan Berner (6-6, 264, So.) started all 11 games last year for Southern and is described by defensive line coach Austin Flyger as “a big, country-strong kid, who is just a hard-nosed, hard-working dude.”

Knighton and Berner may end up as the starters, but there seems to be little drop-off when the backups are in. An impressive group of underclassmen, including Jaylin Wilson, Sam Skinner and Raquan Lindsey will also figure heavily in the rotation. Here’s a rundown on those three players from Coach Flyger.

Jaylin Wilson (6-3, 265, So.) — “Similar to Sam, he played in five or six games as a true freshman and was dinged up. He’s just scratching the surface of how good he can be. If he stays locked in and focused, he could easily be one of our best players. He brings a level of intensity and fire, and a mentality that it’s going to be a long day lining up across from me.”

Sam Skinner (6-2, 244, So.) — “He had some injuries and didn’t play as much as he wanted to as a true freshman. He actually ended up coming down with mono that kept him out for a couple games. He’s one of those guys that’s always in the right spot, does things the right way and is really a coachable kid. We’re excited about his future.”

Raquan Lindsey (6-2, 244, Fr.) — “He’s a freakish kid in the weight room and probably one of the fastest kids on the team. He probably runs faster than some of our safeties and linebackers. He’s explosive.”

As if that weren’t enough depth, Chucky Sullivan (6-3, 226, So.) and Rondarian Bell (6-1, 209, Jr.) both picked up multiple sacks during Wednesday’s scrimmage and during 11-on-11 work this week. They could easily figure into the mix. 

It’s enough to make Paulson smile.

“No spot on defense exerts more energy than the d-line,” Paulson said. “That’s what they do for a living. You cannot just have four guys. You need backups at every spot, that’s the job description. If you can go back and forth without losing your level of play and production, you got something. I think we’re on the right track there. I give a lot of credit to the kids, I give a lot of credit to what Meade (Smith) is doing down there in the weight room, and Coach Flyger has done a great job with those guys.” 

Practice No. 10 took place in the late afternoon heat at Saluki Stadium, and it was another crisp day for senior QB Sam Straub and his talented group of receivers, who head coach Nick Hill said could go as many as eight deep. Today, it was sophomore WR Sam Thompson’s turn to shine, as he caught three long passes from Straub. On two-consecutive plays, he beat CB Torian Lewis, first on a deep post, then on a back-shoulder throw along the left boundary. Later, Straub was flushed from the pocket, rolled left and threw a perfect strike between two defenders to Thompson for a 25-yard pickup. 

The most impressive catches of the day were made by WR Raphael Leonard. Straub was a tad high on a deep post route, but the 6-foot-2 Leonard fully extended to pluck the ball amid two on-coming defenders. He did the same thing later in practice on an even more difficult catch in traffic, drawing oohs and ahhhs from onlookers.

In the Winning Time segment at the start of practice, Straub hit TE Jacob Varble, who had a two-step lead on LB Cody Crider, for a 40-yard touchdown. On the last play of practice, as part of a challenge series set up by the coaching staff, freshman QB Javon Williams Jr. threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Thompson to give the offense the win.

The Salukis will have their second day off of camp on Sunday, as required by the new NCAA practice guidelines.

“I think the NCAA did it right when they made this day a complete day off, no meetings, no anything,” Hill said. “It’s good for the coaches. They’re able to go home and see their kids and eat dinner with their family and everybody comes back rejuvenated.”

Hill is pleased with what he’s seen from the Salukis so far.

“I felt like coming into camp we knew our team pretty well,” Hill said. “It’s always interesting to see how the new guys fit in. We have some true freshmen who found out can help us. We have to keep piecing this thing together. We’ve put in a lot of situations. Today, we went over four-minute, two minute. We’re at a pretty good spot through 10 days.”