CARBONDALE, Ill. — The Southern Illinois football team wrapped up its 2018 training camp on Saturday with a rigorous two-hour practice at Saluki Stadium on a warm and muggy morning. Classes start on Monday and the Salukis will have 10 days of preparation before they open the season at Murray State on Aug. 30. 

“We’re not a finished product yet after 16 practices,” head coach Nick Hill said afterward. “It’s a long season and we have to have the maturity to not get too high or too low. Our standard is to approach each day the same. I don’t know what the season is going to bring and what adversity is going to come our way, but if you train your guys to have that simple approach of do your job the best you can do it, and the attitude of making daily improvement, then I think we’ll be pretty good.”

The offense will be led by fifth-year senior quarterback Sam Straub, who looked sharp throughout camp and has a firm grasp of head coach Nick Hill‘s spread offense. Southern is loaded at wide receiver, where it returns potential All-Conference players in Darrell James and Raphael Leonard. The unit has been bolstered by the addition of Iowa transfer Matt Quarells and the return to health of slot receiver Landon Lenoir. The Salukis also have weapons at tight end in junior Jacob Varble and highly touted junior college transfer Nigel Kilby.

“I’m not concerned about what Sam’s stats are going to be this season,” Hill said. “We never talk about how many yards he’d like to have. Our focus is on him being efficient, throwing for a high percentage and taking care of the football. With the weapons in our offense, the stats will come.”

In the backfield, SIU returns one of the most dynamic and versatile players in the conference in D.J. Davis. Power back Jonathan Mixon gives the offense a potent 1-2 punch, and Missouri transfer Nate Strong improved throughout camp. On the offensive line, Southern lost three starters from last year’s team, including both tackles, however, Earnest Dye Jr. and Ben Bailey have both played well in camp at the critical tackle position.

The cornerstone of the defense looks to be the defensive line, where the Salukis are both deep and talented, featuring standouts such as defensive end Anthony Knighton and tackle Malik Haynes, plus the continued improvement from a group of freshmen who received extensive playing time in 2017. Michigan State transfer Kyonta Stallworth adds depth at tackle and allowed starter Zeyveon Furcron to move to offensive guard.

“I think our defensive line is by far the most-improved position,” Hill said. “Body-wise, depth and their ability — they just look different and have a sense of confidence that they can be a leading group within our defense.”

Veteran Cody Crider anchors an athletic linebacking corps that has performed well in pass coverage during camp. SIU’s secondary should be a strength, where safety Jeremy Chinn is one of the best defensive backs in the FCS, and cover corners Torian Lewis, Madre Harper and James Ceasar all had strong camps.

Assistant head coach Kraig Paulson enters his third year at SIU and is regarded as one of the top defensive coordinators in the country.

“Being in the role of offensive coordinator, I have to go against him every day,” Hill said. “His football mind, knowledge and the situations that he’s been in, there’s nothing he hasn’t seen. He’s just a tremendous teacher of the game and the guys trust him because they know his attention to detail.”

With training camp in the rearview mirror, Hill said the team will begin installing the gameplan for Murray State next week. Fans are invited to meet the team and get autographs on Thursday from 6:30-8 p.m. at the annual Fan Fest at Saluki Stadium.