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• HEAD COACH NICK HILL PRESS CONFERENCE

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Here are excerpts from Saluki football head coach Nick Hill‘s weekly press conference. Southern Illinois opens its regular season at Murray State in 10 days.

On injured players CB Jeremy Chinn and WR Darrell James.
“I think both are probable to play. I think Jeremy looks really good. I think they’re being cautious with Jeremy. We don’t want to get him out there too early, it’s a long season, and we have good depth. Jeremy is chomping at the bit and pain-free in all the things that he’s done. With Darrell, it was a legitimate injury to his ankle. He’s pushed it some as far as trying to get back out there and is just not quite ready to go yet, but we still have 10 days before we have to go out there and play. Darrell will fight to get back and we’ll see how he is game-week.

On how he plans to use the four-game redshirt rule.
Somebody who thinks they’re redshirting right now will get out there and play in one or two or three games this year. Probably a lot of it will be with depth on special teams. At the end of the season or Week 7 or 8, you try to get a lot of your starters off of (special teams). A lot of our starters are on special teams, but if he’s banged up, that might be a time for a freshman to get in there and run down on kickoff or be on kick return. We have a good idea going into the first few weeks how we’re going to play some of the freshmen and some other guys have to keep coming.

On Zeyveon Furcron’s transition from defensive tackle to offensive guard.
Going into training, you just weren’t sure how quickly he would pick it up. Right now he’s running with the ones. He’s brought a physicality to the offense, he’s brought a demeanor to the offensive line that’s important. It mean’s a lot to Z and he’s a great football player. 

On James Ceasar’s transition from safety to cornerback.
Ceasar’s had an outstanding camp. He’s really put himself in position to be the starter at corner. 

On the place-kicking position.
I don’t know if we’re ready to say which one will be the guy. All three had a good day (at the last scrimmage). I’d like to see somebody step up and be consistent and put four or five good days together. That’s what all three haven’t done yet. We have a pretty good idea, but we want to see them go out there and keep performing and keep putting the pressure on them.

On how his comfort level with the kicking game affects play calling.
It matters once you get into that range where you don’t feel comfortable, what you’re doing play-call wise. Whether you get into four-down mode, where third downs become really second downs, and you can run it again and try to get into fourth-and-manageable, or you’re going to throw it a couple times on third and fourth. All that kind of stuff changes your thought process. That’s my job as a head coach.

On backup quarterbacks Matt DeSomer and Stone Labanowitz.
(Matt) legitimately is a play away. He saw that last year. He’s played in a lot of football games. The game won’t be too big for him. If he gets called on in the first quarter at Murray State, he’s not going to be wide-eyed, worried or nervous. He’s ready to play, he wants to play. Stone has done a good job putting himself in position. He’s come a long way. He’s become really efficient. He knows where to go with the ball, he gets the ball out, he doesn’t take sacks, he’s athletic enough to make plays.

On how he will utilize a deep wide receiver corps.
Those guys all know their roles, they’re unselfish. They all want to play and make plays. I think the guys up at the top of that group have stood out. There’s good depth in that room, but the guys at the top have to get in a rhythm and play.  Everybody at some point will get out there, we spread the ball a lot. 

On how the pass rush helps the secondary.
Your D-line is your best secondary. I don’t care who you are, you look at the NFL and some of the best cover guys, if you don’t have guys who can get after the passer, you’re going to give up passing yards. That is the toughest job in football, period, at any level, is to go guard someone one-on-one. With a quarterback who has all kinds of time, it’s nearly impossible, especially with the rules today where you can’t put your hands on them. Rules are set up for offenses to be successful down the field. Whenever you’re a quarterback and you don’t have time, or you start looking at the rush, or you’re feeling the heat, it definitely helps us.

On the offensive tackles’ ability to protect the passer.
They’re all coming along. I think it’s a collective thing — Ben Bailey, Wags (Bryce Wagner) and Ernest (Dye Jr.) have all played. Lucas Davis has a bright future here and all four of them have to be ready to go. We have to do different things. You’re not going to be able to man-pass pro the entire game with guys just teeing off and knowing that you’re passing. That’s our job as coaches to help our guys. You can’t do the same pass pro every single time. We have to do a good job helping, chipping guys, sliding the line, moving the quarterback out of the pocket.

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.