The learning process continues for Western Illinois football, head coach says

The WIU Leathernecks are playing in their final season as members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. (Photo by Barry Bottino, PrairieStatePigskin.com)

By Dan Verdun

The learning process continues for Western Illinois as the Leathernecks work through their bye week with the challenge of league play looming ahead.

“This bye happens earlier than it has in some years. We’re one third of the way through the regular season the way I look at it, so with that being said, I normally approach the bye week working on fundamentals, technique and situational football,” second-year WIU head coach Myers Hendrickson said.

With its nonconference schedule in the rearview mirror, WIU prepares for the rigors of the Missouri Valley Football Conference slate.

The Leathernecks, playing in their final year in the MVFC before moving to the Ohio Valley next fall, already have one league game under their belt. Rival Illinois State pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 34-18 win Sept. 9 in Macomb.

Western (0-4) is preparing not only for its next game – Oct. 7 at North Dakota – but also for the future.

“We’ll use some meeting time to talk about situational football that comes up all across the college football landscape. It’s like we do in fall camp as well, always teaching the game,” Hendrickson said.

Those lessons come from a variety of sources.

“If there’s a situation that happened in a different game, we’ll pull it up and watch the film in the team meeting and talk about it. We’re always teaching and learning and trying to raise our football IQ,” Hendrickson said.

Health report

Physically, the Leathernecks are in “relatively good shape,” according to Hendrickson.

“During the bye week, (the workload) for players that get the majority of the reps on Saturdays in the games is lighter,” he said.

The Leatherneck staff also approaches the players’ minds.

“Practice is more mental work (this week),” Hendrickson said. “For the players who aren’t getting as many reps in the games, they’ll get heavier actual work on the field in practice.”

WIU is mired in a 17-game losing streak – currently the longest in FCS.

Senior linebacker Anthony Quinney said that his approach as team captain continues to be consistent.

“My role hasn’t changed because I’ve always had a positive approach and mindset toward the program,” he said, “but I do have to step it up to keep guys’ chins up. We have to stay focused and focused on winning as a team.”

When asked how he approaches that task, Quinney said it all comes back to staying focused and together.

“We have to keep bonding with each other because a lot of people can have self doubts because we haven’t won, but we still have a long way to go. We’ve got seven games left,” he said.

Quinney explained his approach to dealing with doubts among his teammates.

“When I hear negative things I just try to talk to them one-on-one. I just try to motivate them,” he said. “(I’m) keeping everybody’s heads up, even the guys on the scout team.”

Reasons to believe

During this week’s practices, Hendrickson and his staff shared signs of improvement with their team.

“Takeaways is one area,” he said. “We have four fumble recoveries right now, which is tied for 10th best nationally.

“We’re 22nd nationally in turnovers gained. We have three picks (interceptions) to go along with the fumble recoveries.”

Hendrickson, a former WIU receiver, also likes what he has seen on offense. Through the first three games, the Leathernecks did not commit a turnover. In its most recent loss at Southern Utah, WIU had four.

“We didn’t protect the ball, but we were in a position to be in a great spot. We’re still +3 in turnover margin,” Hendrickson said.

What it takes to win

Hendrickson enjoyed great success in his first head coaching job at Kansas Wesleyan, an NAIA school.

In three seasons, Hendrickson led the Coyotes to a 30-4 record, which included two Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference titles.

“The games can be won or lost by protecting the ball and taking the ball away,” Hendrickson said.

Again, he sees signs of growth from his Leathernecks.

“It’s a vast improvement to where we were last year,” he said.

Dan Verdun is a co-founder of Prairie State Pigskin. He has written four books: NIU Huskies Football, EIU Panthers Football, ISU Redbirds Football and SIU Salukis Football.

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