First-year Western Illinois head coach Joe Davis, shown here with athletic director Paul A. Bubb at his introductory press conference in December, said that the Leathernecks will begin spring practice March 19 with “over 80” players. (Photo by GoLeathernecks.com)
By Dan Verdun
Newly hired Western Illinois head coach Joe Davis and his staff cast a wide net with their first spring prep recruiting class.
The Leathernecks signed nine high school players from nine different states, according to WIU’s athletic website. The class featured five offensive and four defensive players.
“We targeted kids with height and redeemable qualities,” Davis told Prairie State Pigskin Wednesday night. “We had to go coast-to-coast a little bit to find the right guys, but we definitely feel like we go a lot better.”
The 44-year-old Davis took over as WIU head coach in December following the dismissal of Myers Hendrickson. Davis inherits a program that is mired in a 24-game losing streak dating back to 2021.
“We certainly feel that we’ve improved the talent of our roster,” Davis said. “When we went into this thing, we knew we needed to be bigger and longer, especially on the offensive and defensive lines. We’ve definitely done that.”
Davis, who began his coaching career in 2003, served as Eastern Illinois offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach the past two years. This coming season, his first as a head coach, will be Western’s inaugural season as a member of the Big South-OVC Football Association.
Davis said the Leathernecks will go into spring practice with more than 80 players.
“That’s a big positive for us in terms of depth and competition,” Davis said.
Two years ago, under Hendrickson, WIU had less than 55 players, which was not enough to hold a spring game that April. Instead, the Leathernecks ran through drills to culminate spring practice.
Upgraded areas
With his offensive background, Davis knows the value of the line.
“We signed three high school kids, two bookend tackles that are 6-foot-7,” he said. “They are players with their best football ahead of them.”
Davis, a Michigan native, also highlighted the defensive backfield.
“We were able to add longer, athletic kids with a lot of positional versatility,” he said. “Those two position groups are big positives for us.”
What lies ahead
For Davis, the first phase of recruiting is over and now the focus is on player development.
“We’ve got about five and a half weeks until we start spring football, so the focus is on the weight room and the speed and conditioning,” he said. “The academic/character development is another really important focus. And then football is really the fun part.”
Davis said spring practice will begin in mid-March with the annual spring game taking place April 19.
Rounding out the coaching staff
Upon initially taking the WIU job, Davis said he would take his time to find the right personnel for his coaching staff. He completed the task in recent weeks.
“It’s a great feeling to now have everyone with boots on the ground,” he said. “We brought in really good people first and foremost. No. 2, we brought in guys from winning programs from all different levels. Everything from tradition-rich Power 5 programs to Group of 5 programs that were in the Fiesta Bowl to successful Division II teams and everything in between.”
Dan McKeown was hired as the Leathernecks defensive coordinator and safeties coach. For the past five seasons, McKeown has served as DC at Division II Saginaw Valley State University, a member of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC).
This past season, the SVSU defense allowed 23.9 points per game. The unit was second in the conference in sacks (27), second in interceptions (15) and led the league in defensive touchdowns (five). The Cardinals ranked No. 1 in the league against the pass, allowing 183 yards per game. The team was fourth against the run, surrendering 115 yards a contest.
Western recently announced the hiring of three defensive coaches: Joshua Caraway (special teams/outside linebackers), Ashton Derico (defensive line) and Elven Walker IV (cornerbacks).
“It’s really been a positive four weeks with the new staff. We’ve added over 30 new players to this team since I was hired with the mid-year (transfers) and now these young men,” Davis said.
Caraway has 13 years of coaching experience, seven at the FBS level, most recently as offensive/special teams quality control coach at Liberty.
Derico began his coaching career in 2018. He was a defensive line graduate assistant at Notre Dame last season.
Walker IV began his college coaching career at his alma mater, Eastern Illinois, as a defensive quality control coach and earned high school coaching experience at Lincoln-Way Central in Illinois.
Walker, a Chicago native, was a two-sport athlete at EIU in football and track. The Panthers qualified for the FCS playoffs twice in his career. On the track, Walker was a hurdler who scored in multiple OVC Championship meets and helped the Panthers to indoor championships in 2016 and 2017.
On the offensive side, Vincent Jefferies Jr. joins Western staff after serving as a graduate assistant at Illinois for the past two seasons. Jeffries, a former Florida A&M quarterback, will coach wide receivers.
Earlier this year, Davis announced the hiring of three position coaches, including offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Brad Wilson.
Davis also retained Brandon Kreczmer from Hendrickson’s staff. Kreczmer is now associate head coach and linebackers coach. He was the interim head coach prior to Davis being hired.
The man in charge
Davis spent 20 years as an assistant coach, much of that time as an offensive coordinator. Now he is a head coach for the first time.
Asked how his job is now changed, Davis circled back to the players.
“Obviously there are certain administrative aspects that come with being the head football coach, but I still think at the core it’s about building the relationships with the players and watching them grow,” he said. “Getting to know your players’ strengths and weaknesses from the ground up are things you do even as a young assistant.”
No longer that young assistant, Davis channels that experience into his new position in Macomb.
“As you progress through as a position coach and coordinator, the titles change and the responsibilities expand but who you are as a person and as a coach never wavers,” he said. “You’re thinking about the players all the time and how to make them better and bring them closer together. That core doesn’t change.”
QB1: TBD
Davis has a long history of developing quarterbacks. Most recently, he coached Georgetown transfer Pierce Holley, who became an all-conference selection for Eastern Illinois last season.
Davis unquestionably knows how important a quarterback is to team success.
Yet, he also realizes there is much to be determined between now and WIU’s season opener at FBS Northern Illinois Aug. 31 in DeKalb.
“I think any coach in the country would tell you they want a definitive starting quarterback. I don’t know that there’s a timetable for that. It’s certainly process-driven as we’re doing as a program right now,” Davis said.
At present, the Leathernecks have four quarterbacks on their roster: senior Nathan Lamb, sophomore Chris Irvin and freshmen Mills Dawson and Antwon McKay Jr.
“It’s pretty wide open,” Davis said of the position. “We’ve got two younger guys and two older guys. No one has played very much football in their careers yet. I anticipate a lot of learning and growing.
“But whether you’re Western Illinois or the Kansas City Chiefs, you want that guy who is your catalyst.”
WIU Spring Signing Day List
(Name, Position(s), Height, Weight, School, Hometown)
Jordan Anderson, DB, 6-2, 175, Detroit Edison HS, Detroit, Mich.
Keon Collier, DB, 6-2, 180, Chicago Simeon HS/St. Thomas More Prep, Chicago
Cam Edwards, WR, 6-4, 170, Kentucky Country Day HS, Louisville, Ky.
Nick Farris, OL, 6-7, 280, Paris Episcopal HS, Dallas, Texas
Holden Grieger, OL, 6-7, 290, Cosumnes Oak HS, Cosumnes Oaks, Calif.
Avery Knight, RB, 6-0, 180, Hamilton HS, Chandler, Ariz.
Elijah Kongolo, DL, 6-5, 205, Half Hollow Hills West HS, Dix Hills, N.Y.
Jace Miller, DL, 6-3, 275, Franklin HS, Franklin, Wis.
Matt Montgomery, OL, 6-5, 315, Independence HS, Leesburg, Va.
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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