Freshman Jake Curry (above) now has more company in the quarterback room as the Salukis added graduate assistant Michael Lindauer to the roster this week. (Photo by SIUSalukis.com.com)
By Barry Bottino
Jake Curry is no longer the loneliest player on the Southern Illinois football roster.
This week, former SIU quarterback Michael Lindauer – who retired over the summer as a player to join the coaching staff as a graduate assistant – has returned.
Lindauer is practicing during the team’s bye this week and now has a locker with the rest of the team, SIU head coach Nick Hill said during SIU’s Inside Saluki Athletics web show Tuesday.
“It says a lot about him. He doesn’t have to do that,” Hill said. “It’s given us a boost. It’s been fun to see him out there. He won’t just be an extra body.”
Lindauer’s NCAA waiver was approved to rejoin the team, which has had three quarterbacks lost to injury since August. Most recently, Hunter Simmons broke his left leg against Illinois State Oct. 5.
Lindauer has been serving as a scout team quarterback and gained a different perspective as a staff member.
“I hope that he’s learned a lot from being in every staff meeting,” Hill said. “Mike’s always had outstanding leadership. Being able to add a guy like this down the stretch will be big.”
An Evansville, Ind., native, Lindauer began his collegiate career at FBS Cincinnati. He played in one game last season in a reserve role.
Curry, a true freshman, started his first career game last weekend, a 24-3 loss to No. 2 North Dakota State.
Bring on the youth
Hill vowed Tuesday to take a long look at many of the young players at SIU (2-5), especially freshmen who can appear in four games and retain an additional year of eligibility.
An example of tapping the fountain of youth was on the defensive line, where 6-foot-6 freshman Lukus McDaniels had one of the team’s two pass breakups against NDSU.
“I told the rest of the team, ‘We’re going to find a way to get you on the field,’” Hill said. “If you’re a true freshman, you can play four games and it’s a free season. We saw Lukus on the D-line. He got six plays. He had one impact play. It’s because he’s been showing up every week in practice.”
With potential playing time available, Hill expects more young players to reach for the opportunity.
“I think you get more out of them in practice when they know there might be a carrot at the end,” he said. “You’ve got to show them their work is not going unnoticed.”
The Jake Show
Curry is expected to make his second career start Oct. 26 at Indiana State.
Against NDSU, he was 15-for-27 passing and threw an interception.
“There’s going to be learning moments for any true freshman quarterback,” Hill said. “He’s hard on himself when he comes to the sidelines. I told him, ‘Nobody’s mad at you.’
“He always has the answer. It’s not because he doesn’t want to be corrected. He already knows, ‘This is what I should’ve done.’ He’s not looking for an excuse. I think that’s why the guys have really rallied behind him.”
No words needed
After the loss to NDSU, Hill revealed in the postgame press conference that his team was so ready to play that he chose not to address them before the game. He heard offensive lineman Chase Evans’ and linebacker Ben Bogle’s voices and let them have the floor.
“I came in the locker room. I heard them talking,” Hill said. “I heard Chase talking, I heard Bogle talking. I heard enough talking. It had me ready to play. We took a knee and went to the field.”
Bye week break
The week off comes at an opportune time for SIU, which has been ravaged by injuries, including to Evans and fellow offensive linemen Jake Green and Noah Fenske.
“We need a bye week pretty badly,” Hill said. “Guys like Chase, Jake, Fenske, who are not practicing during the week, they need some time off. We need some time off mentally to regroup and say, ‘We’ve got five weeks left.’ We have the group to go get on a run.
“The teams we’ve been playing don’t make it easy on you. Guys need to rest and get healthy for a run.”
Barry Bottino is a co-founder of Prairie State Pigskin and a 19-year veteran of three Illinois newspapers. He has covered college athletics since 1995.
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