Senior Bradley Clark (9) reels in the game-winning touchdown as Southern Illinois pulled off the biggest comeback in program history Nov. 9 against Youngstown State. (Photo by Saluki Communications)
By Dan Verdun
Football is a game of adjustments. Southern Illinois receiver Bradley Clark will attest to that.
A year ago, the Florida native was the leading receiver at Tennessee Tech. With TTU in an uncertain state after its coaching staff was fired, Clark entered the transfer portal and wound up at SIU.
Upon his arrival in Carbondale, Clark faced a major adjustment on the field.
“It’s been different in a lot of ways,” Clark said. “When I was at Tech I was a starter (with 42 receptions for 491 yards and a touchdown). I was sort of ‘the guy.’
“When I got here, straight up, there were some guys better than me. For a lot of players, it’s hard to have the humility to admit that because they’re so caught up in their own ways.”
Though he saw action in six games leading into the Nov. 2 game at Missouri State, Clark mustered only two receptions for 10 yards.
“I wished my role was different, but it is what it is,” he said. “I was never going to complain about it. That’s not my character. No matter the circumstances, I was going to continue to work hard and do what I had to do to get on the field.”
Clark made the most of his late-season opportunities. In SIU’s two most recent games, the 6-foot, 208-pound receiver produced nine catches for 115 yards and a touchdown.
And what a touchdown it was.
Clark reeled in the game-winning 20-yard touchdown with 62 seconds remaining in SIU’s 37-33 win against Youngstown State Nov. 9 at Saluki Stadium. The TD capped the biggest comeback in school history.
“We were in a formation where I was the backside receiver,” Clark recounted. “We sent our most outside receiver (Nah’shawn Hezekiah) in motion. I realized they (YSU defense) was playing Cover-1 in the red zone. When we ran him in motion it pulled that safety and opened me up to run the seam.”
YSU defensive back Andrew Centofanti “was giving outside leverage” in covering Clark.
“I gave him a quick one-step jab and just took off,” he said. “It was kind of like a footrace.”
It was a footrace that Clark won, pulling in freshman quarterback Jake Curry’s throw with both hands and completing the catch as Centofanti wrapped him up as they tumbled to the end zone turf.
“Jake threw a great ball,” Clark said. “For a young guy, who has struggled the past couple of times . . . He has continued to fight and not let anything phase him. He’s found ways to get better.”
Clark has as well.
“We continued to fight. We got momentum and it just kept going and going. Being able to close out the game with the game-winning touchdown was definitely the highlight for me,” he said.
Clark, a sociology major with a concentration in criminal justice, has his eyes on law school next fall and a career beyond football.
“This whole experiment has shown me that there are times when things are not always going to go my way,” he said. “I realize that you have to put your head down and work and be consistent no matter the situation. This year has taught me that.”
The opponent
South Dakota State (8-2 overall, 5-1 MVFC) hosts Southern Illinois (3-7, 1-5) in a Missouri Valley Football Conference Saturday in Brookings, S.D.
The Jackrabbits are the No. 3 ranked team in FCS.
SDSU, the two-time defending national champions, are expected to be one of the top seeds when the FCS playoff bracket is revealed Nov. 24.
Quarterback Mark Gronowski has passed for 1,747 yards and 15 touchdowns this fall following his 2023 Walter Payton Award-winning season.
Sophomore Griffin Wilde is Gronowski’s main target with 49 receptions for 711 yards and seven TDs.
Senior running back Amar Johnson leads SDSU with 695 rushing yards and nine touchdowns.
Linebacker Adam Bock is the Jackrabbits’ leading tackler with 69 stops.
Kicker/punter Hunter Dustman was the MVFC Special Teams Player of the Week following a 38-7 win against North Dakota.
Kickoff: 2 p.m. TV: ESPN-Plus; Radio: Cilfm.com.
Key matchup to watch
SIU offense vs. SDSU defense
The Salukis’ best defense may well be keeping the Jackrabbit offense off the field.
However, SIU ranks ninth in the 11-school MVFC for time of possession. Only Murray State and Indiana State have punted more than the Salukis this season.
What’s at stake
A win by SIU would give the Salukis their first two-game winning streak since back-to-back victories against Austin Peay and Incarnate Word in September.
Quick hits
SDSU leads the all-time series, 10-4. … The last three three meetings between the schools have been decided by a touchdown or less. … Redshirt freshman receiver Allen Middleton Jr. had a career-high seven catches for 102 yards and a touchdown against Youngstown State. … Freshmen running backs Jimmy Athans and Jerrian Parker scored their first career TDs last Saturday. … Curry has led SIU in rushing in the last two games. … Safety Ubayd Steed has registered 43 tackles in the last four games. … Transfer Paul Geelen, who handles both kicking and punting duties, ranks 20th in the nation in punting with a 43.1 average.
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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