Western Illinois quarterback Nate Lamb guided an offense last season that led the Big South-OVC in six offensive categories. (Photo by GoLeathernecks.com)
By Barry Bottino
Year 1 of the Joe Davis offense at Western Illinois featured plenty of fireworks.
The Leathernecks led the Big South-Ohio Valley Conference Football Association in six different categories with senior Nate Lamb at the helm, throwing for 21 touchdowns and more than 3,300 yards.
When WIU (4-8 last season) kicks off spring practice Tuesday in Macomb, Davis will be looking for a new quarterback to light the fuse of his team’s often explosive attack.
Davis told Prairie State Pigskin that Western recently learned Lamb “is not going to get another year of eligibility, which we sort of knew was a longshot.”
Lamb sought another year as part of the NCAA’s Diego Pavia ruling, which allowed former junior college players an additional season if they were still within a five-year window of beginning college. Lamb, however, first enrolled at Fresno State in 2019, Davis said.
“We were hopeful, but now we’re ready to move forward,” said Davis, whose team will host its annual Friday night spring game on April 18.
The Leathernecks won’t lack for competition at the QB spot this fall as five different players will showcase their skills.
“What this group lacks is snaps at this level,” Davis said. “I’m excited to watch them compete.”
Senior Chris Irvin has the most familiarity with the offense, having played in seven games as Lamb’s backup in 2024. He threw 29 passes in reserve duty, including three touchdowns.
“He wants to be the starter,” Davis said. “He feels like this is his time. He has an incredible grasp of what we’re doing offensively.”
Newcomer T.C. Molk, a junior who transferred from D-II Walsh University, set five school records last season while throwing for 15 TDs and completing 66% of his passes.
“I believe we got him at the right time,” Davis said. “He’s about to be playing his best football at the college level.”
Sophomore Tanner Zolnosky, who played in two games last fall, turned heads when he led a touchdown drive, going 3-for-3, in a November game against conference champion Southeast Missouri.
“He was very much a bright spot,” Davis said.
Returnee Antwon McKay Jr., a redshirt freshman, will be taking part in his second year of spring practice. He played in one game last season.
“He’s a very athletic player,” Davis said. “I’m excited about him.”
Mills Dawson, a redshirt freshman who did not see game action last fall, also will be taking part in his second spring at WIU.
“He’s a big, strong-armed quarterback that’s way more athletic than you think,” Davis said.
One plus for the quarterbacks is that Western returns five of its top six pass catchers from a year ago, including junior Eli Aragon, who led the team with 65 catches and seven touchdowns. Western also added three mid-year transfers at the position.
Competition blossoms
Spring is a time for renewal, along with competition at every position during spring football.
Davis expects plenty of that competition to take place on defense, especially the defensive line and secondary.
“We’ve certainly done a makeover to the defensive side of the ball,” said Davis, whose program added 10 mid-year transfers on defense, including former Boise State linebacker Wyatt Milkovic. “On the back end, we added a lot of transfer players.”
Among the mid-year secondary additions are Amare Bickham (Iowa), Jerrod Cameron (Massachusetts), Keith Moko (Northern Iowa) and LeBron Morgan (UT-Martin).
The defensive line additions are highlighted by Stetson transfer Steven Oberst.
“He’s all of 6-foot-4. He’s 300 pounds. He can move. He can run. He’s physical,” Davis said. “There’s going to be a lot of competition (up front).”
Along with two mid-year additions on the defensive line, Davis expects several current Leathernecks to step forward.
He mentioned redshirt freshmen tackles Jace Miller and Payne Miller, a product of Princeton High School, along with defensive ends Elijah Kongolo and true freshman Jalen Nicolas.
That young group will join returnees Mayo Bola and team captain Peyton Bradford, who both earned an extra year of eligibility because of the NCAA’s Pavia ruling.
“It’ll be exciting,” Davis said. “We’re going to find out a lot about what that defensive line looks like.”
New faces in Macomb
The coaching staff includes two new faces this spring – defensive coordinator/safeties coach Landon Fox and wide receivers coach Isaiah Washington.
Fox, who most recently served as the head coach at FCS Valparaiso, a member of the non-scholarship Pioneer League, is tasked with revamping WIU’s defense, which ranked in the bottom five nationally in points and yards per game and touchdowns allowed last fall.
“He’s a veteran coach who has a strong defensive background,” said Davis, who praised Fox’s organizational skills and enthusiasm. “I believe his experience as a head football coach is going to be very valuable to us as a program and certainly to me as a relatively new head coach.”
Prior to his time at Valpo, he was the defensive coordinator and secondary coach at Dayton for 11 seasons.
Washington most recently spent time as a graduate assistant coach at two FBS schools – Texas A&M and New Mexico State.
But his time as a high school coach also impressed Davis during the hiring process.
“You always have to figure out a way to do more with less when you coach high school or small college football,” Davis said. “That creates a certain resourcefulness. He’s a young coach who’s got a lot of energy.”
Missing this spring
All-conference running back Cam Smith, who scored 12 touchdowns last season while rushing for more than 800 yards and catching 32 passes, will not be involved in spring practices.
He is recovering from a toe injury sustained in November against SEMO.
Several other players also will miss spring ball.
Fellow running back Tyler Jordan is still working his way back from “a lower body injury,” according to Davis, that occurred on his first – and only — carry of the 2024 season at Northern Illinois.
Joey Treccia, WIU’s starting center, recently had ankle surgery, while defensive end D.J. Taylor, who played in seven games in 2024, is recovering from labrum surgery.
Davis said the Leathernecks have 90 players available to compete in spring practices.
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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