Edward Robinson earned second team All-Northeast Conference honors as well as being named NEC rookie of the week three times in 2023 while at Duquesne. The Ohio native figures to potentially be in the mix at running back for Southern Illinois this fall. (Photo by GoDuquesne.com)
By Dan Verdun
Coming off its lowest-scoring season in Nick Hill’s nine years as head coach, Southern Illinois sought to revamp its offense this spring.
Injuries to a number of key positions certainly hampered SIU as it averaged 22.48 points per game last fall. The Salukis wound up using four quarterbacks – including bringing graduate assistant Michael Lindauer out of retirement with an NCAA waiver – in a four-win season.
Hill, a former record-setting SIU quarterback himself, has again taken over offensive coordinator duties as he begins his 10th season leading his alma mater. Hill served as co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2014-15 under then-head coach Dale Lennon.
“New guys, new team, every year is different,” Hill said in a video on SIUSalukis.com as camp opened March 20.
Southern wrapped up its 15 practices Saturday with approximately a 50-play scrimmage before storms rolled into Saluki Stadium.
While SIU took hits when receivers Keontez Lewis and Allen Middleton departed for FBS schools via the transfer portal, Hill takes solace in knowing that senior D.J. Williams returns at quarterback.
Williams played in just three games last fall before injury finished his season. Incredible as it may seem, Williams ended the year as SIU’s second-leading rusher and his four rushing touchdowns topped the team.
“I loved everything about D.J. this spring,” Hill said Saturday. “Just his presence, who he is as a person. Got a short glimpse of having him out there in a Saluki uniform (last fall). He knows this is his team, and he’s done a great job at that leadership role.”
Backup quarterback and southern Illinois native Hunter Simmons left Carbondale via the transfer portal where he joined former SIU offensive coordinator Blake Rolan at the University of Wisconsin. Rolan was added to the Badger staff as an assistant wide receivers coach in January.
Meanwhile, QB Jake Curry returns after gaining valuable experience as a true freshman before his season ended in injury against Illinois State. E.T. Harris, a redshirt freshman, also returns after getting hurt in fall camp a year ago.
Revamping the run
Given the injuries that decimated its offense last season, it comes as no surprise that SIU ran the ball the lowest percentage of its plays since Hill’s first season as head coach in 2016.
SIU ran the ball 49 percent of the time last season — compared to a 56.4 percent average for the previous five years. Yet, the Salukis averaged 4.4 yards per attempt, their highest average since 2021.
Jerrian Parker, who led Southern with 281 rushing yards last fall as a freshman, transferred to Sam Houston State.
Upperclassmen Shaun Lester Jr. (210 rushing yards) and Jimmy Athans (159) return to the Saluki backfield. Lester produced the longest run from scrimmage, 46 yards, by a Southern running back in 2024.
“He impressed me. He’s sneaky athletic,” Chandler Chapman, a transfer from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, told Prairie State Pigskin.
Chapman, listed at 5-foot-11 and 205 pounds, comes to Carbondale with two years of eligibility remaining. He rushed for 1,001 yards and eight touchdowns in two junior college seasons.
“I’m a down-for-down back. I can run hard in between the tackles. I’m not afraid of contact. People underestimate my speed. I’m really good in pass pro(tection),” Chapman said.
The Slidell, La. native said running track in high school has helped him as a running back.
“(Hurdling) is a rhythm. You get in a rhythm and a pace. It helps you get your feet off the ground fast, that’s how it translates. I like to get the ball and go, one cut and go,” he said.
Chapman was recruited by SIU running backs coach Larry Warner, a former Saluki star who also played at Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Junior Edward Robinson also figures into the mix. The 5-foot-11, 190-pounder transferred to SIU last season from FCS Duquesne but didn’t play last fall “due to some injuries.”
Robinson was rated as a three-star recruit out of Maple Heights (Ohio) High School. He earned second team All-Northeast Conference honors as well as being named NEC rookie of the week three times in 2023 while at Duquesne.
“I’m an all-around back,” Robinson told Prairie State Pigskin. “You can put me in on fourth down and I’ll tuck my head down, lower my shoulder and go get it. You can also put me out in the slot and I can run the route just as good as a slot receiver.”
According to Robinson, he has three years of eligibility left.
“I have ‘twitch’. I’m very fast. I make good decisions with the ball in my hands,” he said.
What’s not to like?
Both Chapman and Robinson like what they see developing at SIU this spring.
“I chose Southern Illinois because of the offense we run here. I like what Coach Hill and the other coaches are trying to put together,” Robinson said. “I could relate to my running backs coach (Warner) in so many ways. He’s a shorter guy, so his mentality is you don’t make a bunch of excuses. You put your head down and work. I just love his motto.”
Chapman addressed the appeal of Hill’s playcalling.
“His offense is really dynamic,” he said. “Coach likes to spread the ball around. I feel like everybody is going to get the touches that they need. We’re obviously going to use D.J.’s legs (are a weapon). We can get the backs out in space and the receivers are going to get their chance to show they can compete.”
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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