With fall camp looming, Salukis excited to put injury-riddled 2024 season behind

Southern Illinois head coach Nick Hill is no stranger to media day events and the excitement for a season ahead. (Photo by SIUSalukis.com)

By Barry Bottino 

The Missouri Valley Football Conference’s rare in-person media day this week had a familiar feel for Southern Illinois head coach Nick Hill.

“I always remember going with Coach (Jerry) Kill to these,” he said. “It’s media day. Everyone feels good. Everyone had a good summer. Everybody’s excited. We are as well.”

That excitement will ramp up even more in the days ahead when fall camp kicks off as SIU seeks to rebound from an injury-dominated 4-8 season a year ago.

“I’m excited to get to ball, all day every day,” Hill said.

The Salukis bring back six starters on offense and five on defense this season, which begins with an Aug. 30 home date against Division II Thomas More.

But the players leading much of the excitement were Hill’s two travel partners to Sioux Falls, S.D. for media day – quarterback D.J. Williams and linebacker Colin Bohanek.

The dynamic Williams started three games before a broken right hand ended his season. Bohanek, who was highly productive at Eastern Illinois, where his career began, played in two games before a shoulder injury sent him to the sidelines.

The Salukis had been to the playoffs two of the last three years before last season.

Like everyone in the MVFC, chasing the Dakota schools has become the biggest challenge. Three of the final four last season were Valley members North Dakota State, South Dakota State and South Dakota.

Hill said teams who can consistently win over a long season in a difficult conference are those that go deep in the playoffs.

“This league is tough week in, week out,” he said. “I feel like we’re still chasing that. We can put two, three good games together. To be able to sustain that 14, 15 games, it takes a special team.”

Hill expressed that August is the time to learn about what’s ahead.

“We understand the work it’s going to take,” he said. “These 25 practices in August, you really find out what kind of team you have.”

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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