Key Illinois State offensive pieces expected to return for home opener, Spack says

Senior Wenkers Wright (32) is brought down by Oklahoma defensive back Reggie Power III Saturday at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Wright led Illinois State with 50 rushing yards. (Photo by SoonerSports.com)

By Dan Verdun

One key piece of Illinois State’s offense is expected to be cleared to play while another returns for Saturday’s home opener, head coach Brock Spack said Monday.

Quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse left ISU’s Aug. 30 game at FBS Oklahoma with a shoulder injury. TV replays showed Rittenhouse landing heavily on his right arm as he took a hit from Sooners defensive lineman Taylor Wein in the third quarter.

“We’ll take it day-by-day during the week. I think he’ll be cleared to play. There shouldn’t be an issue with that,” Spack told Prairie State Pigskin Monday afternoon. 

Rittenhouse completed 6 of 13 passes for 22 yards prior to the injury. The senior ran twice for 27 yards, including a 23-yard scamper. Redshirt freshman Beckham Pellant played the remainder of ISU’s 35-3 loss.

“It was just sore Saturday and Sunday a little bit, but today he’s much better,” Spack said, noting that an MRI was taken of the back of Rittenhouse’s right shoulder joint. “There was nothing serious. It’s a matter of getting the swelling down. It seems like that’s going down pretty quickly.”

Meanwhile, running back Mason King will play Saturday against Morehead State at Hancock Stadium, Spack said.

“He’s been cleared to play for almost a month, but I chose not to play him because I didn’t want Oklahoma to be his first game back after being out for almost a year,” Spack said.

King, a redshirt senior, suffered a season-ending injury in last year’s opener at FBS Iowa. King was the 2023 Missouri Valley Football Conference Newcomer of the Year when he rushed for a team-high 983 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Spack said he was pleased with ISU’s running game against Oklahoma. The Redbirds gained 123 yards on 26 carries. Senior Wenkers Wright led the team with 50 yards on seven attempts. 

Reserve Seth Glatz rushed for 23 yards on seven carries in the second half. Cincinnati transfer Victor Dawson added 21 yards on eight carries.

“They’re similar runners in that they’re downhill physical guys,” Spack said of Wright and Dawson. “Victor is a little bit more of a jump-cut guy. Wenkers gets downhill in a hurry. That’s when he’s at his best.”

Wright, Rittenhouse, Dawson and Glatz all recorded runs of 13 or more yards against Oklahoma.

“Seth ran the ball well,” Spack said. “He had a couple of nice runs. He’s a hard-nosed, downhill runner as well.”

News and notes: The Redbirds landed at No. 7 in this week’s Stats Perform FCS Top 25 poll. The ranking was down one spot from last week. … ISU gained two turnovers against Oklahoma. Defensive back Jack Dwyer forced a fumble that linebacker Tye Niekamp recovered. Transfer cornerback Shadwel Nkuba II grabbed an interception in his ISU debut. … Spack was pleased that the Redbirds did not turn the ball over on offense and only committed two penalties for 10 yards. … Saturday’s home opener kicks off at 6 p.m.

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.