Cincinnati transfer Victor Dawson (5) figures to get his share of carries when Illinois State hosts Morehead State at 6 p.m. Saturday for the season opener at Hancock Stadium. (Photo by GoRedbirds.com)
By Dan Verdun
Victor Dawson’s arrival at Illinois State was initiated by a coach no longer with the program. However, that coach’s words greatly impacted the running back’s decision to join the Redbirds.
When Dawson, who played at FBS Cincinnati, decided to enter the transfer portal, then-ISU running backs coach Sam Ojuri reached out.
“I talked to him on the phone a little bit and then visited,” Dawson said.
Ojuri, a Chicagoland native, starred at perennial FCS national champion North Dakota State and offered a message for Dawson, who grew up in Akron, Ohio.
“Coach Ojuri told me he could have gone to schools closer to home, but he ended up picking North Dakota State and that it ended up being the best decision he made,” Dawson said.
Ojuri was the NDSU’s leading rusher on three national championship teams. He remains fourth on the all-time Bison rushing list.
“That influenced me to take a risk and come to ISU,” Dawson said.
Ojuri, however, left Illinois State in February to return to his alma mater as running backs coach.
Dawson said Ojuri’s departure didn’t cause him to question his own decision to come to Illinois State.
“I know how college football is. You have coaches leave,” Dawson said. “And at the time I was still pretty new (to the Redbirds), so I was going to be dealing with a new coach no matter what.”
After earning FCS Freshman All-America status at Merrimack in 2022, Dawson moved up to Cincinnati. However, he only got seven carries in two seasons with the Bearcats.
“I wanted to win games and play meaningful football toward the end of the season,” Dawson said of his decision to enter the portal.
Dawson wasn’t concerned he was entering an ISU backfield that returned seniors Wenkers Wright, who rushed for more than 1,100 yards last season, and Mason King, the 2023 Missouri Valley Football Conference Newcomer of the Year who missed last season with injury.
“Competition always makes you better and it takes at least two good backs to make a deep impact into the playoffs. I feel like I’m able to add to that,” Dawson said.
While King is expected to make his season debut when the No. 7 Redbirds host Morehead State Saturday, Wright and Dawson split meaningful playing time in last weekend’s 35-3 loss at Top 20 FBS Oklahoma.
While Wright led ISU with 50 rushing yards on seven carries, Dawson added 21 yards on eight attempts. Dawson also had a seven-yard reception.
“It felt great,” Dawson said. “It was amazing to be back on the field getting valuable time again.”
This week’s opponent
Morehead State (1-0) began its season with a 38-31 win against Division II Allen (S.C.). The Eagles amassed 414 yards of total offense.
Morehead State, a member of the FCS non-scholarship Pioneer League, is led by quarterback Carter Cravins. The redshirt senior passed for 219 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 71 yards and two TDs.
Running back Craig Cunningham, a Tennessee State transfer, led Morehead State with 94 rushing yards.
Redshirt freshman Sidney Webb returned a kickoff 83 yards for the clinching touchdown.
Kickoff: 6 p.m.; TV: ESPN-Plus; Radio: WJBC.com.
Key matchup to watch
ISU pass defense vs. Morehead State passing game
The Redbirds surrendered 392 passing yards and three touchdowns in the loss at Oklahoma.
“We didn’t defend the ball (in the air),” ISU head coach Brock Spack said. “We did some little things that were not good enough against an opponent like that to win a game on defense.
“We had a couple of coverage things that we need to fix, but all in all, not bad.”
Spack said ISU had two points of emphasis this week in practice.
“In zone coverage, we need to be on certain aiming points with our secondary. When they’re playing on their divider in their zone, we gave up the middle of the field quite a bit. You can’t do that,” he said. “We’re always looking to improve our pass rush. We were pretty good about keeping (Oklahoma QB John Mateer) in the pocket. We got some pressure on him and sacked him twice. A good pass rush is part of a good pass defense.”
What’s at stake
Illinois State is gunning to raise its record to 16-1 in home openers under Spack.
Quick hits
Illinois State dropped one spot in both the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 and American Football Coaches Association Top 25 polls after its season-opening loss. … Six Missouri Valley Football Conference teams are ranked: North Dakota State (1), South Dakota State (2), South Dakota (4), Illinois State (7), Southern Illinois (14) and North Dakota (20). … ISU and Morehead State will meet for the fifth time. The Redbirds hold a 3-1 edge in the all-time series. After Morehead State won the initial matchup in 1971, ISU won the next three, two of which came under Spack. The teams last met in 2019. … Spack is 8-0 against Pioneer League opponents.
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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