Linebacker Ben Fiegel posted 12 tackles in a loss to North Dakota last weekend. The Southern Illinois sophomore has a career-high 33 tackles this season. (Photo by SIUSalukis.com)
By Barry Bottino
After linebacker Ben Fiegel posted his second 12-tackle game of the season last weekend, Southern Illinois head coach Nick Hill was hardly surprised.
“He’s been called upon to take a ton of reps and he’s proven he can play in this league,” Hill said. “He’s a young player that’s been ready for this.”
Being ready is nothing new to Fiegel, a sophomore who piled up nearly 200 tackles in his final two high school seasons, where his focus was strictly on being prepared.
“I didn’t go to (prospect) camps in high school and test with this or that fast of a 40-yard dash,” said Fiegel, who played at Batavia High School in Chicago’s western suburbs. “You can put yourself in a lot easier positions when you know what’s happening before the play starts. You don’t have to run a 4.3 (40-yard dash) to get there.”
As a college player in a veteran linebacker group, Fiegel said he has been “a sponge” when it comes to learning. That has translated into two 12-tackle games this season. Against North Dakota, he filled in for injured middle linebacker Andrew Behm.
This season, Fiegel has piled up a career-high 33 tackles for the No. 16/18 Salukis (4-3 overall, 1-2 Missouri Valley Football Conference), who host MVFC foe Northern Iowa at 2 p.m. Saturday for SIU’s homecoming game.
Fiegel has relied on preparation in a variety of forms.
During practice, it means watching and learning via mental repetitions. “You have to be locked in on the sidelines. You’ve got to put yourself in live game reps,” he said. “It puts you in a spot where you’re thinking on the fly.”
Morning meetings watching film have also played a key role in his development. Those involve breaking down specific game situations in a group setting.
“You’ve got to carve out extra film time,” Fiegel said. “You’ve got to see, ‘What am I doing on this play and on this call? What am I going to do if this guy motions out? What am I going to do if this guy motions out and it’s this call?’”
Fiegel said the linebacker group and position coach Mac McLeran make the sessions a beneficial exchange of ideas.
“I like doing it in a room full of people,” he said. “It gives you the thought process of the game, where there are people around you and there’s talk going on. It’s a conversation about how we’re going to approach this or that. It’s slowing it down.”
Those meetings also provide opportunities to ask questions in a learning-focused setting.
Fiegel credits those sessions – and McLeran specifically – with providing the tools he needs to perform on Saturdays.
“Coach Mac has given every guy in the room confidence to go out there if somebody goes down,” he said. “Mac makes sure that we’re ready to go.”
The Salukis are attempting to bounce back this week after consecutive losses to No. 1 North Dakota State and No. 8/10 North Dakota.
Behm, junior Chris Presto and sixth-year senior Colin Bohanek also have provided plenty of guidance for Fiegel, thanks to their combined 129 games of college experience at linebacker.
“Those older guys have done a great job,” Hill said. “Anytime you have a young player (among veterans), you see how that group does things the right way. You see how they work and the attention to detail. You’re going to stick out if you’re not doing it the right way.
“Ben has definitely benefited from being in that room,” Hill said.
This week’s opponent
Despite a 2-5 record, Northern Iowa has allowed the fourth-fewest points in the conference this season at 23.1 per game and ranks fourth in fewest yards allowed (348.1) per game. They have allowed just eight rushing touchdowns. … Former Western Illinois linebacker Ryan Crandall (9.0) and senior linebacker Tucker Langenberg (8.4) rank fourth and sixth, respectively, in tackles per game in the MVFC. … The Panthers rank last in the league and 118th nationally with a scoring average of 13.4 points. Junior quarterback Matthew Schecklman has thrown nine touchdown passes and six interceptions. He averages 193.6 passing yards and 17.4 rushing yards a game. … UNI is in the midst of playing ranked teams for five consecutive weeks. Their 0-3 MVFC record includes losses to then-No. 15/14 North Dakota (35-7), No. 2 South Dakota State (31-3) and last week to then-No. 22 South Dakota (17-14). … In last week’s home loss, the Panther defense allowed its first opening-drive points of the season when the Coyotes scored on an 18-yard pass play.
Kickoff: 2 p.m.; TV: ESPN-Plus; Radio: CILFM.com
Key matchup to watch
SIU pass rush vs. UNI offensive line: Northern Iowa has allowed a league-high 18 sacks this season. SIU’s defense, on the other hand, has the second-fewest sacks (nine) in the conference this season. “We’ve got to be able to affect the quarterback more,” Hill said. “Our goal is one sack every 15 dropbacks.” The Salukis have one sack in the past two weeks.
What’s at stake?
A win would halt SIU’s two-game losing streak, which came against a pair of Top 10 teams, and provide some positive momentum as the playoffs near.
Quick hits
Before the Salukis got a first down last weekend in a 38-19 loss to North Dakota, they were down 7-0. The game marked the first time SIU went three-and-out on its first drive and the first time the Salukis didn’t score on their opening drive all season. “Football is a humbling game,” Hill said. “I don’t question that our guys were ready to play. But you’ve got to go out there and play good football to grab some momentum. In that game, it took a while.” … Expect the red zone to be a key area Saturday. UNI has the No. 7 red-zone defense in FCS, allowing teams to score on only 68% of their chances. Southern, on the other hand, ranks 17th nationally in red-zone offense, scoring on 91% of its opportunities. … The Salukis are tied for 28th nationally with 11 turnovers gained. The past two weeks, they have turned the ball over five times. “There’s got to be a mentality of cherishing that football,” Hill said. “(That is) the most glaring thing we need to get fixed.” … Kicker/punter Paul Geelen is 6-for-7 on field goals this season with a long of 53 yards, which ranks as the second-longest kick in the MVFC. The Netherlands native is a perfect 30-for-30 on PATs. He has a 41.7-yard punting average with five of his 20 punts landing inside the opposing 20-yard line. “He does everything for us,” Hill said. “He’ll have some (pro) opportunities, especially with the new rule for international players.” In 2024, the NFL, through its International Player Pathway program, allowed all 32 teams to have a 17th roster spot on their practice squad specifically for an international player. … Former Saluki defensive standouts Jeremy Chinn (Las Vegas Raiders) and Branson Combs (Jacksonville Jaguars) will return this weekend for homecoming. Chinn, who will be the grand marshal of the SIU homecoming parade, is a starting safety for the Raiders, while Combs was elevated last weekend to the Jaguars’ active roster for the first time this season. Chinn and Fabray Collins, a linebacker on SIU’s 1983 national championship team, are being inducted into SIU’s athletics hall of fame. Hill said Chinn is the first player he’s recruited and coached to be inducted into the hall.
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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