Southern Illinois quarterback D.J. Williams’ return to the Salukis for 2026 has created plenty of joy, especially among head coach Nick Hill’s family. (Photo by Barry Bottino, PrairieStatePigskin.com)
By Barry Bottino
Ever since D.J. Williams left the field Nov. 22 at Illinois State in the season finale, the Southern Illinois quarterback’s future has been a question on plenty of minds.
Nowhere did that question create more concern than under head coach Nick Hill’s own roof with his three young daughters.
“I’d go to the basement (with my phone) and they’d say, ‘Who are you talking to?’” Hill said. “’It’s D.J.,’ They’d say, ‘Is he coming back?’”
With Williams announcing his return Monday to Carbondale via a social media video featuring a Michael Jordanesque “I’m back,” Hill’s children – and plenty of fans in the region — rejoiced.
“The day my wife (Alicia) told them, they were jumping up and down and hugging everybody,” Hill said. “I don’t know if anybody was more excited than my girls.”
For Williams, who describes Hill as a big brother, that sense of family was a big part of what brought him back.
“I feel like I’m a part of his family,” said Williams, who finished eighth in voting for the Walter Payton Award and third in the Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive Player of the Year voting after the season. “They mean the world to me. I spent Easter with them. I’ve been to the girls’ dance competitions.
“If he ever needs me to watch the girls or whatever, he’s just got to let me know,” said the 23-year-old Williams, who will be playing his seventh college season this fall.
The relationships he has built with Hill and SIU’s coaching staff couldn’t be matched as Williams spoke to various FBS coaches about opportunities at other schools.
“The biggest thing was getting a coaching staff that believed in me, that thought I was the best guy for them, and I wasn’t just a second option or something to fall back on,” said Williams, who revealed to Prairie State Pigskin that he spoke with coaches from the Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-12 conference schools. “I didn’t feel like I found that fit.”
The process
After the season, Williams said he spent time visiting friends at other colleges and talking through the process with trusted people around him, including friends and family, his high school coach and a cousin who played in the NFL.
“I take their opinions seriously,” he said.
Before the Christmas holiday, Hill gave his pitch for Williams to return to SIU. Then the quarterback began speaking with other coaches.
“I never got an agent,” Williams said. “I felt that if a coach really wanted me, they would find a way to talk if you’re really that guy.”
After discussions with multiple suitors, one thing was clear: “Nothing really fit,” Williams said. “Nobody really had that connection with me. The offense wasn’t the right fit, or the coach wasn’t the right one for me.”
That wasn’t for a lack of splashy financial offers, he said, though Hill and Williams preferred not to speak about specific terms.
“I’ve been around,” Williams said. “I understand recruiting. A lot of schools were trying to throw a pretty big number at me, but it wasn’t a respectful number as far as what my peers – the best quarterbacks in those conferences – would have been getting.
“They were just throwing money at the FCS kid, thinking he’d jump at anything,” Williams said. “That’s not me. I’ve seen a lot of people go jump after the money and end their careers or be back somewhere at a lower level after going after some money. I don’t have time for that.”
Throughout the process, Williams focused on openness and honesty, ensuring Hill knew who he was speaking with.
“He was an open book,” Hill said. “That’s what allowed it to be so transparent.”
Williams added: “We laid everything out on the table. There was no surprise and no secret to him. It all came back to Southern Illinois being the best spot for me. You never really feel 100% about anything with these types of big decisions.
“But I’m 99% confident that this is the best decision for me.”
The decision
With the opening of the transfer portal looming on Jan. 2, Hill said his QB’s return started to become more clear.
“I had a pretty good feeling around Christmas,” Hill said.
On Dec. 28, Williams revealed his decision as Hill and his wife were driving home from Indianapolis after watching former Saluki linebacker Branson Combs and the Jacksonville Jaguars play the Colts.
“I was super excited,” Hill said. “The whole school wanted to have him back, from the chancellor (Austin A. Lane) to Tim (Leonard), our athletic director. People around campus were asking, ‘What do we have to do to keep D.J.?’”
Hill said the value of Williams’ return is immense.
“I don’t even know how to put it into words,” SIU’s coach said. “D.J. has an opportunity to leave a legacy here. For D.J., it’s also about the community and the school. They’ve rallied behind him.”
Williams said any financial incentives were not his ultimate goal.
“I’ve never come for money, so I’ll be fine with whatever I have,” he said. “The game is what I love. That’s what I live for. I’ll use whatever God has blessed me financially with to help out the kids in the community I came from (south suburban Harvey) and the community that’s supporting me right now.”
In June, Williams hosted the third annual Baylock Elites Youth Football Camp & Clinic – a free event for kids in the south suburbs ages 6-14 – at Bloom High School in Chicago Heights. The event honors his high school teammate and close friend Jacquice Baylock, who was killed July 1, 2020.
Williams’ goal is to expand the camp to provide more gear for kids in the south suburbs. In addition, he hopes to start a youth football camp in the Carbondale region.
Getting ready
With spring football a couple of months away, Williams is slowly getting back to form.
In September against Southeast Missouri, the quarterback said he sustained a torn posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and played the rest of the season with the injury, taking a painkilling shot before each game. Against Youngstown State in November, he suffered a sprained AC joint in his left shoulder. Neither injury, Williams said, required surgery.
After the season, he visited a specialist in Orlando to examine the knee. The specialist injected platelet-rich plasma into the knee to help with healing.
“My shoulder is feeling good,” he said. “My knee still needs some rehab, and it will be a couple months until I’m feeling fully healthy.”
Despite passing for more than 2,800 yards and 22 touchdowns, while rushing for a school-record 847 yards and 18 touchdowns, Williams said there is more to accomplish.
That starts with getting the Salukis back to the playoffs for the first time since 2023.
“I’m grateful for the big-time moments that I’m going to play in this year, and hopefully we can make it to the national championship like Illinois State,” he said.
Lindauer steps into new role
Former SIU quarterback Michael Lindauer, who spent last season as a graduate assistant, was officially elevated Thursday to a role on staff as quarterbacks coach.
Lindauer, who threw for a school-record seven touchdowns in the 2024 season finale against Murray State in his only career start, spent five seasons at FBS Cincinnati and SIU. He had retired from football before injuries decimated the Salukis that season.
An NCAA waiver brought Lindauer out of retirement to play late in the 2024 season.
The addition of Lindauer as a full-time coach was music to Williams’ ears.
“Michael was the first person I talked to in the quarterback group during my visit two years ago,” Williams said. “He’s a great football mind. Mike and I connected on and off the field. We talk a lot about games. We watch football all the time. It’s great to see him build on his career.”
Lindauer, however, put Williams on notice that he plans to push his quarterback.
“The first thing he texted me when I told him I was coming back was, ‘I’m about to be on your butt all year, and I’m going to get me a draft pick out of you,’” Williams said with a laugh.
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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