Western Illinois head coach Joe Davis addresses his team after Saturday’s Bruce Craddock Memorial Spring Game at Hanson Field. The Leathernecks won three of their last four games last fall. (Photo by Dan Verdun, PrairieStatePigskin.com)
By Dan Verdun
MACOMB – While Western Illinois featured the OVC-Big South’s leading rusher last season, the Leathernecks will likely display a more balanced running game this fall.
“Last year we had Markell (Holman), but we never were really able to solidify much depth behind him, and at times Markell was so hot in games you just didn’t want to take him out,” WIU head coach Joe Davis told Prairie State Pigskin. “This year, we feel pretty confident that we can have three or four backs that are part of the game plan.”
With Holman now at FBS Wyoming via the transfer portal, WIU’s new rotation likely will include senior Ihson E. Jackson-Anderson, a transfer who rushed for nearly 700 yards last season at Wofford.
“Ihson is among a group of transfers that immediately bought into what we’re doing here right off the jump. He’s a guy that has a very positive attitude and is a great leader,” Davis said.
Jackson-Anderson missed “a good chunk of the spring” with a nagging hamstring issue, according to Davis.
Jackson-Anderson did get a few carries in Saturday’s annual game at Hanson Field, which wrapped up WIU’s spring practices.
“I’m really versatile,” Jackson-Anderson said of his game. “We can split me out (as a receiver). You can run the ball with me downhill, but I can make moves too.”
Jackson-Anderson began his career at FBS Eastern Michigan, where he appeared in 28 games over three seasons. He earned second-team All-Southern Conference honors in 2025.
Meanwhile, Avery Knight returns for his redshirt freshman season after missing last season with a broken tibia.
“Avery Knight is a player we expected to be the No. 1 last year until he got hurt,” Davis said. “You can see he’s developed. He looks like a Division I running back now. He’s probably our most explosive back.”
Redshirt junior Josh Robinson also figures to be in the mix. The Bolingbrook High School graduate transferred from Lamar University where he spent the last two seasons. Robinson began his career at Illinois State.
“Josh has been a part of two playoff teams,” Davis said. “He runs very physically. He’s got a great build for a running back. He catches the ball and is good in pass protection.”
Ethan Bryce returns for his redshirt sophomore season.
“He’s been a solid special teams player, and this spring you’ve seen the light come on with him in the backfield,” Davis said
Quarterbacks on display
Three experienced quarterbacks saw action in Saturday’s scrimmage, won by the Purple team, 54-41.
Sophomore Cason Carswell is back from last year’s OVC-Big South Offensive Freshman of the Year campaign in which he passed for over 2,000 yards with 16 touchdowns.
“Cason was thrown to the wolves a little bit last year,” Davis said. “It’s such a developmental position. He’s watching film of himself from last fall and saying things like, ‘I can’t believe I missed that one” or ‘I didn’t see that.’”
Famed Marquette basketball coach Al McGuire often said the best thing about a freshman is that he becomes a sophomore. Davis might well agree.
“Cason’s game is so much more expansive now when it comes to protections, route adjustments or how the defense is trying to defend from a formational standpoint. Cason is a very cerebral player. His best football is ahead of him.”
Carswell knows that means more hours in the film room and on the field to raise his game to the next level of development.
“Last year as a freshman, I knew the offense, but nowhere near how I know it now,” he said.
There is also conditioning.
“Summer is lifting and running. It’s hard, but that’s what it takes,” the Mason, Mich., native said.
The Leathernecks also added redshirt junior QB Kennedy McGill, a transfer from Central Washington, where he was the Lone Star Conference Player of the Year as well as a Harlon Hill Award finalist as the best player in Division II football.
“Kennedy is a veteran, you can tell,” Davis said. “He’s learned our offense very quickly. He’s low maintenance. He loves the weight room. He’s a very physical football player as a quarterback, which you don’t see a lot.”
McGill is a dual-threat QB who figures to see playing time.
“I bring some physicality, some leadership, some playmaking and confidence. I’m going to do anything I can to help this team win,” McGill said.
Both Carswell and McGill were chosen as captains by their teammates.
“To have two quarterbacks elected as captains, that’s a first for me in 25 years of coaching,” Davis said. “It’s a testament to those young men.”
Carswell said: “It’s such an honor, especially since it’s the one the guys vote on. That’s the bigger honor. It shows they trust me as a leader and as a person.”
“I’m grateful to this squad. I’ve enjoyed getting to know everyone,” McGill said.
Early in the scrimmage, redshirt freshman QB Tanner Zolnosky, who appeared in two games before breaking his collarbone last season, showed off his running prowess.
Freshman Gage Sturgill, who threw for nearly 3,300 yards and 41 yards last fall at Fishers (Ind.) High School, enrolled at WIU in January.
“Not having seen all these guys in games yet, this is as deep a room as I’ve had in recent history,” Davis said.
News and notes
In addition to Carswell and McGill, offensive lineman James Durand, defensive lineman Keshawn Harrington-McKinney, defensive back Jake Kruger and linebacker Nick Reinickie were named captains. … Davis said that Durand, who started 12 games last season as a sophomore, received the most votes. … Like McGill, Reinickie is a transfer. The redshirt junior appeared in 11 games in two seasons at FBS Iowa State. “In the day of yesteryear, you would not have new players elected captains, but I think the players have adapted to the idea that every year is a new team. Every year is a new story that we’re trying to write,” Davis said. … Construction on a new Hanson Field playing surface is scheduled to begin May 18, WIU athletic director Paul Bubb confirmed.
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.
Find us on social media!
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PSPigskin
Facebook: Prairie State Pigskin
Instagram: Prairiestatepigskin
Blue Sky: PSPigskin
Prairie State Pigskin 
Leave a comment