Southern Illinois receiver Kyle Thomas (6) leads the Salukis with 10 catches for 211 yards and three touchdowns this season. (Photo by Barry Bottino, PrairieStatePigskin.com)
By Dan Verdun
Kyle Thomas’ path to Southern Illinois is “a crazy story,” according to the Southern Illinois wide receiver.
After two seasons at FBS Northern Illinois, the Marian Catholic High School graduate posted on Twitter that he was entering the transfer portal.
“A couple days later, my Twitter went down and my account just vanished. I couldn’t log back in,” Thomas told Prairie State Pigskin as SIU (2-1) prepared for a Saturday game with FBS Illinois (1-1) in Champaign.
As he was packing his belongings at NIU, Thomas’ phone rang.
“It was Coach (Nick) Hill. He said they loved my film and he wanted me to take a visit (to SIU) the very next day,” Thomas said. “That it happened like that is all glory to God.”
Upon arrival in Carbondale, Thomas was impressed by the coaching staff and “the great fit on and off the field.”
The Saluki staff also used seventh-year quarterback D.J. Williams, who is also from the south Chicago suburbs, as a selling point.
“I knew of him because I’m a lot younger than him,” Thomas said. “When I was a freshman in high school, his school (Thornton Township) was very good at basketball and D.J. was on the squad. I remember my school had beaten one of the top teams in the state and they were going to face off with D.J.’s team. Then COVID ended the season.
“I knew of D.J. I’m not sure he knew of me. I was still up and coming.”
Williams certainly knows of Thomas now. The duo connected on five receptions for 144 yards and a 24-yard touchdown against rival SEMO last week. They also had a 75-yard TD nullified when Thomas was flagged for offensive pass interference.
Thomas leads SIU with 10 receptions for 211 yards and three touchdowns.
Bigger, faster, smarter
The 6-foot-3, 190-pound junior attributes much of his success to 30 pounds of “added good weight.”
“It’s definitely upped my game in terms of me making bigger plays and being able to block in the run game,” Thomas said.
Most people wouldn’t associate getting faster after putting on weight. Thomas gives all the credit to SIU strength and conditioning coach Meade Smith.
“That’s all his work,” he said.
Then there’s the work of Saluki receivers coach Zach Grant.
“He’s helped me with everything, but his biggest impact is his helping me learn football. I’ve played football, but there’s a difference between playing and learning football,” Thomas said. “It’s knowing the coverages and where the safeties are going to roll and tendencies. We watch film together.”
Kickoff: 1 p.m. TV: Peacock; Radio: Cilfm.com.
Key matchup to watch
SIU defense vs. Illinois offense
While the Saluki offense has shown the ability to put points on the board with Williams at quarterback, SIU’s defense must force turnovers and make the Illini punt to stay in the game.
What’s at stake
The last SIU win against the Big Ten occurred in 2022 when the Salukis knocked off Northwestern, 31-24, in Evanston.
Quick hits
After winning its season opener, 42-23, against UAB, Illinois lost to Duke, 31-27, last weekend. The first three Illini games are home at Memorial Stadium before opening their Big Ten schedule Sept. 26 at Ohio State. … Hill said during SIU’s weekly Zoom media that he never, as both a player and a coach, felt like he was stepping up competition when playing an FBS program. “That would kind of be demeaning as where you’re at as a player,” he said. … After making 3-of-4 field goal attempts in the season opener at West Florida, SIU kicker Seth Adams has missed three times in the last two games. “You have to be mentally strong to get back out there. That’s kind of the separator. How you deal with failure, and this game will create it. It’s a humbling game,” Hill said. “One week you feel good about yourself. And the next week, people forget about what you’ve done.” … Linebackers Andrew Behm and Ben Fiegel each have 26 tackles, tops for SIU.
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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