Luke Mailander’s 57-yard reception against Southern Illinois last weekend was the first touchdown of the season for the speedy junior wide receiver. (Photo by GoRedbirds.com)
By Barry Bottino
Speed has always been the name of Luke Mailander’s game. But the Illinois State wide receiver wasn’t sure it was enough last week.
When quarterback Beckham Pellant lofted a deep ball late in the third quarter, Mailander went into chase mode, stretched both hands out inside the Southern Illinois 15-yard line and snagged the ball for a career-long 57-yard touchdown.
“I was a little surprised that I caught it, to be honest,” Mailander said. “I just stuck my arms out. (Pellant) threw a great ball. I’ve got to be a little faster.”
While speed hasn’t vanished from Mailander’s skill set, he’s more polished during this fall’s schedule, which continues Saturday when the No. 10 Redbirds (5-2 overall, 1-2 Missouri Valley Football Conference) host league foe Indiana State (2-5, 0-3) at 2 p.m. for Homecoming.
“I wasn’t as sharp last year,” said Mailander, who was the MVFC Freshman of the Year in 2025. “I definitely had to work on footwork and route running. This is the most confident in route running that I’ve ever felt. It does help the confidence a lot.”
The off-season focus for Mailander, who is averaging nearly 20 yards a catch, was on quick-breaking routes, along with “timing and small details.”
“It’s been a process,” he said. “It sucks at times, I’ll admit it. But you have to stick to it and work at it every day.”
Kickoff: 2 p.m.; TV: ESPN-Plus; Radio: WJBC.com
Key matchup to watch
Illinois State secondary vs. Indiana State WR Jayden Reed: On Monday, Reed was named to the 30-player Jerry Rice Award Midseason Watch List. A true freshman from St. Louis, Reed has 30 catches this season for 460 yards and four touchdowns. Nineteen of his receptions have come in the past three games.
What’s at stake?
A win would move the Redbirds back to .500 in the MVFC after an 0-2 start in league play.
Quick hits
Pellant, now recovered from a shoulder injury, was named the team’s starter going forward by Spack on Tuesday. The QB drew plenty of praise from his head coach after helping the Redbirds beat SIU, 35-14. “He had some nice throws and made some really good decisions,” head coach Brock Spack told Prairie State Pigskin Monday. “It was the most relaxed I’ve seen him. It’s what we’ve been waiting for and expecting out of him.” Pellant set career highs against SIU with 16 completions, 25 attempts and 191 passing yards. His two TD passes tied a single-game best. … Senior linebacker Tye Niekamp needs three tackles to move into the top five all-time at Illinois State. With five tackles this week, he would become only the fourth player in school history to reach 400 career tackles. … The five ISU sacks Saturday against Southern was a season high. Through seven games, the Redbirds have 12 sacks. In 17 games last season, ISU posted 37 sacks. … Beating Southern Illinois ended a two-game losing streak, which Spack called “a learning moment” for the Redbirds. “I think we responded pretty well, but that’s one game. We’ll see if we can put another game together.” … Over its current three-game losing streak to three ranked MVFC teams, Indiana State has allowed 143 points (47.7 a game) against North Dakota, South Dakota and Youngstown State. During that span, the Sycamores have allowed 1,663 total yards, including 1,031 through the air (343.7 per game). … With Saturday’s victory in Carbondale, ISU has defeated all four Illinois directional schools (Northern Illinois, Eastern Illinois, Western Illinois and Southern Illinois) in the same season for the first time since 1940.
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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