Southern Illinois underachieved in 2010, finishing 5-6 and falling mightily below the preseason ranking of #5 nationally. Remember, Southern Illinois won a share of five MVFC championships from 2003 to 2009. In the same sense, the Salukis might not be where they need to be to compete at that level.
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| Salukis running back Shariff Harris |
The Salukis are among the few in college football, at any level, who will bring back their entire offensive line and that should be good news for SIU's budding ground game. Center Bryan Boemer, who was named to the All-MVFC 1st Team, headlines the blocking gang that consists of all juniors and seniors.
Shariff Harris stands to benefit from their experience the most after making the All-Newcomer team last season, after transferring from Pittsburgh. Harris had 604 yards and 8 touchdowns in 2010. He may have to compete for carries with former Iowa running back Jewel Hampton, who has had a rough road to Carbondale. He set freshman records for the Hawkeyes in 2008, battled two torn ACL injuries, and ran into some off the field issues before leaving Iowa City in December. If the pair can co-exist in the backfield, Southern Illinois is going to be problem to try to stop on the ground.
Paul McIntosh will be the starter in Week 1 and he has experience in the role. The junior transferred from Army in 2008 and proved he can direct the offense in 2009, leading SIU to a 5-1 record and a #1 ranking nationally at the time. He's a former Mr. Football in Indiana, so there's no doubt the talent is there. SIU will be an uncertainty at wide receiver, as they are now without Joe Allaria and Jeff Evans, both of whom provided quality options throughout their careers.
Defense
Southern Illinois' defense should have an improved defense, despite returning only six starters from 2010. The Salukis return all four of their starting linebackers, led by Joe Okon, who can boast of having the most tackles last year of any defender coming back. The secondary will miss having Korey Lindsey at cornerback, who leaves Little Egypt as a three-time All-American and a seventh-round selection of the Cincinnati Bengals. Look for Nick King to step up after he missed the final five games of last season with a knee injury.
SIU was good enough on defense at times and at other moments was sketchy at best. Southern Illinois had back-to-back losses to SE Missouri State and Youngstown State, where they gave up 21 and 31 unanswered points, respectively. They had two three-game losing streaks and if they can over come that inconsistency this year, they should improve on that 5-6 record.
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| SIU head coach Dale Lennon |
Dale Lennon has a proven track record as a winner. He had success at North Dakota and won the Valley in his first two season in Carbondale. Based purely off of history, you can count on Southern Illinois playing better this season. Whether or not that equates to wins, time will tell.
That makes deciding where to place the Salukis before the season starts that much more difficult. Phil Steele, the college football guru whom I trust immensely, has Southern Illinois at #17 in his preseason Top 40 poll. To me, that seems high but I can see this team finishing second or third in the conference and qualifying for the postseason. Ultimately, I feel SIU finishes in the middle of the pack and can move up if McIntosh can replicate his 2009 performance and find some viable receiving options.
Up Next: Western Illinois
Photos: (Top/Dan Kopp--Bottom/SIU Media Relations)
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