Jeremy Chinn pays tribute to Saluki Football culture under Coach Hill

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Saluki Football welcomed back one of its all-time greats on Friday when Las Vegas Raiders safety and sixth-year NFL pro Jeremy Chinn returned to campus.

Chinn, who was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame this evening, paid tribute to head coach Nick Hill and the culture of the Saluki Football program that supported his development into one of the game’s elite players.

“I think about the time I spent with Coach Hill and around his family, and just how close we were as a football team, the hours we spent working and training together,” Chinn said. “It just really showed the importance of family and football. The relationships I built here, these are still some of my best friends.”

A second-round draft pick by the Carolina Panthers in 2020, Chinn has played 78 career games in the NFL with 489 tackles, 6.0 sacks and three interceptions.

“There’s obviously a lot of pride in having Jeremy return to campus,” said head coach Nick Hill. “He's done so much for our program and been back multiple times since he began his NFL journey.”

After playing one season for the Washington Commanders in 2024, Chinn signed a two-year, $16 million contract with the Raiders last offseason. In 2025, he currently ranks ninth in the NFL in snaps played by a safety.

"He's got such an amazing skill set for a man of his size," Raiders general manager John Spytek said, via ESPN. "And you love the intelligence and the instincts that go with it."

At SIU, Chinn was a Consensus All-American and Buck Buchanan Award finalist after his senior year in 2019.

“I was always convinced that I had every single resource that I needed to succeed here,” Chinn said.

He finished his storied SIU career with 243 tackles, 13 interceptions, 31 passes defended and six forced fumbles.

“In addition to pure God-given ability, he has an elite work ethic and focus,” Hill said. “Everything from his diet to workout routines to film study stays precise. He has a clear vision for himself.”

Picked No. 64 overall in the NFL Draft, Chinn was the highest-drafted player at SIU since Terry Taylor went No. 22 to the Seattle Seahawks in 1984.

“SIU was the first offer I had, and I mean, I cried when I got the offer,” Chinn said. “It meant so much to me and helped me accomplish the next step in my life and to just thrive.”

Chinn with his teammates following his Hall of Fame induction — Front Row (L-R): Withney Simon, James Ceasar, Jeremy Chinn, Bryce Notree, Landon Lenoir. Back Row (L-R): Chucky Sullivan, Andrew Anckle, ZeVeyon Furcron, Ryan Neal, Joe Patterson

Jeremy Chinn Hall of Fame Induction Speech

“I didn't prepare a speech. I didn't prepare one because I just kind of wanted to speak from the heart a little bit. You guys don't mind. I've been thinking this whole time about the amount of people I would have to thank and the list of names, it's so long.

My mom, she's not here right now. She's on the way coming from Philadelphia, but she'll be here in the morning. I remember when, back in 2015, I received an offer from Southern Illinois. And that was my first offer, and I was so emotional. I had about four games left in my senior high school. I didn’t know what my future looked like or if football was gonna be involved. I remember getting that offer and I cried, called my mom, and I just told her, we did it. You don't gotta worry about paying for school or anything.

I just knew that this is a place that believed in me. Coach Hill told me that he wanted me here, and he believed in me, and I knew from that point that, I'm gonna give this university, this team, my teammates, everything that I have.

There’s so many people sitting at these tables that I played with, that I came in with, and the relationships that we've built, hey're gonna last a lifetime, man, and it's something that I always cherish. I'll never take for granted. I wouldn't be accepting a Hall of Fame induction at all if it wasn't for all these people in here.

I want to give a shout-out to Meade Smith. Early on, man, I think me and a lot of the guys probably had a love-hate relationship with Meade, just the way that he worked us. But he truly made me a better athlete, a better football player, a better man overall. I'm sure a lot of you guys here can say the same thing.

I want to give a shout-out to Marty Rodgers. He's definitely one of the best football coaches that I've ever had, just the way that he pushed me, pushed my teammates, the level of accountability that he forced me and my teammates to have for ourselves and for each other. Without him, I definitely wouldn't be at this podium, either.


So all the way from coaches to my teammates to the athletic trainers, I’m kind of grasping the fact that I just got put into my college Hall of Fame. When I decided that I was gonna come to Southern Illinois, I actually had in my mind, I don't know if I've ever vocalized this before, but I was like, look, I'm gonna be here for three years. I'm going to the league, which is delusional, because, nobody goes to an FCS school for three years and leaves early, goes to the league. But that was always my mindset. I knew that I had everything that I needed to be successful here. I knew that I had everything I needed to accomplish my goals here, and take my game, and my life, another step, using the resources that this university provided, and some of the names that I mentioned, and there's 100 more, but every name that I mentioned played a role in that. I'm super grateful. I'm super honored to be a part of this class. I don't take it for granted. I will always cherish it, and thank you."