Saluki defense laser-focused on what matters most

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Lee Pronschinske’s message to the Saluki defense coming off the bye week? Stay focused on what matters most. It may sound like coach-speak, but stay true to the process that has allowed Southern to hold opponents to less than 20 points per game, while forcing 10 turnovers through four games.

Pronschinske and the defensive staff also took a deep dive into the film last week and found areas for self-improvement. They presented those details to the players, who took them to heart, he said.

In this week’s Coordinator’s Corner, Pronschinske reviews the bye week, previews Indiana State, and explains how he’s handling the uncertainty at quarterback for the Sycamores.

Coordinator’s Corner with Lee Pronschinske

SD: With conference play beginning this week, what has been your message to the defense?

LP: The message this week is to stay focused on what matters most — whether it's the way we prepare for an opponent, our relationships on the team, our personal life. As we get into conference play, nothing changes in the way we go about our business. Embrace the nature of the beast that the Missouri Valley brings and just love the opportunity to keep going through it with the guys.

SD: You had a checklist of things you wanted to get done during the bye week, did you accomplish what you set out to do?

LP: Yeah, I think last week was really good for us. We took a step back, looked in the mirror at some things schematically, individually, technique-wise that we needed to get cleaned up. We reset the focus so we could attack the week of prep for Indiana State.

SD: In your safety room, you planned to go over the tape of some breakdowns that occurred in the first four games. How did that go?

LP: As a group, we watched all of the times where offenses targeted us in pass coverage. You want guys to feel a little salt in the wounds when they watch that, because it shows you the technique that’s required of us to execute at a higher level. I think the guys in this room love that challenge.

SD: John Bear is the new offensive coordinator at Indiana State, has had a lot of success in various stops along his career. What stands out about their offense?

LP: He clearly does a really good job of coaching X's and O’s, because it takes a high-level football IQ to play in their offense. There's some intricate details in what they do. The offensive line group is playing extremely well together, and that's a tip of the cap to Coach (Darrell) Funk. He's done a really good job at every stop he's been. In 2022, he had the top-rated Pro Football Focus O-line in all of football at BYU. He's been the O-line coach at Michigan. It's going to be a really good challenge for us come Saturday.

SD: Quarterback Elijah Owens was a freshman All-American last year. What have you seen from him in the two games he’s played in 2025?

LP: Just a fearlessness and an ability to process pre-snap/post-snap pictures. He started all of last year, so that's 15, 16 games under his belt. I’m impressed with his ability to diagnose safety rotation and then the conviction about where to go with the ball post-snap.

SD: Owens suffered a collarbone injury in their win over Eastern Illinois and hasn't played since. What have you seen from his backup, Keegan Patterson, the last two games? He’s a guy who started his career at USC.

LP: I think there's a lot of similarities with him and Owens, which is the utmost compliment, because Keegan also plays extremely fearless, understands where to go with the ball. He does a great job in the QB run game. Sometimes, when a quarterback goes on the shelf for a little bit, it can change the way an offense looks. Last year, after we lost DJ, the identity of our offense looked a little different. That hasn't been the case for Indiana State with Patterson.

SD: Does the similarity help in preparation?

LP: You can’t get too worked up on who's playing, who's not playing, who warms up pregame, who doesn't warm up pregame. At the end of the day, you got to go out there and execute at an extremely high level, no matter who's out there. If you get excited that someone’s not playing, then someone else has a career day in that spot.

SD: With Indiana State also coming off a bye week, do you anticipate any new wrinkles they might throw at you?

LP: There might be a little gamesmanship where coordinators and head coaches hold back a certain wrinkle or scheme or look for conference play. That’s where we have to rely on all of our training, going against our offense every day, following our rules and principles, communicating at a high level, and just line up and play sound football.

SD: With Southern back in the Top 10 this week, do you pay much attention to the national rankings?

LP: No. I think the accolades and recognition are fun stuff, but it's surface level. The stuff that matters is the substance, our ability to put our heads down and work really hard throughout the week, not worry about that outside noise. It’s nice recognition for Southern Illinois, Coach Hill, the program, enrollment, but from our lens, we’re just focused on playing the football game on Saturday.

SD: Personally, did you get a chance to sit back and watch a football game for fun during the bye week?

LP: Yeah. One of my best friends, Connor Sanger, coaches for the Arizona Cardinals, and I was able to watch their game on Thursday night. I got out on the road to watch a little high school football Friday night, watched some recruitable guys. There's something in the air when you're out at a high school football game. I watched a little football on Saturday and watched the Packers Sunday night.