Saluki Football wraps up spring season with annual Spring Game

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Spring Ball is officially over and Saluki Football will put away the helmets and shoulder pads for the next three months, but head coach Nick Hill believes the team set itself up for success with its work during the past 15 practices.

“We have a great idea of where the pieces need to fit,” said Hill, after the team held its annual Spring Game on Friday night. “We were able to put in the base schematics in all three phases and get a lot of reps at the things that make up our core offense, defense and special teams.”

Teams are only permitted to practice with live tackling three times during the spring, and the Salukis ran just over 50 live plays during tonight’s scrimmage.

Many of the team’s marquee names didn’t play, so as not to risk injury and to let the younger guys have an opportunity to stand out.

Among those who watched the live portion of tonight's action from the sidelines on offense were quarterback DJ Williams, wide receiver Allen Middleton and running backs Ed Robinson and Chandler Chapman. All will figure prominently in Southern’s attack next fall. Similarly on defense, the Salukis gave linebackers Chris Presto and Andrew Behm, plus defensive backs Vinny Pierre Jr. and Gavin Shepard the night off.

Hill said the coaching staff knows what the veterans can do in live situations, and the Spring Game lets them take a closer look at the younger players and transfers.

“We ran a lot of off-the-script plays, where you can watch how guys react in certain situations, who's retaining information that aren't scripted plays, because that's the way the game's played,” Hill said. “You get to learn about their competitive nature, how they respond to things.”

There were a handful of big plays on both sides of the ball. Early in the scrimmage, defensive end Camron Miller deflected a Jake Curry pass that was intercepted by linebacker David Obadein. Later, quarterback ET Harris hit wide receiver Aidan Showers over the middle in tight coverage for the game’s only touchdown.

The competition was intense, with big hits delivered by cornerback Naz Hill and linebacker Miles Wash, and lots of smashmouth football at the line of scrimmage.

The running game featured Lem Wash, Jimmy Athans and DJ Welch, and all three delivered solid runs. Starting left tackle Blaine Halley believes the Salukis can have a dominant rushing attack in 2026.

“We love to run the ball,” Halley said. “Our entire mentality is just to punch people in the mouth, get the hard yards and eventually one will pop.”

Last season, the Salukis had the nation’s top-graded offensive line. Although Halley is the only returning full-time starter, he doesn’t expect any drop-off in the unit’s performance.

“I think our potential is to be even better than last year,” he said. “We have guys back who probably could have played last year who are doing a phenomenal job.”

Joining Halley in the starting lineup tonight were Kellen Francis, Ethan Goodin, Jacob Katauskas and Coleon Smith.

On defense, the Salukis have had impressive performances from a host of young players throughout the spring.

“Everybody matured so much since last season, even the freshmen, like Clayton (Lakatos) and Grant (Thompson) are making plays for us,” said Shepard, who is himself taking on a bigger role at cornerback.

The Salukis lost their top defender in All-American corner Jeremiah McClendon, who is prepping for the NFL Draft, but Shepard is hoping to fill those big shoes.

“It’s going to be really fun to play that boundary corner position,” Shepard said. “I'm not really focused on trying to replace an All-American. I’m focused on winning and getting better each day. I think I reached the goals that I set for spring ball.”

The players will get some time off before summer workouts begin and Hill said there’s much work to be accomplished before training camp.

“Now that you can do so much in the summertime with the whole team being here, you can really build on the spring,” he said. “You’re still installing in the summer and you got to challenge those guys to keep working on things. Then you add the freshmen later in the summer.”

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