Southern Illinoise University Athletics
New Saluki Football Coach Wastes No Time in Signing Recruits
03/19/2001 | 12:00:00 | Football
December 21, 2000
Carbondale, Ill. -
New Southern Illinois University Carbondale Football coach Jerry Kill has hit the ground running announcing the signing of four recruits just two weeks after accepting the position to replace former coach Jan Quarless, who was released Nov. 19.
Kill, head football coach at Emporia State University (Emporia, Kan.) for the past two years, was named the new football coach by the Salukis' Director of Athletics Paul Kowalczyk Dec. 6 and used his Kansas connections for his first foray into Division 1AA recruiting.
Kill, who said at the time of his hiring that he once had to pull a guy out of the hallways to fill out his offensive line for spring practice, was facing the same problem at SIU with only four offensive linemen returning from last season's squad. Kill picked up three fifths of the Butler County Community College (Kansas) offensive line this past season to help with his efforts to bring the Saluki offense back to the prominence it demonstrated two seasons ago.
Committing to the Salukis were the three Butler offensive linemen Tony Anastasio (6-0, 280), Matt Anderson (6-3, 290) and Mike Fritzler (6-2, 285) along with Brandon Walker (6-2, 280), a defensive lineman from Fort Scott Community College in Kansas.
Anastasio was a first team all-Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference selection and a two-year starter at offensive guard for the Grizzlies which were the 1998 and 1999 NJCAA National Champions. He attended Olathe High School where he was a three-year starter and a two-time all-state 6A selection as well as being a first-team all-conference pick.
"Tony is a young man who has a tremendous desire to play the game," Kill said. "He has won a national championship and was first team all-conference in one of the toughest JUCO leagues in the country. He was one of the leaders on his team and will help us on the offensive line."
Anderson was a two-year starter at offensive tackle for Butler. He attended Burlington High School where he was a four-year starter and a first-team all-state 3A selection in addition to being a two-time first-team all-conference selection.
"Matt was one of few offensive linemen who came in and played as a freshman on a national championship team at Butler," Kill said. "He has very good athletic ability for a big guy and has been in a very good program. He can play either tackle or guard and on either side."
Fritzler was a two-year starter at Butler playing all five offensive line positions but will be mainly looked for to provide competition at tackle. He attended Maize High School and was a three-year starter and was named first-team all-conference as well as being named second team all-state 6A.
"Mike is very well coached and can be a guard, a tackle or the center," Kill said. "He has played all the positions on the offensive line, so he has a lot of versatility. But he wants to settle in on one position and we hope it is tackle. He is a very intelligent kid and one of the reasons he is coming here is the aviation program."
Walker was a two-year starter at defensive tackle for Fort Scott leading his team in tackles with an average of 8 per game for a total of 64. He attended Washington High School where he was a four-year starter, a three-time first team all-conference selection and was named all-state 6A twice.
"Brandon was voted by his teammates as the Most Valuable Defensive Player on the team," Kill said. "He led the team in tackles from his tackle spot and that doesn1t happen very often. He plays relentless, very hard and has a lot of quickness. I compare him to someone who is playing in the Hula Bowl this year, Tavita Tovio."
