Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Saluki Football camp notebook -- Day Three
08/11/2015 | 12:00:00 | Football
By John Lock
SIUSalukis.com
1. The Southern Illinois football team had practice No. 3 of fall camp on Tuesday morning. The players wore shoulder pads for the first time today, transitioning from what head coach Dale Lennon calls "pretend football" (helmets and shorts yesterday) to "real football" (full pads on Thursday).
2. Cameron Walter is the only returning running back with any carries for the Salukis. JuCo transfer Aaron Stanton was with the team in the spring and will see time. That leaves four freshmen--redshirt freshman Jonathan Mixon and true freshmen Daquan Isom, Chris Perkins and Michael Nero--fighting for serious playing time. In all likelihood, at least one of the true freshmen will play right away. Nero and Perkins are both very well built for true freshmen, and Isom has big-play capability.
WATCH: Saluki All-Access interview with TE Adam Fuehne
3. Matt DeSomer spent the entire practice at wide receiver and did not practice with the QB yellow jersey today. He even ran some plays with the first-string offense at wide receiver. He'll still be listed at QB for the time being; but if he moves to wide receiver, he would join former walk-on Kyle Newquist as QBs-turned-receiver for the Salukis. Both former linebacker Tyler Williamson and head coach Dale Lennon have told me the same thing about DeSomer: He's a football player that will find a way to get on the field.
4. Gotta love the number of reps everyone gets in fall camp. With the defense working on nickel coverage today and the offense running as fast as possible, defensive backs got the most opportunities today. True freshmen Airan Reed, ShawnTrez Spates, Torian Lewis and Ronnie Hill got a lot of time to prove themselves. For the first-team defense, it looks like Jefferson Vea and Andrew McCrea are battling for a starting spot at corner opposite Ryan Neal.
5. SIU lost both starting cornerbacks from a year ago, which makes that position the most inexperienced on the team. But the other group in position coach and defensive coordinator David Elson's charge, the safeties, have a ton of experience. Ryan Neal started as a true freshman last year at safety before getting moved to corner this year. Redshirt freshman Kenny James started the final five games of the season and excelled in a starting role. D.J. Cameron has been a staple in the starting lineup for all three years, and Anthony Thompson also has starting experience at SIU. That bodes well for increased nickel use this year, when a third safety will come on the field in passing situations.
6. The special teams battles will be fun to monitor throughout camp. Southern lost every specialist except its punter; the long snapper, kicker, punt returner and kick returner from 2014 are all gone. Last year, Tay Willis and LaSteven McKinney earned All-Conference honors as returners, and Thor Hadfield was All-Conference at long snapper. Southern ranked second in the MVFC in both punt and kick return average last year, so there are big shoes to fill at those spots.
7. Saluki Volleyball opened up their fall practices yesterday. Assistant coach Todd Nelson said he's excited for the amount of experience returning on this year's squad. (Read a full season preview HERE.) He said, "This group has a chance to do something special." We'll be pitching in some Saluki Volleyball updates into our Football Camp Central page throughout August. The first Saluki home event of 2015-16 is Saluki Volleyball hosting the Saluki Invitational at SIU Arena on Sept. 4-5.
