Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Saluki Football opens fall camp
08/09/2015 | 12:00:00 | Football
By John Lock
SIUSalukis.com
LISTEN: Coach Lennon post-practice interview
1. Football season is officially underway with the first practice of fall camp on Sunday morning. SIU's 95-man camp roster reported on Saturday and started its first practice of the 2015 season at 8:15 a.m.
2. The coaching staff threw a lot at the team on Day 1. A lot of different groups went through a lot of different drills. For example, at one point defensive line coach Austin Flyger was teaching the backs and receivers tackling form. Due to NCAA rules, the team won't practice in pads until Thursday.
3. Head coach Dale Lennon made a point after the practice to mention that this might be the closest team he's coached at SIU, which echoes what assistant head coach Bill O'Boyle said in a radio interview on Wednesday. "Everyone is on the same level. The team concept is as strong as it has been."
4. With everyone on the same level, there is a lot of competition at every position. The program lost two of the top three pass catchers in program history in MyCole Pruitt and LaSteven McKinney to graduation, and it also graduated career forced fumbles leader Tyler Williamson. That leaves the outside world wondering about who will step up and take the opportunity to fill those shoes. "To the team, they're not unknown," Lennon said. "They know we have good players on this football team. There's some talent that is pretty impressive. I remind them that nobody else knows that. We have a room full of unknown players. How do you become known? Do it out on the field."
5. Matt McIntosh, the brother of former Saluki starting quarterback Paul McIntosh, made a good first impression on his first day. The senior Northern Illinois transfer made a few impressive deep throws that caught the attention of the coaches.
6. The defensive line figures to be a strong point on this year's team. Adam Brandt, Raysean Golden, TJ Beelen and Brandon Williams all have a lot of experience heading into their senior seasons, and Khari Waithe-Alexander is a sophomore who could make a big impact this year. Overall, the defensive line is probably the deepest and most experienced unit for the 2015 Salukis.
 | "They know we have good players on this football team. There's some talent that is pretty impressive. I remind them that nobody else knows that. We have a room full of unknown players. How do you become known? Do it out on the field." Dale Lennon |
7. The coaches challenged the team to define a Saluki football player and come up with a season mission statement. They reached out to former players to get their input, and the team is working to have its answers by the end of the week.
8. This all points towards the season opener, which is just 27 days away. SIU opens the season at Indiana on Sept. 5. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised on ESPNews.
9. Follow all the progress on camp at our Fall Camp Central page, which will be updated daily with all the multimedia and social media we produce during fall camp. For even more coverage and updates, follow our official social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
