Salukis add 18 players on Football Signing Day

02/06/2019 | 2:39:00 | Football

Signing Day Highlight Reel Signing Day Bios Signing Day Press Conference

By: By Tom Weber, SIUSalukis.com

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Southern Illinois signed 18 players on Wednesday adding to the nine who signed National Letters of Intent during the early signing period in December. Today's signees included five junior college transfers, plus 13 players who will be true freshmen at SIU in the fall of 2019. Head coach Nick Hill discussed the class during a press conference in the Stadium Club this evening.

February Signing Period

LB Madison Allen (6-0, 206, Fr.)
West Frankfort, Ill./Frankfort High School
Class 3A All-State honorable mention and Southern Illinois Coaches Association All-South as a senior...Three-time All-Conference linebacker, and All-Conference running back as a junior and senior...Three-time All State Academic Team...Selected to play in the Southern Illinois All-Star game...Ran for 1,194 yards and 14 touchdowns and had 102 tackles as a junior...Helped lead team to a 7-3 record and an IHSA playoff appearance as a senior. Son of Lanny Allen and Dawn Griffin...Mother is a teacher...Born Oct. 17, 2000 in Marion, Ill...His Great, Great, Great Grandfather was defended in court by Abraham Lincoln...Illinois State Scholar and National Honor Society member...Won first place in John A. Logan College writing contest.

Coach Hill: "(Former Saluki) Ryan Patton is (Madison's) coach and Ryan told me he reminded him a lot of himself coming out of high school. I tell all the walk-ons the story of Ryan Patton. He came here as a slow walk-on quarterback and he kept out-working everybody and ended up starting three-straight years at middle linebacker. We feel like this kid can do the same thing."

QB Cooper Callis (6-2, 205, So.)
Jackson, Mo./Jackson High School/Pearl River CC
Pearl River Community College (2018)
Played in four games, passing for 900 yards and seven touchdowns.
High School
Had a prolific career, passing for more than 7,500 yards and 100 touchdowns, completed 66 percent of his passes and added 14 rushing TDs...Threw for 3,809 yards and 56 touchdowns his senior year...Recipient of the Carr Trophy, awarded to the top player in Southeastern Missouri...Held offers from Arkansas State and Louisiana Tech.

Coach Hill: "Cooper is from over by Cape Girardeau, a standout quarterback, who was Missouri Player of the Year, went to a junior college and decided that wasn't for him and now he's here."

OL Amari Curtis (6-4, 270, Fr.)
Downers Grove, Ill./Culver Academy High School
As a senior in 2018, was named Offensive MVP and selected to the Indiana Football Coaches Association Class 4A All-State Team as an offensive tackle...Class 4A Associated Press honorable mention All-State honoree in 2017...Also played basketball and helped lead team to Class 3A state title in 2018.

Coach Hill: "Amari is a guy who is from Illinois up in Downers Grove but goes to Culver Academy in Indiana. He goes to a military academy, he's in charge of 30 kids, every morning waking up making sure their beds are made, he has PT. Bascially, from 6-to-10 his schedule is regimented. He went on an official visit to Illinois State the week before, they offered him, we got him the second-to-last weekend and ended up committing to us. He's a really athletic kid who plays both sides of the ball. We're going to start him off on the offensive line."

OL Chase Evans (6-3, 275, Fr.)
Mason, Ohio/William Mason High School
Led his team in tackles and sacks (20.0) his senior year...Helped team to 8-2 record and 7-1 conference finish — the best in school history...Second-Team All-Greater Miami Conference as a defensive lineman and Second-Team All-Southwest Ohio as an offensive lineman... Named Second Team Ohio All-Star by cincinnati.com...Was offered preferred walk-on spots at FBS Cincinnati and Ohio...Also played basketball through his junior year. Named to the Principals list by maintaining a 3.6 GPA...Awarded Rotary Club Student of the Month during sophomore year...Son of Todd and Kathy Evans...Father is CEO of Orthopedic Institute of Dayton, mother is a personal trainer...Has two brothers, Tyler and Kaden...born Nov. 15, 2000 in Fairfield, Ohio.

Coach Hill: "As you can see, we dipped into Ohio and got three Ohio kids. There's a lot of good football over there. Coach (Blake) Rolan was friends, from his time in Cincinnati, with (Chase's) high school coach. Just another big offensive lineman at 6-3, 275. He had 20 sacks on the defensive side of the ball and is an athletic guy that we were really looking for to build around and redshirt and get bigger."

OL Jake Green (6-4, 280, Fr.)
Alpharetta, Ga./Chattahoochee High School
First Team All-Region in 2017 and 2018...Helped team to 7-4 record as a junior...According to the RecruitGeorgia.com, "Green has a wide frame, big shoulders, which should allow him to add weight at the next level. He carries his weight pretty well right now, shows good hip bend getting out his stance. Green plays with strong hands, he does a nice job getting leverage. Film is full of pancakes. I think the 2019 recruit has the frame to play at the FBS level. He has a solid skill set as a run and pass blocker. Green has very long arms, it's really impressive how much leverage he gets when blocking. I'm not sure what colleges are looking for in terms of quality OG's who can get out and move in space, but Green can absolutely be that guy. If anything, he could be a real steal as a center. Green is going to be end up being a steal for some team in the class of 2019."

Coach Hill: "Jake Green is a kid who committed to us before the first signing day, stayed with us all the way through, even though he was getting recruited by other schools. We ended up signing him today and we're excited about him. He can play tackle and is a tough, great-looking kid."

DT James Gunn (6-2, 320, Fr.)
Marion, Ill./Marion High School
First-Team All-Conference, Southern Illinois Coaches Association All-South team and selected for Southern Illinois All-Star game his senior year...Finished career ranked ninth in school history in TFL (19.0)...Had 42 tackles, including 10.0 TFLs his senior year, and helped lead team to 7-4 record and ISHA playoff win...Honorable mention All-Conference as a junior...All-Conference thrower for the track & field team. Son of James Gunn and Deanna Rose.... Is the first person in his family to participate in a collegiate sport...From the same high school as Saluki Hall of Famer and U.S. Olympic track star Cameron Wright, and former MLB All-Star catcher Ray Fosse.

Coach Hill: "James is a kid who is going to come here and play on the interior defensive line and we're excited about James."

OL Devin Hunt (6-2, 290, Fr.)
East St. Louis, Mo./East St. Louis High School
Helped team to 9-3 record and quarterfinals appearance in the IHSA Class 7A football playoffs as a senior in 2018 and a 14-0 mark and state championship in 2017...First-Team All-Southwestern Conference in 2018 and Third-Team All-Southwestern Conference in 2017...Also named All-Area in 2018...In July of 2018, Hunt told IndeOnline.com, "Football's been with me my whole life. I started off when I was five, and it's been a childhood thing. This game is everything I live, breathe, eat, sleep. It's all I want to do and it's all I plan to do for the next 20 years." Son of Bobby Hunt and Tawanda Hopson...Born April 3, 2001 in East St. Louis.

Coach Hill: "We've signed a kid from East St. Louis every year in every signing class that I've been a part of. I told Coach (Darren) Sunkett that we were going to recruit his kids, that it meant something to me. Every kid who has come here from East St. Louis has graduated. Devin's a kid who has been to (our) camp, we've been all over, he had offers throughout our league."

WR Tate Johnson (6-1, 173, Fr.)
Herrin, Ill./Herrin High School
Two-way starter who was All-Conference and Southern Illinois Coaches Association All-South as a junior and senior...Recorded 16 catches for 441 yards (28.1 ave.) with five receiving TDs as a senior, while adding 74 carries for 444 yards (6.0 ave.) and six rushing touchdowns...Had 11 career interceptions, including eight during his junior year, which ranked second in the state...Totaled more than 2,000 all-purpose yards and 19 touchdown as a junior and senior...Helped lead team to three-straight conference championships...Also played basketball. Son of Chris and Debi Johnson...Born June 26, 2000, in St. Louis, Mo...Member of the Future Business Leaders of America.

Coach Hill: "We're excited about Tate. He's been over here a ton since he was younger, comes to all of our games. I think it's an unbelievable opportunity, I tell all the kids from southern Illinois that we want them to have a place to play. We want this to be home for them."

CB PJ Jules (6-1, 181, Fr.)
Orlando, Fla./Jones High School
A three-star recruit by 247sports.com who received offers from FBS Florida Atlantic and Syracuse...The No. 28-ranked player in Central Florida Super 60 by the Orlando Sentinel...Helped lead team to 10-2 record and trip to the Class 5A Region semifinal as a senior in 2018...Attended same high school as current Salukis Je'Quan Burton, Tyree Jackson, and Calvin Francis.

Coach Hill: "He'll be the fifth kid we've had from Jones. I tell their families that they come here and Jones kids get their degrees. PJ at one point had several FBS offers from Syracuse and FAU, didn't sign with us early because he had a lot of action going on, but stayed with us. He's a kid from Haiti, we've had multiple kids from Haiti who helped us in recruiting him. PJ is a special kid, he's reminds me a lot of Withney (Simon). They come from the same high school and same background. Both are Haitian kids, and those kids come here and they work, and they're appreciative, and we're pumped up to have PJ."

QB Karé Lyles (6-1, 215, Jr.)
Madison, Wis./Scottsdale (AZ) High School/Scottsdale CC
At Scottsdale Community College (2018)
Honorable Mention NJCAA All-American...Helped lead team to a 7-4 record...Completed 146-of-230 passes (63.5%) for 2,291 yards, 23 touchdowns and 10 interceptions...Recorded six TD passes versus Snow College and five apiece against Phoenix College and Mesa Community College...First-Team All-Region and All-Western States Football League.
At Wisconsin (2016-17)
Redshirted his first season...Did not see action in 2017.
Scottsdale (AZ) High School
A 3-star prospect by ESPN, Rivals and Scout and the No. 43 pro-style QB in the nation, according to 247Sports...Led team Saguaro to back-to-back state championships as a junior (Division III) and senior (Division II)... Passed for 3,561 yards and 47 TDs while completing 70.1 percent of his passes as a senior...All-State by Arizona Football Coaches Association as a junior...Named AIA first-team All-Section (all divisions) as a junior and senior...Team MVP and team captain as a senior...Completed 70.5 percent of his passes during two-year varsity career, throwing for 6,981 yards, 87 touchdowns and 11 interceptions...Posted a completion percentage of 71.1 while racking up 3,420 yards and 40 touchdowns as a junior.
Personal
Parents are Ann and Kevin Lyles...Brother, Kayden, is offensive lineman for Wisconsin...Father played quarterback and tight end at Wisconsin (1993-96)... Born May 1, 1998 in Madison, Wis.

Coach Hill: "Karé was a big recruit, went to Wisconsin, and then ended up in Scottsdale. His brother starts for the University of Wisconsin right now. His dad played tight end for Wisconsin. Karé has already come here and been like we thought he would be. He's a great kid, with a great attitude, hard-working. His was in my office today showing me some individual drills that he wants to implement. He's talking ball all the time. Karé went on visits to Northern Iowa, Western Illinois, some bigger schools were recruiting him."

S Jakari Patterson (6-2, 195, Fr.)
Cincinnati, Ohio/Colerain High School
First Team All-Conference and Second-Team All-District as a senior when he recorded four interceptions and 54 tackles, including 32 solo stops...Had a 100-yard interception return against Milford in 2018...Led team to the OHSAA state finals as a senior and Colerain ranked No. 15 team in the country by maxpreps.com...Team was 36-6 during his career and his career stats were 167 tackles, 16 PBU, seven interceptions and four TDs...Held FBS offer from Akron. Born July 23, 2001 in Daytona, Fla.

Coach Hill: "Colerain is a powerhouse in Cincinnati. Jakari is a big, long, athletic kid. When you see his film, he's what you want him to look like when you recruit him. He has tons of potential and can't be more excited about Jakari. He and his mom came here and it's been fun getting to know them."

OT Nathaniel Pierre (6-5, 285, So.)
Brooklyn, N.Y./Christ The King High School/ASA College
ASA College (2018)
Team finished with a 5-3 record...ASA College ranked 7th in NJCAA in points per game (37.8), 3rd in yards per game (470.8) and 4th in rushing yards per game (255.3).
Marist College (2017)
Redshirted.
High School
Two-year varsity starter...Nominated for the Offense-Defense All-American Game...Team won conference championship his junior year and advanced to playoffs his senior season...At a school well-known for its basketball program, Pierre was one of seven players at Christ the King to sign college football NLIs.

Coach Hill: "Nathan Pierre is a kid from Brooklyn, New York. It's taken some work to get (him) here. When he called me yesterday, I was at Kroger in the line checking out. He called me and I backed out, I think I was by the diapers. I'm pumped up because I've spent a lot of days on the road trying to get Nate, flying to Brooklyn. It's not easy getting to New York City, Uber-ing, going to his mom's house in Queens. We walked to some barbecue place in a white-out blizzard. He took five official visits, two of them after he came here. He definitely made us earn it. He's a big, physical offensive lineman who played an entire season at the college level at tackle. We felt like that was an area we needed to bring some depth in."

DT Jalen Snell (6-3, 262, Fr.)
Mundelein, Ill./Carmel Catholic High School
Started all nine games on both sides of the ball in 2018... Second-Team Daily Herald Lake County All-Area and All-East Suburban Catholic Conference his senior year...Team captain as a senior...Also was team captain on 2018 basketball team that won regional title. Born Sept. 28, 2000 in Waukegan, Ill....Son of Wanda Snell, who works for Great Lakes Naval Base...Has a brother, Gerald, and sister, Joy...Played the cello as a child...Uncle, Gregory Williams, helped found R&B/funk band Switch.

Coach Hill: "Jalen is a super-athletic kid who can play both sides of the ball. The offensive (coaches) want him to play on the offensive line, defensive guys want him on the defensive line. That's a good problem to have. He's going to start on the defensive line. Big, athletic kid from our home state in Illinois, and excited to get Jalen."

CB Jonathan Thompson (6-0, 185, Jr.)
Atlanta, Ga./Mountain View High School/Highland CC
Highland Community College (2017-18)
NJCAA Second-Team Academic All-American as a sophomore...Played in seven games in 2018, registered 27 tackles, one interception, one forced fumble and two pass-breakups...Played in nine games in 2017 and had eight tackles, one interception and four pass-breakups.
High School
Led Gwinnett County in interceptions during his senior year... Had three interceptions with 68 returns yards and two pass breakups in the team's 56-0 win over Meadowcreek to win Gwinnett Daily Post Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Personal
Born April 15, 1998....Son of Jonathan Thompson and and Tamika Johnson...Mother is a nurse...The oldest of six siblings...Qualified for the Presidents List once and Dean's List three times in high school.

Coach Hill: "Jonathan Thompson is already here, and when I put out the tweet today, he's already made a huge impact on our team. The kid is coming here and out-working everybody, shuts his mouth. He's the kind of kid you want to recruit because he makes your day better when you just see him. You go out there at 6 a.m. (for conditioning) and it's 15 degrees and he's winning every race."

DE Nate Thurman (6-2, 239, Fr.)
St. Louis, Mo./Vianney High School
A four-year starter, he recorded 34.0 sacks and 65.0 tackles for loss during his career...Helped lead Vianney to Class 5 state championships in 2016 and 2018......A three-time All-Metro Catholic Conference selection and one-time All-State pick...Offered scholarships by FBS Kentucky, New Mexico and Bowling Green.

Coach Hill: "Coach Rodgers has done a great job recruiting that school. They've won state championships in the biggest class two out of the last three years. He was their leader. Lucas Giegling who came here was his teammate at Vianney. They know how to work."

OT Abdou Toure (6-6, 260, Fr.)
Marietta, Ga./Sprayberry High School
Named 6A All-Region honorable mention his senior year...Started every game as a junior and senior...According to the RecruitGeorgia.com website, "Toure is one of the big raw prospects in the state of Georgia that caught our eye during the evaluation period. Watching the big man move across the LOS, you can see he is just soaking wet with potential. He moves incredible well for a 6'5 player, and his excellent length allow him to get underneath the defender and onto their heels. Toure still has a tendency of blocking too high. He does always general enough strength from lower body. Weight lifting numbers suggest he has a way to go physically. His natural agility and athleticism he shows moving down field will catch the eye of a lot of colleges. His potential as a pass blocker is pretty high, as he shows light feet and his length allows him to stay engaged with his opponent. Really big on this 2019 recruit." Born April 1, 2001 in Dakar, Senegal...Son of Ibrahima and Marieme Toure...Father is a contractor, mother works at a hair salon...Has two older siblings, Mamadou and Fatima.

Coach Hill: "Abdou is another kid from Atlanta who has tons of potential. He'll come here and redshirt and we really don't know how big he'll get. He's about 6-6, 260, but he'll easily be about 300 pounds."

DT Elijah Watson (6-3, 280, Jr.)
Hackensack, N.J./IMG Academy/Miami (Ohio)/Iowa Central CC
Iowa Central Community College (2018)
Played in five games and recorded 14 tackles, 2.0 sacks and 3.0 TFL.
At Miami, Ohio (2017)
Played in six games as a true freshman, was used primarily in 3rd down package, and recorded four tackles.
High School
Began his career at Mountain View (GA) High School where he was First-Team All-Conference offensive tackle as a sophomore...Was a teammate of Salukis' signee Jonathan Thompson...Played his junior year at Riverside Military Academy and rcorded 57 tackles, 6.5 sacks, 17.0 TFL...Transferred to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. to play his senior season and had 45 tackles, 7.5 sacks, 9.0 TFL for the No. 2-ranked team in the nation...Originally committed to Arizona.
Personal
Son of Sherry Watson...Born on Aug. 18, 1999 in Hackensack, N.J....Is the second oldest of nine siblings.

Coach Hill: "Elijah played as a true freshman at Miami of Ohio, and we feel like he can come and give us immediate help at the defensive line. Went to Iowa Central and had a good season there as well."

S Easton Wolf (6-2, 180, Fr.)
Waverly, Ohio/Waverly High School
Three-year varsity starter on offense and defense and team went to playoffs all three years...First-Team All-State and Southeast Ohio District Player of the Year as a senior...Two-way starter with school-record 1,196 receiving yards and 12 TDs, plus 84 tackles and three interceptions in 2018... Had 61 catches, 832 yards and 12 touchdowns as a junior to earn All-District and All-League honors...Also All-District in basketball. Born Dec. 9, 2000 in Dayton, Ohio...Son of Darren and Michele Wolf...Father is a transportation manage and mother is a teacher...One of six brothers (four older, one younger), who all played football...National Honor Society member with a 3.98 GPA...Big Brother Big Sister Mentor.

Coach Hill: "Easton reminds me of Mike McElroy. I went and watched him play basketball and I just liked the way that he competed. He's a leader. The kid does everything. He didn't score a lot of points, but I just like the way he competed. He's a great teammate. He's got 26 on the ACT, he's smart and really what we're looking for."

December Signing Period Bios