Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
Samford
No. 25 Salukis back on the road at Samford
09/01/2026 | 6:21:00 | Football, General
Kickoff at Pete Hanna Stadium in Birmingham, Ala., is scheduled for 6 p.m. The game is scheduled to air on ESPN+ and The Varsity Network. Fans can follow the Salukis at WCIL-FM 101.5 locally or through the SIU Salukis mobile app.Â
Salukis fall 34-31 at West Florida
   SIU nearly overcame four turnovers and a slow start at FCS newcomer West Florida in both teams' season openers.Â
   Backup quarterback Jake Curry rallied the Salukis to within three points twice in the final eight minutes of the game in Pensacola, Fla., but couldn't get them over the hump. Curry came into the game in the second quarter after starter DJ Williams was injured.
   Curry finished 14 of 30 for 168 yards and two touchdowns, both to wide receiver Kyle Thomas. He was sacked three times and intercepted three times, the last one on the last play of the game. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound righty also rushed for a 19-yard touchdown with 7:39 to play to help the Salukis pull within three, 27-24.
   Thomas caught four balls for 61 yards and the two scores. His 8-yard catch in the end zone helped pull SIU within three with 1:10 to play. The Saluki defense forced a three-and-out, but the offense was unable to get kicker Seth Adams close enough to try the tying field goal. Chandler Chapman led the SIU ground game with 75 yards on 10 carries. Curry also had 10 carries for 31 yards, and Eddie Robinson added 30 yards on nine carries.
   Linebacker Andrew Behm led the defense with nine tackles. The Salukis forced three fumbles, recovering all of them. The defense forced only 12 turnovers all last season.
   Adams, a transfer from Div. III Wisconsin-Whitewater, hit three field goals in his SIU debut. Adams connected from 31, 50 and 47 yards, respectively. He also made his only two extra-point tries.  Â
Road Warriors in 2026
   For the second straight year, SIU will play seven road games, beginning in Pensacola, Fla., against the Argonauts.Â
   The Salukis went 4-3 away from home last season. It was the fourth time in the last five years they went at least .500 away from Carbondale. SIU went 1-5 on the road in 2024, 4-3 in 2023, 3-3 in 2022 and 5-3 in 2021.Â
   The Salukis play four of their first five games on the road. SIU opens at West Florida, then travels to Samford in Alabama before hosting Southeast Missouri State Sept. 12. The Salukis then play Illinois in Champaign Sept. 19 before opening MVFC play at Murray State Sept. 26.
Looking at the Bulldogs
   Samford is coming off a 22-10 loss at North Alabma Saturday night. The Bulldogs fell down 9-0 after a touchdown in the second quarter and a safety. They pulled within two after wide receiver Marquise Henderson caught an 86-yard touchdown pass from Gabari Johnson with 4:19 to go in the half. Kicker Ty Ippolito added a 26-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter.
   Johnson, a transfer from Oregon State, completed 19 of 33 passes for 245 yards. The 6-foot, 185-pound junior was sacked six times, which was why the Bulldogs finished with minus-6 rushing yards.
   Safety Jalen Nelson led the defense with 14 tackles, including a half-sack and a tackle for loss. The Bulldog defense had 10 tackles for loss in the game.Â
   Samford finished 1-11 last season and was picked eighth out of 10 teams in the Southern Conference. The Bulldogs are led by John Grass, who spent the previous four seasons at Clemson. Grass was previously the head coach at Jacksonville (Ala.) State, where he went 72-26 in eight years. JSU reached the national title game in 2016, falling to North Dakota State 37-10.Â
Williams Back For Another Run
   Williams returns after one of the best offensive seasons in history in 2025. The Harvey, Ill., native rushed for 847 yards, an SIU record for quarterbacks in a season, and 18 touchdowns, which tied for the fourth-most of any Saluki in history for one year. His 2,846 passing yards ranked 11th in the country in the FCS, and his 22 passing touchdowns ranked 18th.Â
   Williams finished third in voting for the MVFC Offensive Player of the Year Award and eighth in the Walter Payton Award, which is given to the FCS' best player. This season, he was a second team preseason All-American by Phil Steele and a third team preseason All-American by Stats Perform.
   Williams surpassed 300 passing yards three times, including a 361-yard performance at Youngstown State on Nov. 8. He also threw at least three touchdown passes in four games. He rushed for more than 100 yards three times during the season. He recorded 128 yards and three touchdowns Sept. 13 at UT Martin, 151 yards and two touchdowns Sept. 20 at SEMO, and 134 yards and four touchdowns at Illinois State Nov. 22. His four rushing touchdowns against the Redbirds tied for the third-most in a single game in program history.
Triple Threat in the Backfield
   One reason SIU averaged 36.4 points per game, the most since 2007 (37.9 ppg.), was its vaunted rushing attack.Â
   The Salukis had five different running backs rush for at least one touchdown last season, and return two starters from the backfield to go with Williams. Edward Robinson (5-foot-11, 195 pounds, Jr.) started three of the last four games and finished the season with his biggest effort of the year. Robinson rushed for 145 yards on 19 carries in SIU's win at No. 11 Illinois State to end the season.Â
   Backfield mate Chandler Chapman (5-11, 210, Jr.) started five games last season and finished the year with 465 yards and six touchdowns off 78 carries. While Williams led the Salukis with 18 rushing touchdowns last season, look for Robinson and Chapman to be big contributors out of the backfield.Â
Oh Captain, My Captain
   Four seniors and one junior were elected team captains this season by the players. Senior linebacker Andrew Behm, senior guard Derek Harden Jr., senior linebacker Chris Presto and Williams joined junior defensive lineman Amir Dwight as captains.
   Williams, a preseason third team All-American by Stats Perform, is coming off one of the best offensive seasons by a Saluki quarterback in history. Behm (61 tackles last season) and Presto (59 stops) are two of the team's leading returning tacklers and two of five returning starters on defense. Harden Jr. started the first 11 games last season and was a preseason first team All-American by Phil Steele this year.Â
   Dwight, a 6-1, 272-pound junior from Cordele, Ga., finished third on the team last season with 3.0 sacks. His four quarterback hurries led the Saluki defense.Â
Salukis Land 13 Players on MVFC Preseason Watch List
   SIU was picked sixth in the MVFC preseason poll and had 13 players on the league's preseason watch list.Â
   Williams, Harden Jr., offensive lineman Blaine Halley, wide receiver Allen Middleton and running backs Edward Robinson and Chandler Chapman made the list. Behm, Presto, Dwight, defensive end Jake Parrella and defensive back Vinny Pierre Jr. were SIU's defensive selections.Â
   Long snapper Ryan Algrim, a preseason first team All-American by Phil Steele, also made the list. Algrim was a five-star long snapper and the 16th-ranked player at that position in the country by Rubio Long Snapping coming out of Kaneland High School (Maple Park, Ill.). Algrim snapped all 12 games last season for the Salukis and is attempting to become the program's first All-American long snapper.Â
   Five other specialists have been honored:Â
* K Craig Coffin (First Team 2006, Second Team 2004)
* P Mark Gagliano (First Team 1996)
* P Tom Striegel (Third Team 1981)
* P Scott Ravanesi (Honorable Mention 2007)
* P Lane Reazin (FCS Sophomore All-America Honorable Mention 2017)
Postseason success under HillÂ
Of SIU's 11 playoff appearances in school history, Hill was the quarterback of two teams (2006, 2007) and head coach of three (2020, 2021, 2023). The Salukis have won 11 playoff games in school history and Hill was a part of six of them (quarterbacked three wins and coached three more).
   Since 2019, only three FCS programs have won three or more playoff games (South Dakota State, North Dakota State and Southern Illinois).
FOLLOW THE SALUKIS
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Salukis by following the team on Twitter at @SIU_Football, on Facebook at Facebook.com/SalukiFootball, and on Instagram at @siu_football. Fans can also download the Salukis Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store.
