CARBONDALE -- Southern Illinois head coach Nick Hill met with the media on Monday morning following the team's bye week. The Salukis (2-2) open conference play at No. 3-ranked South Dakota State (3-1) on Saturday at 2 p.m. in a game that will be televised on ESPN+ and locally on My49. The Salukis are playing their fourth road game of the season, while the Jackrabbits have won three straight at home by a combined margin of 119-20.
On South Dakota State:
I think the bye week came at a good time, but we're all ready to get back to playing football. Everybody knows about (South Dakota State's) success and the type of team that they have. I respect Coach (John) Stiegelmeier and what he's been able to do up there and the consistency the program has. We're going on the road for our fourth road game out of five games so we're accustomed to doing that and the routine that goes with that. It's a good environment to play in against a top-5 opponent, a great opponent. We'll be excited and ready to play. We have to play great on special teams. We have to create some turnovers, we have to sack the quarterback, put pressure on the quarterback. We have to play fundamentally sound to go on the road against the No. 3 team in the country.
Injury update:
D.J. (Davis) will be out this week, obviously, but it does look promising that we'll get him back here in the next few weeks. His range of motion -- it was a dislocation in his elbow -- but when they set it back in he didn't have any fractures or ligament damage, which is a good thing. Now, it's just a matter of letting that thing scar down, then we'll be able to play him with a brace, possibly three weeks. Jeremy (Chinn) will transition into practice this week. He got good news on his MRI. His will be a day-to-day thing. Madre Harper was in practice last night full go and will be that way throughout the week. He missed the game at Arkansas State. Stone (Labanowitz) is at the four-week mark and will get reevaluated this week, and we'll know more at that point. He's feeling better, but we won't know until they get back in there and reevaluate him.
On the concept of self-scouting during the bye week:
Every team has tendencies and by the time you get 5-6 weeks into the season, you are who you are -- getting lined up, blocking people, getting off blocks, throwing and catching, the fundamental things. There are some things that you want to set your team up, if you're giving something away, or backfield sets, or depths, tendencies on third downs or first and second downs. You try to think into the other team's mind and self-evaluate. You always have a self-scout every single week, but with the bye week you can spend more time to dive into some specific things.
On where the team stands heading into MVFC play:
We're 2-2 and we deserve that record. There are times we've played really well and proven that we can go and be a good football team. We've played four quality opponents. At times when you don't do the small things right, anybody can beat you. We feel confident that if we do our job and play the way we're capable, we can win a lot of football games. I think they believe that. In the third, fourth quarter at Arkansas State, everybody on the sideline had that belief we could win the football game. Each and every week in this league, you have to be prepared and if you don't do the small things, you'll get beat.
On how to compensate for the loss of D.J. Davis:
It has to be a next-man-up mentality. We feel like Javon (Williams Jr.) and the things he can do, and Romeir (Elliott) is back after missing one week. He's a guy who's going to continue to get better as a true freshman. Tremayne Lee has to be ready to go and has had a great attitude, and he had a really good preseason camp, but just hasn't seen many opportunities.
On parity in college football:
You can't get into feeling you've arrived or you get humbled pretty quick. There's a lot of parity, a lot of good football players, a lot of good offensive players. You have to be able to do the fundamental things -- you have to tackle, you have to be able to get off blocks, it comes down to the fundamental things. You can't beat yourself, you can't get lined up wrong. With the tempo offenses and shifts and motions, you break one tackle and now it's a 42-yard chunk play, but it was really a simple throw-and-catch and missed tackle. Those are the things you have to be good at. A lot of it has to do with recruiting, recruiting really good players. There may be a lot of things open down the field, but if you have a great pass rusher and the quarterback doesn't have time to find him and throw those touchdown passes, it comes down to those type of things. Each week you have to be prepared and do the best job you can.
On the importance of special teams at South Dakota State:
They've blocked punts this year. They blocked one in 2017 against us. They got a hand on one last year. They're usually pretty aggressive about coming after kicks. I like where we're going on special teams. I think our guys are extremely locked-in to being a good special teams unit. Coach P (Jared Petrino) does a great job with not only his plan, but teaching the fundamentals and getting guys excited about being on those units. I'm excited and optimistic that we will continue to show growth in those. Even Javon, back there at punt returner, if you can catch the ball and go get the first, first-down of a drive, it's incredible what the statistics are of going down and then scoring. If you let the thing bounce and it goes, the hidden yardage can be 30, 35 yards in one play. We have to continue to buy-in to that and I know our coaches are doing a great job of coaching that up.
On the progress of first-year starters on the right side of the offensive line:
I think every rep is a growing opportunity for Calvin (Francis) and Beau (Branyan). We've seen some good fronts, some different fronts, odd structures, we've seen Bear, we've seen 4i, we've seen an even front which we'll go against this week and even more so in our league. For a young player, I think it's very important to get all that stuff in, especially in the first four games. Beau's had some growing pains, gave up some things, but you like him being tested, earning their stripes a little bit. Those guys have done some very good things and they continue to grow. I've been happy with those two.
