Daily Egyptian

T H E

D A I L Y

E G Y P T I A N

GAME DAY 2014 SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY

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Saturday, September 27, 2014

Question and answer with Ray Agnew

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Tony McDaniel Daily Egyptian

Not many people get to live out their dreams, but a former Saluki fullback is doing it.

Ray Agnew left the Saluki football team in 2013, his next stop was one many wouldn’t have guessed. Agnew signed with the Cleveland Browns and made the final roster as the team’s only fullback. The Daily Egyptian got the chance to ask Agnew a few questions.

DE: How did your time at SIU help you get to the NFL? Agnew: It helped me, based off the

coaching I was given. My position coach, who is no longer there anymore, Jim Jackson, prepared me for this level.

The way the coaches and the players carried themselves, I think that helped me adjust to this level.

DE: How special was it to play at SIU with your brother, Malcom Agnew?

Agnew: That was great. You can’t write a better script than that in Hollywood. We’ve been on the same team before, but not been able to play with each other, until last year.

That’s something that you can’t take

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for granted. It’s something you don’t get to do everyday. It was special.

DE: After your senior season did you think an NFL team would give you a call?

Agnew: Yeah, I did. I was confident in myself.

DE: When you got the phone call from the Browns, what went through your head?

Agnew: A lot of things. Happiness, joy and excitement, I was ready to take on the challenge of making the team and making my dreams come true. I was overwhelmed with joy.

DE: What was the first day of NFL camp like?

Agnew: The first day of camp was probably my worst day of camp. I didn’t know what I was doing half the time. I was just trying to run around and play fast and do the best I could, but I was messing up left and right. It got a lot better as camp went on.

DE: What was the hardest part about making the jump from the Football Championship Subdivision to the NFL? Agnew: Learning how to react to different situations. In college, defenses don’t move as much, you don’t have to read as much. Up here there’s a lot of moving parts, every play, on every defense.

DE: Was there a moment when you realized you’d made it to the NFL? Agnew: Around the second or third day of camp I just took a step back and I looked around and I realized I’m in an NFL training camp. I got that feeling again in the first preseason game and again in the first game against the [Pittsburgh] Steelers.

DE: What was that first game against Pittsburgh like?

Agnew: It was a lot of fun. I thought it was a good way to test myself, playing the Steelers first game with the physical defense they have. It was a dream come true, I felt like I was dreaming the whole game. I kind of had to pinch myself a little bit a couple of times.

DE: You’re teammates with Johnny Manziel, what is he actually like?

Agnew: He’s just about his business.

He’s actually kind of a quiet guy, he kind

of keeps to himself. He studies hard, he stays after and watches extra film and he gets here early. He puts in a lot of work, that’s what a lot of people don’t see.

DE: How closely are you able to follow SIU football?

Agnew: I haven’t been able to watch but I’ve been able to listen to a couple of them. A lot of times when SIU is playing we’re in the hotel or in between meetings so I’ll put my headphones on and listen to it on my phone, on the radio, whenever I can.

DE: What do you think of Malcom’s season?

Agnew: I’m very proud of him, he’s put in a lot of hard work to overcome injuries in his career. It’s special to see him having the season that he’s having because I know that’s what he’s always been capable of and he knows it too. If any body is shocked or surprised they shouldn’t be.

DE: Your father played in the NFL, you’re in the NFL and your brother is a really good running back in the FCS. What is it with the Agnew bloodline?

Agnew: You’ve got to go back to my grandfather, Ray Agnew Sr. He didn’t play college or NFL ball, but it had to start with him. He put something in my dad’s food or something and he passed it down to us.

DE: Your Twitter handle is @underrated_FB, do you still feel that way about yourself?

Agnew: Yeah I do. I don’t see myself changing that anytime soon.

I’ve been underrated my whole life so I plan on keeping it.

SaturDay, September 27, 2014

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N athaN h oefert D aily e gyptiaN Left to right, freshman safety Charlie Harris, freshman safety Ryan Neal, junior cornerback Jory Cunningham and senior cornerback Boo Rodgers talk over plays Aug. 18 during a team building drill in the Saluki football locker room.

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Saturday, September 27, 2014

SIU opens MVFC season against Western Illinois Tony McDaniel Daily Egyptian

The Salukis will square up against one of their oldest rivals in this season’s opener.

SIU (3-1) hosts Western Illinois University (2-2) in Saturday’s game.

It also marks the start of the Missouri Valley Football Conference season for each team.

SIU is two-thirds of the way through its season, and can boast a respectable undefeated record against Football Championship Subdivision teams. For the Salukis to remain undefeated against the FCS, it will take a near superhuman effort in the remaining games.

The Dawgs face MVFC opponents in each game for the rest of the season. It is safe to say the Valley is the toughest conference in the FCS. An MVFC record seven teams are currently in the FCS top-25.

Western Illinois is unranked, but that does not make them a pushover for the Salukis. It is likely the Fighting Leathernecks will live up to their name and fight the Salukis for every inch.

If history is any indication of this year’s tilt, it will be a close game. Twenty games have been won by seven points or less.

Western Illinois’ record doesn’t indicate how good the team is.

Both of the Leathernecks’ losses came from Big Ten Conference schools, the University of Wisconsin and Northwestern University. They were outscored 61-10 in those games.

It has been a different story in both of Western’s wins.

The Leathernecks crushed both of their FCS opponents, Drake University and Valparaiso University, by a combined score of 83-19. Based on WIU’s games this season, it is hard to tell just how good the team is.

What we do know is WIU has the ability to move the football.

The Salukis will have to deal with a sophomore quarterback and talented receivers for the second straight week.

Western sophomore Trenton Norvell’s 925 passing yards ranks him No. 14 in the nation. He has however, thrown an unimpressive 6 touchdowns and 4 interceptions this season.

Norvell’s passing yards could be slightly inflated, considering the Leathernecks played from behind in both of their games against FBS opponents.

Norvell has two receivers he likes to look for down field as well.

Sophomore wide receiver Lance Lenoir leads the Leathernecks with 23 catches and 250 receiving yards this year. Norvell will also look in the direction of senior wide receiver HI-C Scott. Scott has 204 yards receiving and 2 touchdowns this year.

Scott also has one of the best first names in college football, period. He may have already won my award for best name.

Senior running back J.C. Baker is off to a great start for the Leathernecks. He has rushed for 427 yards this season, an average of 102.5 yards per game. Baker is ranked No. 17 in the FCS in rushing yards. Despite the high yardage total, he only has one score on the ground so far this season.

The Leathernecks will present the biggest challenge yet to the Saluki defense.

On defense, Western doesn’t rank anywhere close to the top of the FCS rankings in any stat category. Again this could be because of the two Big Ten teams it played.

Western is led on defense by its linebackers. Senior Luke Venegoni and junior J.J. Raffelson lead the leathernecks

in tackles with 62 combined. The two could create problems for senior running back Malcom Agnew and the rest of the SIU rushing attack.

Two defensive linemen, junior Eddy Holtschlag and senior Gino Durley, could help create issues for Agnew too.

The two have combined for 29 tackles and 3.5 sacks.

SIU’s offensive line should have the ability to neutralize the WIU defensive line.

SIU ranks No. 25 in sacks allowed in the FCS, while Western is No. 88 in total sacks this season.

If Western played in a conference other than the MVFC, it could be a conference champion contender. Unfortunately for Western they do play in the MVFC, and is on its way to a finish at the bottom of the conference.

As long as SIU can bounce back from its first loss and play like it did in the first three games the Salukis should begin the MVFC season 1-0.

Tony McDaniel can be reached at tmcdaniel@dailyegyptian.com, @tonymcdanielDE or at 536-3311 ext. 256

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Salukis renew rivalry with Western Thomas Donley Daily Egyptian

Two teams will meet on the gridiron for the 60th time in their storied history this Saturday.

SIU and Western Illinois University will open Missouri Valley Football Conference play at Saluki Stadium. The series has been filled with drama. Of the 59 games to date, 23 have either ended in ties or been decided by eight points or fewer.

The two schools first played in 1933 in Carbondale. The Salukis won the inaugural game 45-0. The following year, they tied at Western.

The series has leaned heavily toward Western Illinois since then. The Leathernecks have a 34-21 record against SIU. The teams have tied four times, but not since 1955.

The series took a 21-year hiatus from 1961 until 1982. SIU left Division I-A to join Division I-AA before the 1982 season, which is now known as the Division I Football Championship Subdivision. The series has been renewed since SIU moved down to the Football Championship Subdivision.

The late 1980s brought some of the series’ most exciting games. The Leathernecks started an 18-game win streak against Salukis in 1984.

However, seven points or fewer decided each game between 1985 and 1991.

Fred Gibson, was the Salukis’ starting quarterback from 1987-1990. Every SIU-WIU game Gibson played in came down to the last possession.

“We always felt like we were not just fighting for the Gateway Conference title,” Gibson said. “We were also fighting for the state of Illinois.”

The 1990 game at McAndrew Stadium in Carbondale was one of the closest meetings between the two schools in the past 30 years.

With 4:42 remaining in the first quarter, Gibson connected with Ransom Funches for a 29-yard touchdown pass. The score put the Salukis up 13-3, but the Leathernecks blocked kicker Steve Wedemeier’s extra

point attempt and ran it back for two points of their own.

The play turned momentum toward WIU, outscored SIU 19-3 during the second and third quarters.

The Salukis had a chance to tie the game at 24 after a 2-yard touchdown run by Antonio Moore with 6:12 left in the game. However, Gibson’s pass fell incomplete on the two-point conversion.

“The 1990 game for me was probably the hardest,” Gibson said. “It was senior day for me, and we jumped out all over them. They just came back in the second half.”

That game was the seventh-straight Leathernecks win over SIU. The streak would continue until 2002, when the Joel Sambursky-led Salukis knocked off No. 8 Western Illinois in a thriller.

The Salukis emerged victorious on the final play in a game that saw 106 points, 1,038 yards of total offense and almost no defense,.

SIU overcame 123 penalty yards, including a 15-yard penalty caused by a fan blowing a whistle, to find itself in position to upset the Leathernecks.

The Salukis took over on their own 20-yard line down 52-48 with 1:11 left in the game.

SIU drove 74 yards on nine plays to set up a do-or-die final play.

Rolling to his right, Sambursky found fullback Brandon Robinson for a 6-yard touchdown pass as time expired. The win snapped Western Illinois’ 18game winning streak.

“I think that after we beat Western, and the manner in which we did,” Sambursky said. “I think we all finally looked to coach (Jerry) Kill and said, ‘This guy knows what he’s talking about.’ I think that’s why that game is so important. It really didn’t mean a whole heck of a lot, it was just one conference game . . . But when you look back to what it meant to Saluki football in general, it meant everything.”

The win started a nine-game win streak for the Salukis over the Leathernecks.

Western Illinois has only beaten SIU once since 2002, but many games have been hard-fought. The 2007 game is one example.

At Hanson Field in Macomb, No. 19 Western Illinois took a 9-3 lead into the 4th quarter against No. 6 SIU. With 12 minutes left, the Salukis took over at their own 20-yard line.

All-American quarterback Nick Hill marched SIU down the field and scored the game-tying touchdown with 3:42 remaining. Kicker Kyle Dougherty converted the goahead extra point shortly after.

With one second remaining in the game, Trevor Moe picked off a Matt Barr pass to seal the victory.

“It was one of those games where we moved the ball the entire game,” said Hill, now the quarterbacks coach at SIU. “We just didn’t make those plays to put points on the board once we got down there.”

SIU won a close one in Macomb last year, edging out the Leathernecks for a 34-28 victory.

“It was a battle,” head coach Dale Lennon said. “If you look at it statistically, they probably should have won the game.”

The Leathernecks outgained the Salukis 460 yards to 278 yards, but SIU took advantage of a blocked field goal that Bryan Presume ran 85 yards for a touchdown.

The current coaching staff for both schools adds to the intrigue of the rivalry. SIU offensive coordinator Bill O’Boyle and inside linebackers coach Todd Auer are alumni of Western Illinois. Leatherneck assistant head coach Steve Crutchley was the running backs coach at SIU from 2008-2012.

“Our game with Western always has a history of going down to the wire,” Lennon said. “That’s just the nature of the rivalry.”

Thomas can be reached at tdonley@dailyegyptian.com and on Twitter @tdonleyde

Saturday, September 27, 2014

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Saturday, September 27, 2014

Fighting for his team

N athaN h oefert d aily e gyptiaN Coach Dale Lennon calls a play Sept. 20 during the second half of the Salukis’ 13-35 loss against Purdue University at Ross-Ade Field in West Lafayette, Ind.

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Monday, SepteMber 27, 2014

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Saturday, September 27, 2014

Pruitt can do it all on the field

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Lafayette, Ind.

Aaron Graff Daily Egyptian

There is one thing that means more than anything to the Salukis’ starting tight end that has not been accomplished during his time here.

The Salukis have not reached the postseason during tight end MyCole Pruitt’s time at SIU. “[Making the postseason] means the world to me,” Pruitt said. “I’ve been here for five years and put in a lot of blood, sweat and tears here. I haven’t gotten too much out of it, but I think this year’s going to be the year we get that ultimate goal we want.”

Pruitt said this year’s team should make the playoffs as long as it does its job every game day.

Pruitt leads all Division I tight ends with 26 receptions, 3 touchdowns and 306 yards entering week five, which is more than any SIU receiver.

He became only the third Saluki to log more than 2,000 career-receiving yards last week against Purdue University.

Pruitt was an All-American last season and is on pace for his best collegiate season this year.

“It’s really humbling to know that in the whole nation that you’re the one on top,” he said. “It just makes [me] even more

hungry to keep going and not let anybody cripple from behind and take that from [me].”

Junior quarterback Mark Iannotti said Pruitt is not necessarily his favorite target to throw to, but he trusts him to make a play when needed.

“Whenever the ball is coming his way I know he’s going to go up and get it,” Iannotti said. “So he’s definitely someone I look for on the field.”

Pruitt said both Iannotti and former Saluki quarterback Kory Faulkner both throw good passes.

Pruitt said he does not mind who throws to him, as long as the ball reaches his hands.

“Mark sees a guy that’s going to be open and he throws it to them,” Pruitt said. “I like to think of myself as open all the time.

If he’s going to throw it to me, that’s perfect for me.”

Coach Dale Lennon said Pruitt has become a complete tight end during his time here, and fans are watching a finished product when he plays.

“Coming in, his best asset was definitely his hands,” Lennon said. “He’s been working hard to become the complete package and I think he’s at a level now where he is the complete package.”

Iannotti said Pruitt rarely makes mistakes because he spends a lot of time watching film and knows all of his assignments.

“The guys on the team look up to him with him being an All-American and being one of the leaders of the team,” Iannotti said.

Lennon said it is tough to go professional in football, but Pruitt should get a chance after SIU. “He’s one of our senior leaders,” Lennon said. “He’s one of our playmakers. Every team needs to have those playmakers that when the game’s on the line, and you need somebody to come through and make a play, that’s the guy you’re hoping is available.”

Aaron Graff can be contacted at Agraff@dailyegyptian.com, on Twitter @Aarongraff_DE or 536-3311 ext. 269

Saturday, September 27, 2014

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Saturday, September 27, 2014

The Missouri Valley: The SEC of the FCS Tyler Davis Daily Egyptian

College football has been slammed by some pundits for a lack of inclusiveness and equality, as the same conference seems to appear in the championship game yearly.

The Southeastern Conference of the Football Bowl Subdivision won seven consecutive national championships before last season when Florida State University, of the Atlantic Coastal Conference, won it all. FSU is atop the AP Top25 Poll but the SEC is still the top conference— it has eight of its 14 teams ranked.

The Pacific-12 Conference is second with six teams making the poll, but it has not had an outright national champion this millennium.

The University of Southern California’s 2005 Orange Bowl win was vacated.

But the FBS is not the only league with a parity problem. Missouri Valley Football Conference champion, North Dakota State, has won the Football Championship Subdivision’s last three national titles.

This season appears to be on the same track

as a league record seven of the Top 25 teams in FCS Coaches’ Poll are from the MVFC— meaning more than a quarter of the ranked teams are from the conference.

The Colonial Athletic Association has the second-most ranked teams in the FCS, with four, but has the largest conference with 12 teams. The MVFC has 10 teams.

But which conference has a better strangle hold on its respective subdivision?

The SEC has more of a historical reign over the FBS as the MVFC began its supremacy this decade. However, with the dethroning of the University of Alabama Crimson Tide by an ACC team, it seems the MVFC has become the undisputed, best conference in college football compared to its competition It would be shocking if an MVFC team such as North Dakota State, South Dakota State or SIU, does not win the FCS championship. The conference’s ranked teams are an impressive 14-0 against FCS opponents and have played a series of close games against the superior FBS. Side note: I’d love to see the odds of

a non-MVFC championship winner.

Las Vegas should really look into the probability of that.

Moreover, an astounding 70 percent of the conference is ranked—the highest percentage of any conference in Division I basketball, baseball or football.

And with Indiana State and South Dakota State University both receiving votes, that number could grow. Even arguably the worst team in the conference, Western Illinois, is undefeated against the FCS. It seems any FCS conference-winner would be hard pressed to take down defending champion NDSU, or all the potent teams behind the Bison. The Bison haven’t lost a game since 2012 when the Sycamores beat them. Since then, the only FCS teams to challenge NDSU in the regular season have been SIU, the University of Northern Iowa and South Dakota State University. Each team lost by six points or less.

While the SEC is the cream of the FBS crop for now, the ACC, Big 12 and Pac-

12 are all charging hard. The Big 12 had another team creep into the rankings this week, and although the Big 10 is considered to be having a “down year,” it still has four teams in the rankings with Penn State looking better in the post-Paterno era.

The realization of the MVFC’s dominance is bittersweet. It is gratifying to know SIU competes with the best college football the FCS has to offer but it is scary to think of the gauntlet the Salukis have run when conference play starts Saturday against Western Illinois.

If the Leathernecks defeat the Dawgs, which is more probable than fans may believe, the MVFC could probably have an unprecedented eight ranked teams.

Enjoy your reign as the top conference in all of college football while you can, SEC. You may dominate the FBS but the Valley’s domination is unmatched.

Tyler Davis can be reached at tdavis@dailyegyptian.com, or on Twitter @TDavis_DE.

Saturday, September 27, 2014

Starting the season with a bang

The SIU football team celebrates the Salukis’ 45-0 win against Taylor University Aug. 28 at Saluki Stadium.

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Saturday, September 27, 2014