News | Football picked sixth in preseason poll, 12 players on preseason Watch List

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Southern Illinois was picked to finish sixth in a Missouri Valley Football Conference preseason poll of head coaches, SIDs and media, the league announced on Monday morning. Twelve SIU players were named to the conference’s preseason Watch List.

Defending national champion North Dakota State was a near-unanimous pick to win the league with 39 first-place votes, followed by South Dakota State and South Dakota (3 first-place votes). 

The Salukis return six starters on offense and five on defense from last year’s team. More importantly, Southern will have a healthy DJ Williams at quarterback. The senior QB emerged as a dominant player early in 2024 before breaking a bone in his throwing hand in Week 3 and missing the remainder of the season. Southern lost three quarterbacks to season-ending injuries a year ago.

SIU also brings back a key piece of its defense with preseason All-American Colin Bohanek returning from injury. The senior linebacker was injured in Week 2 a year ago.

Season tickets are on-sale, starting at $60. A limited number of premium chairbacks are also available. From now until the end of July, fans can purchase a PawPass for $19.99/month for nine months, which guarantees a ticket to every home football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball game in 2025-26.

 

Team (1st-Place Votes)	TOTAL
1. North Dakota State (39)	417
2. South Dakota State	355
3. South Dakota (3)	349
4. Illinois State	292
5. Youngstown State	211
6. Southern Illinois	208
7. North Dakota	196
8. UNI	130
9. Indiana State	105
10. Murray State	47

Salukis on the Preseason Watch List
QB DJ Williams
TE Aidan Quinn
TE Ryan Schwendeman
OT Cameron Dye
C Noah Fenske
WR Vinson Davis III
DE Donnie Wingate
LB Colin Bohanek
LB Chris Presto
CB Jeremiah McClendon
LS Ryan Algrim
P/K Paul Geelen