SIU did not have to travel far to find players it would need to boost its 2014 offense.

On signing day, SIU gained 18 freshmen for the 101st season of Saluki football. Of the 18, four will have the convenience of playing football for their local university.

SIU signed hometown wide receiver Shamarc Bursey. Last season for Carbondale Community High School, Bursey had 67 catches for 940 yards and 15 touchdowns on his way to being named to the 5A All-State Team. Bursey also tied a state record last year with 20 catches in a game against Centralia High School.

Bursey played under Nick Hill for the Terriers in 2013. Hill was hired to be the quarterback coach for SIU, giving Bursey the unique chance to play college football for his high school coach.

Hill said Bursey brings great athletic ability to SIU.

“Shamarc was the best, most explosive player in southern Illinois last year,” he said. “He’s a kid that came to work every single day, I never had to ask him to play hard for us from the first day I got to know him.”

Bursey was recruited heavily out of high school. Among the schools Bursey received interest from were Football Bowl Subdivision powerhouses the University of Arkansas, the University of California and the University of Wisconsin. Bursey said the biggest reason he chose SIU was so he could stay close to home, but playing for coach Hill will help him settle in at the Football Championship Subdivision level.

“I’ll know the offense already,” Bursey said. “[Coach Hill] said he would keep some things similar to what we did in high school.”

Another local player may end up throwing passes in Bursey’s direction.

Brant Hill played quarterback for Marion High School last season, but played wide receiver for the Wildcats as well. The Salukis signed Brant as a quarterback and wide receiver.

“I played receiver my junior year,” Brant said. “I didn’t get thrown to a lot until four games into the season. I ended up with pretty good numbers for a few games. I really liked it.”

Last season, Brant passed for 1,463 yards with 12 touchdowns. Brant was a dual-threat quarterback in high school. He was able to get out of the pocket and run for 563 yards and five touchdowns.

Brant is also an Internet sensation. A video of him hitting a full court shot in basketball against Salem High School last season has more than 365,000 hits.

Brant said he is excited at the prospect of playing for SIU.

“That’s one of the main reasons I chose this university,” he said. “It’s close to home so I love having my dad right down the road.”

The Salukis also signed two players from Carterville High School; a running back and wide receiver.

Michael Aschemann played quarterback last season for the Lions and put up big numbers. As a dual-threat quarterback, Aschemann scored a total of 46 touchdowns, 31 through the air and another 15 on the ground. Aschemann totaled over 2,500 yards of offense last season for Carterville and made the All-State team his junior and senior year.

Even with all of Aschemann’s accomplishments at quarterback, he will play wide receiver for the Salukis this fall. Nick said Aschemann is mentally mature enough to handle the transition from passer to receiver.

“He’s an athlete. In Carterville’s offense they didn’t ask him to do a ton throwing the football,” Nick said. “I don’t think it will be much of an issue for him. He’s a good kid and a hard worker. He’ll come in and compete.”

Phillip Frangello played running back at Carterville last year and will also join the Salukis for the fall season. Frangello carried the ball for 1,712 yards and 25 touchdowns en route to being named an All-State honorable mention. Frangello wrestles and runs track making him a three-sport athlete for the Lions.

Frangello also excels in the classroom. Last season, he was named an Illinois State Scholar and was recruited to play football by Harvard University.

Frangello said he looks forward to spending his time as a Saluki with Aschemann.

“It will be nice to have someone I already have a personal and athletic relationship with on the team,” Frangello said. “We will both be able to make sure each other wake up after the weekends to go to practice. It’s going to be nice to play with someone I’ve already been with.”

Last season, Aschemann and Frangello led the lions to a 9-0 regular season and they both shared the player of the year award for the Southern Illinois River-to-River Conference.

Coach Hill said there is no guarantee of playing time to any of the incoming freshmen.

“It’s up to them [when they play] they’ve got to come in here and work,” Hill said. “It’s always nice as a freshman, even when I played, if you can get that redshirt year and get stronger, faster and learn the system. It just makes things easier.”

The new addiditions to the team will open their first season as Salukis Sep. 6 against the Panthers of Eastern Illinois University.

Tony McDaniel can be contacted at [email protected], onTwitter @tmcdanielDE