Game offered look at future as young Salukis took the field, showed promise

In game that risked injuries to major players and prepared the SIU football little for future opponents, there was some good in playing Union College (Ky.).

In the No.4-ranked Salukis’ 82-7 decimation, which was second most points ever in a single game in school history, the real entertainment was seeing what the future had in store.

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Near the end of the second quarter, in which the Salukis dumped 41 points on the scoreboard, SIU head coach Jerry Kill pulled a majority of the Saluki starters. In doing so, he allowed future linchpins of the program, namely Nick Hill and Renell Thomas, a chance to shine.

“A lot of times, we’re not going to get in the game during the season,” said Hill, a sophomore quarterback who threw for 130 yards, two touchdowns and complete all six of his passes. “Every series I went out there I told the line to just have fun.”

On his first pass of the game, and first ever for the Du Quion native in a Saluki uniform at home, he connected with senior Brent Little for a picture-perfect 31-yard touchdown pass.

Hill, who doubles in the offseason as a guard for the Saluki basketball team, also rushed for 52 yards, and to finish off runs, the 6-foot-4 quarterback intiated contact.

“It’s been like three years since I’ve taken a real hit,” Hill said. “I think [Kill] wanted to see me get banged around a bit.”

Spelling star running back Arkee Whitlock, who recorded a remarkable 12.7-yards per carry average for 76 yards and two touchdowns, was Thomas, a little discussed freshman in the preseason.

Thomas, a true freshman, led the Salukis with 96 yards on nine carries and three touchdowns, all the while dealing with the devastation of Hurricane Katrina on his hometown Kenner, La.

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“Renell Thomas … was a little uncomfortable last week,” Kill said. “He seemed to hit a comfort zone this week, and I think people saw something real exciting here as the future goes.”

In addition to exploits of the offensive stars Hill and Thomas, back-up defensive linemen Keon Cummings and Jon Hamm showed flashes of their potential. The two lengthy players, who both stand taller than 6-foot-5 and weigh more than 260 pounds, recorded a sack. Hamm led the team with eight tackles and Cummings, a redshirt freshman, had three.

Kill said getting a peak at the second-and third-string players was the most important aspect of the game, since few of those players will get as much game time against tougher opponent. But, given the possibility of injuries to starters later on, they may be called upon, and the experience against Union was invaluable.

“We got to play a lot of young players,” Kill said. “We basically played our seconds and threes in the secondary the whole game. We got some good play out of (them).”

Reporter Gabe House can be reached at [email protected]