DE Sports Editor 20

SIUC football coach Jan Quarless is modifying his views on accepting Division I-A transfers, one week after announcing that the idea might be the solution to finding success in Division I-AA.

The Salukis’ 31-26 loss in Macomb to Western Illinois University Saturday shed some light on the situation and convinced Quarless that having a squad loaded with Division I-A transfers is not the answer.

Advertisement

Quarless changed his mind after seeing several Western Illinois transfer players express arrogant attitudes and treat the Salukis as if they were weaker athletes.

I think in those (skilled) positions those guys play with character, and for the most part, are pretty good people, Quarless said. Other positions don’t seem to have that character. I think you’ve got to be careful. There were things I heard Saturday, and I don’t want those kind of guys around me. I just don’t want that kind of football team.

At the beginning of the season, Quarless was hesitant to build a program around transfer players. He cited squads such as Nicholls State University, Youngstown State University and Western Illinois who had taken that route to success.

Heading into the Salukis’ battle with Western Illinois Saturday, Quarless had begun to believe that building a squad around Division I-A players, such as the Leathernecks have done, could be the best way to win in Division I-AA.

But after a tough loss to the Leathernecks Saturday, Quarless, who saw his team taunted by trash talk on the field, was emphatically against accepting large numbers of transfers.

Western Illinois, ranked No. 2 in Division I-AA, has built a recent tradition of success with the help of former major-college players. The Leathernecks boast 14 transfers on their squad, a number that Quarless could not see coming to Carbondale during his tenure.

Western Illinois’ transfers are not bench-warmers either, as running back Aaron Stecker can attest to. The junior transfer from the University of Wisconsin riddled the Saluki defense for 289 yards rushing in 39 carries. In the process, Stecker broke three conference records and three school records.

Advertisement*

But it is not the talented players that Quarless is worried about accepting. He is more concerned about the poor attitudes that some of those players bring than their athletic ability.

I would never have 14 (transfers) on a football team, Quarless said. Do I want to bring some in? Possibly. But I want class, and I want a competitor. I’d like to have some if they fit into our system, but I’ll never have that many.

The Leathernecks are not alone in building successful Division I-AA teams with major-college transfers, and Marshall University and Youngstown State are classic examples.

Youngstown State, the Salukis’ final home opponent of the season at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, is one of the most successful Division I-AA teams in history. The Penguins appeared in four consecutive national championship games in the early 1990s, and they captured the title in 1991, 1993 and 1994 under coach Jim Tressel.

Marshall, who moved up to Division I-A before this season, has been one of the few Division I-AA teams that has rivaled the Penguins’ success. The Thundering Herd have appeared in six championship games, have 23 playoff victories and a 78-21 record in the 1990s.

Marshall has made a smooth transition to playing at the major-college level in large part because of wide receiver Randy Moss. The junior transfer from Florida State University set Division I-AA on fire last season, and he has not missed a step this season.

Moss is a finalist for both the Biletnikoff Award for the nation’s top receiver and the Heisman Trophy, honoring the nation’s top player. But Moss has had several off-the-field problems at both Florida State and the University of Notre Dame, where he did not play a down before transferring to Tallahassee, Fla.

You’re never 100 percent sure, Quarless said. It’s like how many chances do you give them? You have to make a decision at some point to say, If he doesn’t do this right, he’s off my football team, too.’ I’m not going to put up with it.