Southern Illinois University Class of 2024 Early Signing Day Roster
My Take: In State Names from the SIU Class of 2024 SIU head coach Nick Hill signed his 9th recruiting class for the Salukis and this might be one of Hill's most impressive, successful and most important senior class during in his tenure. The Salukis will graduate a highly successful senior class this spring and several long term key impact players will move on including QB Nik Baker and several multi-year starters. SIU added 14 high school signee's to this class along with dipping into the transfer portal and added 8 new faces. SIU positionally focused on replacing some key losses on the offensive line (4) wide receivers (3) plus defensive end (3) and linebacker (3). One interesting name added from the transfer portal is former Thornton Township and Murray State QB DJ Williams. Williams, who was the Murray State Racers starting quarterback in 2023 is a speedy and very athletic RPO style of quarterback who could get a very early shot at the starting quarterback position.
SIU Class of 2024 In State Signing Class of 2024
QB Jake Curry Edwardsville 5-foot-11, 185 pounds
LB Ben Fiegel Batavia 6-foot-3, 225 pounds
TE Karsen Konkel Pinckeyville 6-foot-6, 225 pounds
TE Aidan Moriarity Oswego East 6-foot-4, 240 pounds
WR PJ Winters DuQuoin 5-foot-9, 158 pounds
Which In State name has the best chance of becoming an impact player?
TE Karson Konkel Pinckeyville- Karsen Konkel is a multi-sport athlete from Pinckeyville who was a three star ranked tight end by Rivals.com was verbally committed to Illinois since this past summer. Eventually, the Fighting Illini dropped the offer to Konkel in late fall and SIU remained in contact with Konkel and ended up getting a commitment and signed Karsen Konkel last Wednesday. Konkel. wjho had late offers and attention from multiple Power 5 schools wound up deciding to stay at home and give nearby SIU his commitment which is a bit of a surprise and a big get for the Salukis.
In this day and age of the transfer portal...Konkel's decision to stay closer to home makes much more sense than it did maybe a year or two ago. Why? Konkel can stay closer to home, hopefully be able to break into the Salukis lineup as a true freshman and be able to explore more possible options via the transfer portal sooner rather than later. In many cases, I can see Konkel easily wind up back at the Power 5 level with a good early showing for SIU and in some cases could even boost his stock even higher after putting together some higher level FCS game video. Give SIU and head coach Nick Hill a ton of props here for staying in on Konkel despite his early commitment to Illinois and no question Hill's focus on recruiting Southern Illinois kids played a role in landing Konkel.
Sleeper In-State Name in the Class of 2024?
LB Ben Fiegel Batavia and/or TE Aiden Moriarty Oswego East- I joked with Prairie State Pigskin co publisher Dan Verdun that I would love to be at the first day of full pads at SIU and see both Ben Fiegel and Aiden Moriarty go head to head. Both Fiegel and Moriarty have good size, play extremely physical football and both just lead by example. Both kids are somewhat quiet off the field but then both seem to find a way to flip a switch and become monsters on the field.
Batavia ILB Ben Fiegel had a strong 2023 season for the Bulldogs. Fiegel is a big, strong kid who lives for the weight room and who also is a terrific inside run stuffing linebacker who can and will drop into coverage effectively. Fiegel showed impressive instincts, ran sideline to sideline to make plays and was a very vocal leader for Batavia in 2023. Fiegel no question has room for improvement including improving his overall speed and quickness....but Fiegel I feel is about as physically ready for the FCS level as any kid in the in state Class of 2024.
Oswego East TE Aiden Moriarty also has pretty ideal size, strength and plays with a high motor at all times. Moriarty showed to have very good hands and runs impressive routes and will no question have the ability to play either out wide or as more of a traditional tight end with a hand on the ground and become a plus blocker in the running game. Moriarty in many ways could also wind up playing a few other positions down the line if needed....and his overall size/frame and athletic ability could allow the Salukis to get a bit creative here if needed down the line.
The One Who Got Away?
Mount Carmel Illinois QB Blayne Sisson (Illinois PWO)- SIU was able to land a verbal commitment in the summer from this downstate dandy in Blayne Sisson who would eventually lead the Golden Aces to the Class 4A state title game. Sisson, who was recruited by SIU as a safety ended up having an All State caliber season at quarterback and posted some highly impressive stats in 2023 (4,074 yards of total offense 52 touchdowns). Sisson saw his recruiting stock rise steadily this fall and Illinois ended up offering him a PWO offer which he accepted and he discusses his decision below.
"Illinois already has all of it's 2024 offers out and technically I'm accepting a PWO offer," Sisson said. "It was really hard to call the coaches at SIU and tell them my decision and they have been great to me. In the end I just couldn't pass up an opportunity to play football for Illinois and attend a Big Ten school."
Overall Grade on the SIU In State Class of 2024: C+
It's a new day and a new era in recruiting for everyone and that definitely includes the in state FCS schools like the SIU Salukis. The impact of the transfer portal on high school recruiting is clearly evident this recruiting cycle. Schools such as SIU are trying to keep up with the Jones on the transfer portal side while also dancing a thin line with high school m coaches and recruits. SIU and may others need to remain loyal to the high school side.....yet the FCS schools are also getting it's top kids plucked from it's own roster at an alarming rate earlier and earlier thus making the FCS schools have to reload it's own roster sooner than ever before. Schools at the FCS level also have pressures to win immediately and that along with coaches having to recruit its own roster more than ever before makes this an interesting time to say the least for recruiting at the FCS level.
SIU in many ways has things going well including having a terrific younger head coach in Nick Hill, plus a team and program that has developed into a playoff regular in one of the toughest FCS conference in the nation (Missouri Valley). Sure...the Salukis have work to do this year in reloading at some key spots but the combination of the portal kids along with a very nice group of incoming high school recruits should make the hard transition a bit easier.
Next: Western Illinois
My Take: In State Names from the SIU Class of 2024 SIU head coach Nick Hill signed his 9th recruiting class for the Salukis and this might be one of Hill's most impressive, successful and most important senior class during in his tenure. The Salukis will graduate a highly successful senior class this spring and several long term key impact players will move on including QB Nik Baker and several multi-year starters. SIU added 14 high school signee's to this class along with dipping into the transfer portal and added 8 new faces. SIU positionally focused on replacing some key losses on the offensive line (4) wide receivers (3) plus defensive end (3) and linebacker (3). One interesting name added from the transfer portal is former Thornton Township and Murray State QB DJ Williams. Williams, who was the Murray State Racers starting quarterback in 2023 is a speedy and very athletic RPO style of quarterback who could get a very early shot at the starting quarterback position.
SIU Class of 2024 In State Signing Class of 2024
QB Jake Curry Edwardsville 5-foot-11, 185 pounds
LB Ben Fiegel Batavia 6-foot-3, 225 pounds
TE Karsen Konkel Pinckeyville 6-foot-6, 225 pounds
TE Aidan Moriarity Oswego East 6-foot-4, 240 pounds
WR PJ Winters DuQuoin 5-foot-9, 158 pounds
Which In State name has the best chance of becoming an impact player?
TE Karson Konkel Pinckeyville- Karsen Konkel is a multi-sport athlete from Pinckeyville who was a three star ranked tight end by Rivals.com was verbally committed to Illinois since this past summer. Eventually, the Fighting Illini dropped the offer to Konkel in late fall and SIU remained in contact with Konkel and ended up getting a commitment and signed Karsen Konkel last Wednesday. Konkel. wjho had late offers and attention from multiple Power 5 schools wound up deciding to stay at home and give nearby SIU his commitment which is a bit of a surprise and a big get for the Salukis.
In this day and age of the transfer portal...Konkel's decision to stay closer to home makes much more sense than it did maybe a year or two ago. Why? Konkel can stay closer to home, hopefully be able to break into the Salukis lineup as a true freshman and be able to explore more possible options via the transfer portal sooner rather than later. In many cases, I can see Konkel easily wind up back at the Power 5 level with a good early showing for SIU and in some cases could even boost his stock even higher after putting together some higher level FCS game video. Give SIU and head coach Nick Hill a ton of props here for staying in on Konkel despite his early commitment to Illinois and no question Hill's focus on recruiting Southern Illinois kids played a role in landing Konkel.
Sleeper In-State Name in the Class of 2024?
LB Ben Fiegel Batavia and/or TE Aiden Moriarty Oswego East- I joked with Prairie State Pigskin co publisher Dan Verdun that I would love to be at the first day of full pads at SIU and see both Ben Fiegel and Aiden Moriarty go head to head. Both Fiegel and Moriarty have good size, play extremely physical football and both just lead by example. Both kids are somewhat quiet off the field but then both seem to find a way to flip a switch and become monsters on the field.
Batavia ILB Ben Fiegel had a strong 2023 season for the Bulldogs. Fiegel is a big, strong kid who lives for the weight room and who also is a terrific inside run stuffing linebacker who can and will drop into coverage effectively. Fiegel showed impressive instincts, ran sideline to sideline to make plays and was a very vocal leader for Batavia in 2023. Fiegel no question has room for improvement including improving his overall speed and quickness....but Fiegel I feel is about as physically ready for the FCS level as any kid in the in state Class of 2024.
Oswego East TE Aiden Moriarty also has pretty ideal size, strength and plays with a high motor at all times. Moriarty showed to have very good hands and runs impressive routes and will no question have the ability to play either out wide or as more of a traditional tight end with a hand on the ground and become a plus blocker in the running game. Moriarty in many ways could also wind up playing a few other positions down the line if needed....and his overall size/frame and athletic ability could allow the Salukis to get a bit creative here if needed down the line.
The One Who Got Away?
Mount Carmel Illinois QB Blayne Sisson (Illinois PWO)- SIU was able to land a verbal commitment in the summer from this downstate dandy in Blayne Sisson who would eventually lead the Golden Aces to the Class 4A state title game. Sisson, who was recruited by SIU as a safety ended up having an All State caliber season at quarterback and posted some highly impressive stats in 2023 (4,074 yards of total offense 52 touchdowns). Sisson saw his recruiting stock rise steadily this fall and Illinois ended up offering him a PWO offer which he accepted and he discusses his decision below.
"Illinois already has all of it's 2024 offers out and technically I'm accepting a PWO offer," Sisson said. "It was really hard to call the coaches at SIU and tell them my decision and they have been great to me. In the end I just couldn't pass up an opportunity to play football for Illinois and attend a Big Ten school."
Overall Grade on the SIU In State Class of 2024: C+
It's a new day and a new era in recruiting for everyone and that definitely includes the in state FCS schools like the SIU Salukis. The impact of the transfer portal on high school recruiting is clearly evident this recruiting cycle. Schools such as SIU are trying to keep up with the Jones on the transfer portal side while also dancing a thin line with high school m coaches and recruits. SIU and may others need to remain loyal to the high school side.....yet the FCS schools are also getting it's top kids plucked from it's own roster at an alarming rate earlier and earlier thus making the FCS schools have to reload it's own roster sooner than ever before. Schools at the FCS level also have pressures to win immediately and that along with coaches having to recruit its own roster more than ever before makes this an interesting time to say the least for recruiting at the FCS level.
SIU in many ways has things going well including having a terrific younger head coach in Nick Hill, plus a team and program that has developed into a playoff regular in one of the toughest FCS conference in the nation (Missouri Valley). Sure...the Salukis have work to do this year in reloading at some key spots but the combination of the portal kids along with a very nice group of incoming high school recruits should make the hard transition a bit easier.
Next: Western Illinois
