Before every Gopher game, we will ask a reporter who covers their opponent to give us a view from the opponent’s side.
We asked Barry Bottino, co-founder of the Prairie State Pigskin Blog (prairiestatepigskin.com) five questions about the Western Illinois Leathernecks. Western Illinois takes on Minnesota on September 10th in Minneapolis.
Follow Barry on Twitter: @BarryonCampus
Thank you to Barry for contributing!
1. Western Illinois moved on from Head Coach Jared Elliot last year after four seasons, during which he accumulated a 9-31 record. Now comes Meyers Hendrickson from Kansas Wesleyan. What changes have you seen and what has the mood been around the program with Hendrickson in charge?
The biggest change for Western has been the dozens of new names on the roster. During its annual spring game, Western had 58 players in the program, including only 24 on defense. Today, that number is at 109. Those new faces all came for an opportunity to contribute on the field for a proud program that has fallen on some hard times. Among the players and coaches we have interviewed, there’s a workmanlike attitude about this team. They will compete for four quarters, no matter the score. They regularly repeat their slogan, “Pound the Rock,” and are focused on improving on a daily basis. Hendrickson has created some buzz in the Macomb and WIU communities. He is a Macomb High School and WIU graduate who played wide receiver for the Leathernecks when his father, Mark, was Western’s head coach. The team did a number of off-season community projects to connect with local fans. That’s something they hope pays dividends with more fans in the seats at home games. Hendrickson’s ties to the program has also revived support among many former Leatherneck players.
- The Leathernecks finished the 2021 season with a 2-9 record. With a new head coach, what are the expectations for this team this year?
This team’s main expectation is to be more competitive in games this fall, not on a specific number of wins. They gave up nearly 39 points a game last season and spent many Saturdays clawing back from big deficits. The offense is playing at a much quicker pace than a year ago and is capable of putting up points. The defense is a work in progress and is trying to model the attacking style that Hendrickson’s Kansas Wesleyan teams showed off. In his final season at KWU, Hendrickson’s defense had 86 tackles for loss. The WIU defense also expects to start creating more turnovers, especially in the form of interceptions. Western had only six all of last season.
- Western Illinois played two quarterbacks last week against UT Martin, with Nick Davenport and Henry Ogala both taking snaps. How did the quarterbacks look last week and who do you see getting the majority of playing time this Saturday?
Since spring ball, the quarterback position has been a mystery. Coach Hendrickson deflected questions for the last several months about the starting job, saying it was an open competition among the seven quarterbacks on the roster. Ogala (6-3, 219 pounds) and Davenport (6-3, 232) are both big QBs who are capable of standing in the pocket and also using their legs to pick up yards.
Ogala was a slight surprise as the starter since his last collegiate start was in 2018 at Division II Lincoln University in Missouri. He was slightly more accurate than Davenport, but the offense only scored one touchdown in the first half with Ogala on the field.
Davenport threw three touchdown passes of at least 32 yards apiece and showed his elusiveness when pressured in the pocket. He finished the game as Western’s leading rusher with 62 yards on eight carries. Both earned the chance to get snaps against Minnesota, though the WIU depth chart this week lists Ogala, Davenport and 5-10 junior Clay Bruno as possibilities to see the field. Bruno has not appeared in a game yet during his WIU career.
4. Can you give us a player on the Western Illinois offense and defense that Minnesota fans should know about?
I’ll give you two on each side of the ball that Gophers fans should notice Saturday. On offense, 6-4 wide receiver Naseim Brantley, a grad transfer from FCS Sacred Heart, is athletic and competitive. He caught six passes for 171 yards and three TDs last week in his debut. He prides himself on making big plays down the field, and it showed in Week 1 with touchdown catches of 32, 44 and 51 yards. Junior running back Ludovick Choquette is a physical runner who catches the ball well out of the backfield and is a good blocker.
Among all the new additions this off-season for Western, one of the best finds was junior linebacker Anthony Quinney, an Alabama native who transferred from Dodge City Community College in Kansas. He had 15 tackles last week and was around the ball all day long. He plays the hybrid Rover position in WIU’s defense. The most experienced defensive back for WIU is senior cornerback J.J. Ross, who started six games as a true freshman at Eastern Illinois before transferring to Western. He has good size at 6-2 and 195 pounds and led WIU in pass breakups last season.
- Western Illinois enters the game as a 35-point underdog. Do you see them covering the spread? What is your prediction for the Western Illinois – Minnesota game?
I’m not a point-spread expert, but Western Illinois is capable of keeping the game within 35 points. The Leathernecks put up 25 points last week against Tennessee-Martin, which is ranked No. 14 in FCS this week. However, Martin’s prolific offense piled up 42 points on the rebuilt WIU defense. Minnesota’s run game will be a massive challenge for Western to handle. My best guess at a prediction is Minnesota 49, Western Illinois 17.