Senior quarterback Sam Straub looked in mid-season form during 11-on-11 and 7-on-7 passing drills. On his first throw of the day, he completed a laser down the middle of the field to tight end Jacob Varble, who reached high to snag the ball in front of oncoming safety Jeremy Chinn. Straub then connected on a perfectly thrown deep ball down the right sideline to wide receiver Darrell James. James was tightly covered on the play by cornerback Madre Harper. Straub completed his first seven passes on the day.

“It’s my last year, so it’s kind of a do-or-die type of attitude,” Straub said. “We have a load of talent in (the wide receiver) room, more talent than in the five years I’ve been here, so building that timing and camaraderie with them over the summer was big and will hopefully pay off this season.”

Without question, the star of the day on offense was wide receiver Raphael Leonard. Short, medium or deep, he caught passes in every zone and could not be stopped, several times out-muscling defenders to make acrobatic catches. He caught a 50-yard touchdown over his shoulder in the right corner of the end zone on one nicely thrown ball by Straub.

“Ralph had probably the best overall off-season, starting in the winter,” said wide receivers coach Nick Williams. “His catch radius is out of this world. With his size, he can go up and get it. Once he opens up his stride, he’s a vertical threat as well.”

The defense responded toward the end of practice. Chinn, linebacker Cody Crider and safety Michael Elbert had pass breakups, and Torian Lewis picked up a sack on the corner blitz. The last five passes by the offense fell incomplete.

There was a buzz among spectators asking about No. 13, who stands out in a crowd. That would be tight end Nigel Kilby, in his first practice at SIU after transferring from Garden City Community College. At 6-foot-8 and 250 pounds, he’s hard to miss. There are high expectations for Kilby, who was ranked the No. 3 junior college tight end according to 247sports.com. He signed with Louisville but didn’t make it into school there.

“That’s a nightmare matchup — a 6-8 guy who can run and catch, can play inside the box, outside the box, on the edge, move him around,” said tight ends coach Pat Poore. “His big thing is learning the offense in a short amount of time.”

One of the highlights from the morning practice was a long touchdown toss from true freshman quarterback Javon Williams Jr. to wide receiver Dyllan Conway. Williams played at nearby Centralia and has a sturdy 6-foot-2 and 237-pound frame. 

“Javon Williams is like a (Matt) DeSomer or a (Mark) Iannotti in that there’s a lot of different ways you can use him,” said quarterbacks coach Michael Williamson. “He can drop back and throw it, but you can also bring people in motion and create run plays for a guy like him. Physically, we’re having to fight (defensive coordinator) Coach (Kraig) Paulson off, because he looks like a big, strong linebacker.”