DJ Williams returns, Southern Illinois eyes championship run in 2026

DJ Williams gave Southern Illinois the kind of return that changes a preseason from hopeful to serious. The All-American quarterback announced on Jan. 5 that he was coming back for the 2026 season after throwing for 2,846 yards and 22 touchdowns while rushing for 847 yards and 18 scores, production the Salukis said no quarterback in program history had matched on the ground.

“I’m excited to continue to build on what I started with this team last year. Time to go win a championship now.”

That is the standard now in Carbondale. Williams was named an All-American by FCS Football Central, the Associated Press and Stats Perform after a 2025 season that also left him eighth in Walter Payton Award voting and third in Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive Player of the Year voting. He was more than a volume passer. He was the engine of an offense that forced defenses to defend every snap, every scramble and every red-zone read.

The bigger question is whether SIU can turn one elite quarterback into a legitimate playoff threat. In the FCS, that still comes down to the trenches and the travel. The Salukis will need their line play to hold up against the league’s best fronts, especially with North Dakota State, South Dakota State, South Dakota, Youngstown State and Illinois State all finishing ahead of SIU in the 2025 preseason poll, where the Salukis landed sixth with 208 points. A deep run also requires winning outside Carbondale, and SIU already showed a higher ceiling with its 37-7 regular-season finale at No. 11 Illinois State, a road result that looked far more like a team ready to crash the playoff conversation than one merely trying to stay relevant.

Southern Illinois has also moved aggressively around Williams’ return. Nick Hill received a four-year contract extension through the 2029 season in March, and athletic director Tim Leonard said the university wants to win a national championship with Hill in place. The 2026 schedule, released March 18, includes 11 games, three nonconference matchups and a season opener at Samford on Thursday, Sept. 3. The roster page lists Williams as a senior quarterback, and the offseason has already included a transfer class announcement, a signing class and a coaching staff update.

That is the blueprint SIU has lacked in other high-expectation seasons. This group has the quarterback, the continuity and the ambition. Now it has to prove it can survive the Missouri Valley grind, win away from home and earn a playoff resume that looks more like a contender than a headline.