Millikin Football Ready to Open 2022 Season

DECATUR, Illinois—The 2022 season marks a fresh start for the Millikin football program with first year head coach Carlton Hall taking over the program. Hall moves up after leading the Big Blue defense in 2021.

Hall has revamped the coaching staff including new offensive coordinator Dion Wiggins and defensive coordinator Bryan Sanders.

Hall is looking to foster a team-oriented culture while instilling more discipline in a program that had the most penalty yards in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) the last two seasons.

"We are going to coach and demand technique and discipline," states Hall. "We have three non-negotiables on this team: Availability, Accountability, and Productability. You need to be present to make a difference. Just Show Up! You need to be held accountable and you need to hold others accountable. Coaches, players, equipment staff, strength and conditioning staff, training staff, etc., trust is a two-way street. We need our players to trust us, and we need to trust our players. After you show up and can be trusted, you must produce. Football is one of the last bastions of true meritocracy. You play well = you play more. You don't play well = you play less. Changing the culture of an organization is not as simple as Thanos snapping his fingers. NO. We need everyone involved in this program to believe and overstand that A.A.P. is the key to our success."

While Millikin will field a young team this season, the Big Blue defense is an experienced unit lead by senior Quinton Miller (Houston, Texas, Westbury H.S.) an All-Conference Second Team player on the defensive line last year. Miller had 52 tackles including 13 tackles for a loss with 4.5 sacks and five quarterback hurries. Joining Miller on the defensive front is fifth year senior Alexander Perkins (Chicago, Morgan Park H.S.), senior Christopher Montgomery (Chicago, Gary Comer Prep H.S.) and sophomore Keishon Tinon (Belleville, Bellville West H.S.). Perkins had 44 tackles with 6.5 tackles for a loss last season. Seniors Kendall Dehority (Decatur, Eisenhower H.S.) and Collin Hancock (Evansville, Ind., Harrison H.S.) lead the linebacking unit and will be joined by sophomore Alex Araiza (San Antonio, Texas, Burbank H.S.) all three players saw significant action last season. Returning starters senior Josh Grant (Riverside, Calif., Riverside CC) and junior Victor Teodoro (Frankfort, Lincoln Way East H.S.) anchor the defensive backfield.

The offensive will be led by sophomore quarterback Aidan Lombardo (Lisle, Lisle H.S.). Lombardo has a strong passing arm and the running ability to be a dual threat for the Big Blue offensive. Seniors Jahlil Lipkin (Inglewood, Calif., Moor Park CC) and Donald McGee, Jr. (Fort Dodge, Iowa, Iowa Central CC) will be Lombardo's primary targets at wide receiver. Lipkin had 33 catches last season for 534 yards and while McGee had 12 catches for 98 yards. Millikin will have an inexperienced group of running backs who are looking forward to the opportunity to show off their talent lead by sophomores Tevin Lewis-Johnson (Chicago, Gary Comer Prep H.S.), Matthew Salazar (San Antonio, Texas, Burbank H.S.), and Ean Haggerty (Bloomington, Bloomington H.S.). The Big Blue offensive line is lead by seniors Eli Hartfield (Tallahassee, Fla., Chiles H.S.) and Carlos Fosters (Memphis, Tenn., White Station H.S.) who have both seen substantial playing time last season, in reserve roles.

The 2022 Big Blue squad includes several talented freshmen and sophomores that Hall believes will have major impacts this season.

Hall adds, "I understand that most impact freshmen come from the running back, wide receiver or cornerback spots, however, I believe coming out of Fall camp that we have three freshmen and two sophomores that will play a lot of meaningful downs early this season: offensive lineman Correyon Netters (Peoria, Peoria H.S.), defensive lineman Saevion Brent (Peoria, Peoria H.S.), and long snapper Kaleb Brown (Auburn, Auburn H.S.). Do you know how much gray hair a long snapper, with NFL times, can save a special teams coordinator and a head coach? The answer is a lot! The two second year guys both hail from Texas; linebacker Alex Araiza and running back Matt Salazar. We are going to be a VERY young team. That cannot and will not be an excuse we use this year. We have three top 40 teams and three playoff teams, from a year ago, on our schedule. I'm sure they won't care how young we are."

Millikin opens the season on Saturday, September 3 in its only non-conference game of the season at 1 p.m. at Frank M. Lindsay Field. After a bye in week two, Millikin heads into the rugged CCIW season starting with a September 17 road game at Washington University-St. Louis. The Big Blue's road schedule is especially tough this season. In addition to the trip to St. Louis, Millikin travels to rival Illinois Wesleyan and conference powerhouses North Central and Wheaton. The Big Blue close out the season with a November 12 trip to the shores of Lake Michigan to face Carthage College. CCIW home games this season include a September 24 game against North Park and a Homecoming matchup on October 8 against Augustana College. The Big Blue's final two home games are Elmhurst on October 22 and Carroll University on November 5. While Millikin has played several night games in recent seasons, all games in 2022 will feature 1 p.m. kickoffs.

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