Grad assistant coach suits up to fill QB void, sets Southern Illinois record with 7 TD passes

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Southern Illinois quarterback Michael Lindauer's coming-out party also was a dazzling farewell.

The senior graduate assistant, pressed into duty as a player again when injuries left the Salukis in need of a quarterback, made his first career start — on Senior Day, no less — and threw for a school-record seven touchdowns in a 62-0 victory over Murray State on Saturday.

“This was incredible,” Lindauer said. “The guys around me — thank the guys. The receivers were making plays, the O-line's blocking. When you get on a roll like that, stuff just starts happening.”

The fifth-year senior, a transfer from Cincinnati, completed 20 of 33 passes for 283 yards. Keontez Lewis caught scoring passes of 4 and 64 yards. Bradley Clark had TDs of 35 and 23 yards. Nah’shawn Hezekiah had touchdowns of 19 and 35 yards on his two catches. And Jay Jones caught one pass for 1 yard — also a touchdown.

Before the game, Lindauer had attempted 27 career passes.

“Now, he's in the record book,” Salukis coach Nick Hill said. “It will be a hard record to beat, seven TDs in one game. ... What he's done ... just being so selfless and coming back and being a player. The team needed it. ... It’s a testament that if you stay committed, do the right things, have a great attitude, you’re going to get rewarded at some point, and he was rewarded in a big way today.”

Southern Illinois finished the season 4-8 overall and 2-5 in the Missouri Valley Conference, but “to go out like that, that's a good way to go out,” Hill said.

Lindauer was named the MVC offensive player of the week for his performance in his first and last career start.

He plans to return in the spring, again as a graduate assistant coach, but this time with a resume to lean on.