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Former Illinois CB lands job as assistant coach with FCS program

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

A former Illinois cornerback has landed a coaching gig with Southern Illinois.

Terry Hawthorne, a former defensive back for the Fighting Illini from 2009-12, has been named an assistant coach with the Salukis, who compete at the FCS level. Per his Twitter profile, he will be the cornerbacks coach for the upcoming season.

The job at SIU will be Hawthorne’s first on-field coaching position. He spent the 2021 season as the director of high school personnel and alumni relations at Illinois. Earlier this year, he was hired to be a defensive quality control coach at Arkansas.

Hawthorne put up some big numbers during his time with the Fighting Illini as a player. In four seasons, he amassed 162 tackles, 6 interceptions and a pair of pick-sixes. He would go on to be a fifth-round selection in the 2013 NFL Draft, taken by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

After his time in the NFL, Hawthorne had a brief stop with the Canadian Football League’s Calgary Stampeders in 2016.

Head coach Nick Hill, a former Southern Illinois player, will be entering his seventh season leading the program in 2022. Last year, the Salukis finished with an 8-5 record, reaching the FCS playoffs.

Southern Illinois has finished with a winning record each of the last three seasons and has earned a playoff spot in back-to-back campaigns. Over the six seasons, SIU is 31-37 under Hill.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB