NORMAL - Part of the coaching profession for 35 years, Harold Etheridge knows how to make adjustments.
As Illinois State's offensive line coach, the number of adjustments Etheridge needs to undertake is often determined by the health of his linemen.
Early in the ISU season, Etheridge has been busy.
"It's part of coaching," said Etheridge, who still start his third different offensive line combination Saturday when ISU opens its home schedule with a noon kickoff against Western Illinois at Hancock Stadium.
"You just take the next man up mentality and say 'we gotta go, we've still got to play games' so next man up."
The No. 18-ranked Redbirds will have three new starters up front Saturday in a nonconference game broadcast live on Marquee Sports Network.
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Center Boden Turner and guard Hunter Zambrano are sidelined with injuries, while Ryan Gudaitis returns from a sore back to take over at center.
"We cross train guys because of our scheme," Etheridge said. "We've got guys who can play all three (center, guard, tackle) and guys who can play two. You know who your guys are who can do multiple things."
Flanking Gudaitis on Saturday will be guards Andrew Johnson and Landon Woodard and tackles Jake Pope and JJ Guedet. Johnson will likely see time at center as the Redbirds attempt to limit Gudaitis' snap count.
Ron Carr, Brayden Jellison, Micah Barnhart and Elijah Wroten also are available at the three interior line spots.
"With Boden out, we still have four guys who can snap," said Etheridge, who is in his second stint as an ISU assistant.
Head coach Brock Spack is glad to have the experience of Etheridge at his disposal.
"He's our expert and we lean on him," Spack said. "We talk all the time. He and Tony (offensive coordinator Tony Petersen) work through all that. We're in lock step with what we're doing. We're doing all we can to mitigate it.
"I'm comfortable with the guys we have. They've worked really hard, they're good kids and good players."
Defensive issues
With a 1-1 record after last week's 24-17 win at North Alabama, ISU looks to shore up a defense that surrendered 328 passing yards to the Lions.
"We just had really bad eyes. One thing we emphasize is we cannot get our eyes off our keys," said Spack. "They lost their eyes a few times, and that's why a couple guys were cut loose. We need to get that fixed and fixed in a hurry."
Redbirds linebacker Tye Niekamp has not started either of the first two games because of a soft tissue injury but still has 13 tackles thus far.
"We had some blown coverages at North Alabama we want to fix," Niekamp said. "It's playing a full game and competing our tails off for the entire game. We showed what we can be for 30 minutes against Iowa and a couple drives against North Alabama, but we're not anywhere close to where we need to be and where we can be."
Quarterback rotation
ISU quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse was on course to play the entire game against North Alabama but was temporarily sidelined by a second-half leg cramp.
That brought Jake Rubley into the game. The Redbirds had hoped to rest Rubley, who had a sore non-throwing shoulder.
Spack expects to return to the two-quarterback system ISU employed in the opener against Iowa with Rubley feeling better.
"We'll play Rubley," said the ISU coach. "He will be much more involved, yes."
Glatz knows opponent
ISU tailback Seth Glatz, who will back up starter Wenkers Wright on Saturday, has 65 yards on 14 carries through two games. Glatz was Western's second-leading rusher in 2023 with 217 yards.
"It will be a cool feeling being able to go against some guys I was able to get close with and get to know," Glatz said. "A lot of them left, but there are still a few guys I stayed in touch with."
Leathernecks look
Western is 0-2 after losing to FBS opponents Northern Illinois (54-15) and Indiana (77-3).
"The first two weeks have been tough. In a program looking for bright spots right now, it's hard to find some in that particular game," first-year Leathernecks coach Joe Davis said of Indiana. "We let that game get away from us very quickly."
Western, which has left the Missouri Valley Football Conference for the Big South-Ohio Valley Conference, has just 106 rushing yards in two games. But quarterback Nathan Lamb has completed 30 of 54 passes for 313 yards.
"They move the ball. That is not an issue at all," said Spack. "Our players have to be very careful how they approach this game. They have to understand it's a rivalry game, and they will bring their best."
The Leathernecks have lost 26 straight games and have not won since a 38-31 decision over ISU on Oct. 30, 2021 in Macomb.
Family time
It's Family Weekend at Hancock Stadium as the Redbirds play the first of three straight home games after opening with two on the road.
"Going on the road for the first two, it was tough," Niekamp said. "But it was good to get them out of the way. Now we've got three straight home games and two Illinois teams coming to our place so we're excited about it."
ISU takes on Eastern Illinois in a 6 p.m. start Sept. 21.
Follow Randy Reinhardt on Twitter: @Pg_Reinhardt
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