CARBONDALE — You can never have enough defensive linemen in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, and SIU's 2020 recruiting class helped bolster an already strong front four.

The Salukis (7-5, 5-3 MVFC last season) return starting defensive ends Anthony Knighton and Jordan Berner, who will both be seniors this fall, as well as junior tackle Keenan Agnew, who started five games in the middle of a revamped defensive front. SIU allowed 1,848 rushing yards last season, down almost 600 yards from the 2018 campaign, and 19 rushing touchdowns, down from 31 two years ago.

SIU coach Nick Hill wanted this year's class to add depth to their defensive interior, as well as build for the future. Knighton, Berner, backup end Chucky Sullivan, backup tackle Elijah Watson and fifth-year senior Blake Parzych, who was able to redshirt last season after playing in only four games, will all be seniors in 2020.

"We feel really good about it," Hill said. "The three high school kids that we signed in December, and then since then, we added the two transfers, (tackle) Devin Love, who is here already. (End) Jacob Poetzl was in the first signing class, and (tackle) JaJuan Blankenship is from Tulsa. He's not here, he'll be here in the summer time."

Love, a 6-foot-3, 290-pound sophomore from Monroe College in New York state, will have three years to play for SIU. Poetzl, a 6-4, 250-pound end from Wisconsin, played last year at Ellsworth (Iowa) Community College, will also have three years beginning this year.

"They're kind of a like a high school kid, where you can develop 'em and they can be in your program for a while," Hill said.

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SIU signed five defensive linemen in the 2020 class and five defensive backs. Colorado transfer Aaron Maddox won't be Jeremy Chinn, a consensus All-American last season, but he has a lot of promise as the team's new potential starting strong safety. The Salukis also added senior cornerback Roderick Campbell from Northwestern.

Love was a first team All-Northeast Football Conference honoree after recording 38 tackles, including 7.0 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. His grandfather, Ken Love, played at SIU, and his brother, Ricky Tunstall, signed with the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent in 2013 out of Delaware.

"Devin's here now, so we've gotten to know him, and he's off to a great start," Hill said. "He has an unbelievable attitude and willingness to learn. He has three years left to play and we get him for 3.5 years, so he's like a high school kid to us. I think he has the size and ability to be a really good player, and we're excited to get to develop him in spring football and find his role on this team."

Blankenship played in 16 games the last two years at Tulsa, and had 17 tackles. He missed four games with an ankle injury in 2018 but had a season-high four stops against Navy. His best performance last season came against Oklahoma State, when he had three tackles. Blankenship actually started at South Carolina, where he redshirted in 2016, and played a year at Independence (Missouri) Community College before going to Tulsa.

"Sometimes in recruiting you don't get them the first time around, but if you keep tabs on them and if the opportunity comes back up, you've already established a little bit of a relationship with them," Hill said. "Out of junior college, we felt he could've been a really good player here in the Missouri Valley. Any time you add a grad transfer, your expectation is for them to come in and add value right away. We'll get him here in summertime and look for him to make an impact in the fall."