CARBONDALE - You'll find the same Aaron Lockwood that walks out of Lingle Hall about an hour before a home game on the 25-yard line in the fourth quarter.

Walking up the hill with the rest of his teammates through the tailgating crowd, the preseason all-conference offensive guard is strong, steady and locked in a gaze straight ahead. The 6-foot-2, 303-pound Southern Illinois University senior could make his last entrance into McAndrew Stadium on Saturday, as the No. 9/10 Salukis take on South Dakota State on Senior Day, but intends to treat it like any other game.

"I think it's going to be just like any other game," Lockwood said. "We'll just want to win it that much more."

SIU offensive line coach Scott Fuchs said the Salukis would miss the glue of the front five after this season. Lockwood, the league's offensive lineman of the week Sept. 29, has started 36 straight games.

"It's always fun when you're winning, obviously, but, without him, at the offensive line, you lose an incredibly stabilizing person there," Fuchs said. "Whether things are going well for us, he's even keel. When things aren't going well for us, he's even keel. It's not like he's an over-the-top, real emotional kid, and that's good to see, too, because you don't want guys freaking out over whatever."

One of three returning starters on the offensive line this season, Lockwood, 22, hasn't given offensive coordinator Phil Longo a lot to fret over. Behind Lockwood, center Mike Farrell and fellow guard Shawn Smith, who have started the last 23 games together, SIU has won five straight and produced one 1,00-yard rusher. First-year starter Chris Dieker has completed more than 55 percent of his passes for 1,502 yards and 13 touchdowns.

With the nucleus up front, SIU has managed to rush for 1,624 yards and pass for 1,654.

Not bad for a former defensive lineman, who recognizes the best at the other end.

"We faced a good defense in Western Illinois, and we were able to run against them, even though they have some marquee players on their team," Lockwood said. "This week, we want to look to do the same. When we look at South Dakota State, front-seven wise, they might have the best defensive front in the conference."

Flying under the radar, the Jackrabbits (6-4 overall) have captured three straight and pulled even with the Salukis in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. If SDSU can win out, it will take second place in the league and probably end SIU's chances of winning the league over first-place Northern Iowa (8-2, 6-1).

The fourth-ranked Panthers close the conference season at Indiana State (0-10, 0-6), and would clinch at least a tie for the MVFC championship with a victory. If the Panthers beat the Sycamores, SIU must win this weekend and next weekend at Illinois State to claim the league title by its win over UNI earlier this season.

An NFL prospect, Lockwood brings a lot of different skills to his position to help SIU down the stretch run.

As a junior, he was a second team all-conference guard on a Saluki team that reached the national semifinals. A former fullback in seventh grade, he went seven yards on his first collegiate carry against Delaware last season and returned a kickoff 16 yards. Lockwood finished fifth in the state in the shot put his senior year at Seaman High School in Topeka, Kan., and competed in that event and the hammer throw at Barton (Kan.) County Community College from 2004-05.

As an offensive lineman, Fuchs said Lockwood runs a lot of guys, literally, into the ground.

"He's the type of guy that if he gets locked onto you, and keeps his feet going, he can put you down," said Fuchs, a former national champion lineman at North Dakota State. "He's doing a lot of good things, he's finishing people off. It's pretty hard to make the tackle when you're sitting on the ground."

Blessed with a 36-inch vertical jump, he could end up as a center at the next level because of his leverage.

"If that's where they want to go, I'll find a way to get it done, full-go," Lockwood said. "We're going to train for that after the season, and if it works out, great, but if not, life's gotta go on somehow."

First up are the Jackrabbits and the chance to earn the school's sixth straight Football Championship Subdivision playoff berth. Saturday's 2 p.m. kickoff offers Lockwood not only another chance to chase the Panthers in the standings, but another chance to add to the scrapbook.

"I have a lot of favorite moments," Lockwood said. "My carry last year against Delaware was pretty sweet, but is the best yet to come? I'd like to say so, yeah. I think it just might be."

todd.hefferman@thesouthern.com / 351-5087