CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – The strength of Southeast Missouri's defense is at linebacker where two NFL type players in Chad Meredith and Kendall Donnerson headline a deep and talented bunch.

Southeast goes 16-deep between inside and outside linebacker and this unit again shapes up to be the most dominant part of the Redhawks 3-4 scheme.

"I really like our depth," said Southeast defensive coordinator and outside linebackers coach Bryce Saia. "I feel like our linebackers make everybody better and that's great to see day-in and day-out. I don't think there's anyone better off the edge that our tight ends will face in practice."

Meredith and Donnerson pack one of the most dangerous one-two punches in the Ohio Valley Conference at outside linebacker.

A Preseason All-OVC and STATS FCS All-American, Meredith enters his final season. He is coming off a 2016 campaign which saw him get 86 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, four sacks and five quarterback hurries en route to claiming First-Team All-OVC honors. Meredith has started 22-straight games and ranks eighth among Southeast's all-time career leaders in sacks (8.5) and seventh in tackles for loss (24).

Meredith began his college career as a walk-on and now heads into the 2017 season as the leader of the Redhawks defense.

"I think our scheme is a great fit for Chad," said Saia. "He has risen to the top and is very gifted physically. Chad leads by example and is the voice of our defense."

Equally impressive is Donnerson, who recorded 50 tackles and led Southeast with 13 tackles for loss a year ago. He tied for first on the team with Meredith in sacks and, like Meredith, ranks among the school's career leaders in tackles for loss (t10th, 21) and sacks (t9th, 6).

"Kendall also leads by example and is kind of the super freak who brings a lot of energy," added Saia. "I'm the luckiest coach in the FCS to have these guys back on the edge."

Returnee Justin Swift and newcomer Marcus Goree are getting reps behind Meredith and Donnerson.

Swift had eight tackles and three solo stops in 11 games last season, while Goree transferred to Southeast from Fort Scott Community College. Goree participated in the Redhawks spring drills.

Freshmen Omardrick Douglas, Victor Alvarez, Rashad Hughes and Derrick Calhoun, Jr. expand the depth at outside linebacker. Douglas and Alvarez both redshirted last season.

At inside linebacker, Southeast lost two starters, including Roper Garrett. Garrett was the Redhawks leading tackler each of the last three seasons, collecting a total of 359 in his career. He also notched 27.5 tackles for loss, nine sacks, three interceptions, seven forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries as a Redhawk.

Roper's younger brother, Rider Garrett, is preparing to take over the "Will" linebacker spot. He accumulated 13 tackles and played mainly on special teams last season. Rider, who joined the team as a walk-on in 2013, was awarded a scholarship in April.

Sophomore Zach Hall is at the top of the depth chart at the "Mike" position. Hall looks to pick up where he left off a year ago. He played in 11 games and made two starts as a true freshman, recording 36 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, one sack and a fumble recovery. Hall won the team's Defensive Newcomer award following his strong rookie campaign.

"As far as the inside linebackers go, I like our depth there too," said Saia. "We are very happy with Rider and Zach. They understand the package."

Junior Devin Alexander and Demarcus Rogers are in the rotation as well.

Alexander played in 11 games and was a valuable contributor on special teams in 2016. He registered 20 tackles, 12 solo stops, two tackles for loss and a sack.

Rogers played two seasons at Northeast Mississippi Community College, where he recorded 85 tackles in nine games during the 2016 campaign.

Nick Thompson, Eli Morris, Britt Harris and Cleyton Gracie round out the linebacker corps.

Two years ago, Southeast ranked second in the OVC with 31 sacks. In 2016, the Redhawks saw that total dip to 17 with Meredith and Donnerson accounting for eight of the sacks.

"We're working hard to get better in that department," commented Saia. "We feel like we've re-loaded and want to be more consistent."