CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Southeast Missouri has a staggering one-two punch in its talented backfield this season.
 
Senior Preseason All-American and All-Ohio Valley Conference tailback Marquis Terry and sophomore Presbyterian College transfer Mark Robinson are at the forefront of SEMO's rushing attack.
 
Terry, the Ohio Valley Conference Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, landed a spot on the STATS and Lindy's Sports All-America Teams. He was also among 25 players named to the initial Walter Payton Award Watch List.
 
A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Terry rushed for 1,076 yards and seven touchdowns on 239 carries and averaged 4.5 yards per attempt en route to First-Team All-OVC honors in 2017. He led the OVC with 97.8 rushing yards per game and was one of two running backs in the conference to run for over 1,000 yards. 
 
Terry rated 13th in the Football Championship Subdivision in total rushing yards and 16th in rushing yards per game. He ran for over 100 yards four times with a season-high 184 vs. Eastern Kentucky. Terry went over 100 yards in two of his final three starts of the season as his 1,076 yards marked the fifth-most in a season at SEMO. Additionally, Terry ranked fourth in the league in all-purpose yards (1,185) and caught 20 passes for 109 yards out of the backfield.
 
"Just watching Marquis grow over the past two years has been really fun for me as a coach," said running backs coach Ghaali Muhammad-Lankford. "He's done a great job taking our younger guys under his wing and showing them the ropes. I look for him to have a big senior year."
 
Robinson played in 11 games and made two starts as a freshman at Presbyterian College last season. He gained 332 yards and led the team with five rushing touchdowns on 75 carries. Robinson is a power runner with a 6'0", 215-pound frame.
 
Behind Terry and Robinson is the talented and dynamic freshman tandem of Zion Custis and Geno Hess. Custis and Hess are similar to Terry in that they are very quick and have the ability to make defenders miss in space.
 
Custis was a First-Team All-State performer, Region 4-AAAAA Offensive Player of the Year and Clayton County Player of the Year at Lovejoy High School in Georgia. He racked up 4,430 yards and scored 50 touchdowns in three years as Lovejoy's starting running back. As a senior, Custis ran for 1,943 yards and 27 touchdowns, averaging 176.6 yards per game.
 
Hess was named to the CBS MaxPreps Medium Schools All-America Team at Peoria High School. He ran for 2,821 yards and 44 touchdowns for the Class 5A State Champion Lions. In a game against Normal West High School, Hess ran for 574 yards and eight touchdowns, and broke a state record with 64 carries.   
 
Brayden Hull and Ethan Stevens round out the running backs. Hull redshirted last season, while Stevens joins the Redhawks from Dexter High School.
 
"We want to be the best in the country at taking care of the football and taking care of our quarterback," said Lankford. "We want to execute and go above and beyond to put our offense in a position to be successful."
 
SEMO closes out its preseason camp with a live intrasquad scrimmage Saturday. Start time is 9 a.m., CT, at Houck Field.