CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – On his 47th Birthday and in the midst of an ever-changing cycle during this COVID-19 pandemic, Southeast Missouri head coach Tom Matukewicz and his Redhawks took the field for their first official practice Wednesday.
As expected, energy was through the roof as SEMO has been chomping at the bit to get back to work since it returned to campus on July 5.
"Man, that was fun! You almost forgot just how much you really enjoy this," said Matukewicz. "There were a lot of smiles and it was a clean first day. We have officially started and now we have to find out who this team is and what we need to get better at."
The defending OVC Champion Redhawks turn the page to 2020 with 101 players on their roster, including 24 seniors. This year's senior class, which has won a total of 21 games, needs just four more victories to break the record of 24 set by SEMO's 17-member senior contingent a year ago.
Clearly Matukewicz is building a program and not just a winning team.
"Again, we have a great senior class. You set a record and you break that record. That's what you should do," said Matukewicz. "I feel like our strength is that we have a lot of depth. Every great team that I've ever been a part of the senior class left playing their best football."
Offensively, SEMO returns eight starters, including four on the offensive line.
Preseason All-OVC selection Ja'Chai Baker is back at left tackle, Dane Nelson returns at center, Jaden Rosenthall is back at right guard and Nate Korte returns at right tackle.
At tight end, Austin Crump and Caleb Strauss return.
Behind them, all eyes will be on the quarterback position as SEMO works to fill a big hole left by two-year starter Daniel Santacaterina.
Redshirt-senior Joe Pyle, freshman Jalyn Williams and a pair of Football Bowl Subdivision transfers in Andrew Bunch (Nebraska) and Christian Perez (Louisville) are in this year's quarterback race.
SEMO brings back two starters at receiver and its starting running back from a year ago, as well.
Aaron Alston, a Preseason All-OVC pick, is one of two returning starters at receiver along with Zack Smith. Alston was second on the team behind record-setting and All-American wideout Kristian Wilkerson in 2019. He caught 51 passes for 687 yards and four touchdowns.
Zion Custis was the Redhawks top rusher last season, gaining 684 yards and scoring five touchdowns on 142 carries.
Defensively, nine seniors are listed on SEMO's two-deep at the beginning of this preseason.
The Redhawks are strong in the secondary with five veterans leading the way.
Preseason All-OVC selection Bydarrius Knighten and Lawrence Johnson are the returning starters at safety.
Knighten is the Redhawks top returning tackler at the free safety spot. He ranked third on the team with 75 stops and led SEMO with three interceptions last season.
At strong safety, Johnson started 11 games and was next behind Knighten with 53 tackles.
Seniors Al Young and Shabari Davis boost the experience in the defensive backfield at cornerback.
Young's 2019 season was cut short due to an achilles injury. He started the first four games notching 10 tackles and two interceptions before receiving a medical hardship.
Davis started six games and recorded 25 tackles and 21 solo stops.
"We lost some amazing players on defense, but we have a lot of players who played," said Matukewicz. "It looks like our secondary is as veteran and athletic as we've been. All of those guys are back."
SEMO took a hit at middle linebacker after losing All-American and the program's only Buck Buchanan National Defensive Player of the Year Zach Hall.
Mike Matthews and Brandon Mincey are projected to start at inside linebacker, while seniors Omardrick Douglas and Bryant Pirtle return at outside linebacker.
Matthews played in 13 games as a true freshman and earned Third-Team Phil Steele Freshman All-America honors in 2019.
Like Matthews, Mincey also logged four starts a year ago. He finished with 25 tackles.
Douglas ranked eighth on the team with 31 tackles in 10 starts, while Pirtle led SEMO with five sacks and ranked third on the team with seven tackles for loss last season.
Meanwhile, seniors Daterraion Richardson and Bryson Donnell are back to anchor the defensive line in SEMO's 4-3 set.
Special teams wise, the Redhawks are loaded.
SEMO returns its starting kicker, placekicker, holder, long/short snapper and top return men.
The Redhawks led the OVC in punting each of the last two seasons with Jake Reynolds as one of the league's best.
He enters his fourth year as SEMO's starting punter after punting 72 times for 2,904 yards for an average of 40.3 yards per punt last season.
Left-footed Adam Krause is expected to resume duties as the Redhawks starter on kickoffs.
Krause, also the team's starting holder, kicked off 69 times for 3,820 yards (55.4 ypk) and seven touchbacks.
Fifth-year senior Camden Boyle is SEMO's mainstay at long and short snapper.
Boyle has started each of the last three years playing a total of 36 games in that span.
Preseason All-OVC pick Kendrick Tiller is back to handle the placekicking responsibilities.
Tiller was the Redhawks leading scorer with 88 points on 16-of-22 field goals and 40-of-45 extra points a year ago. He ranked 14th in the nation in field goals per game (1.3).
All four of SEMO's top return men on kickoffs, including Custis, Smith, Davis and Young are back.
Smith, also the Redhawks top punt return man, rated second in the OVC with 10.1 yards per punt return in 2019. He ranked 18th in the nation in that category after running back 13 punts for 163 yards.
