Southeast Missouri State University Athletics

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The 2024 season marks the third that Connor Benado will coach Southeast Missouri’s inside linebackers and specialists.

Benado spent his first year on the Redhawks staff overseeing defensive quality control and assisting with the outside linebackers before coaching the inside linebackers and specialists.

Inside linebacker Bryce Norman, a First-Team All-Ohio Valley Conference pick, led SEMO in tackles each of the last two seasons under Benado. The Redhawks also had Dalyn McDonald who earned First-Team All-Big South-OVC honors after leading the league in punt returns during the 2023 campaign.

Prior to SEMO, Benado worked two years at Missouri State where he was in charge of special teams quality control.

In 2018, he was a graduate assistant and inside linebackers coach at William Jewell College.

Benado started coaching at MidAmerica Nazarene University in Olathe, Kansas. There, he was the inside linebackers and assistant strength coach for two years. He also worked with special teams, academics football operations and quality control.

As a player at MidAmerica Nazarene, Benado helped lead the Pioneers to the 2016 Heart of America Conference title.

Originally from Oxnard, California, Benado earned his bachelor’s degree from MidAmerica Nazarene in 2016.

He and his wife, Caitlyn, reside in Cape Girardeau.