Calvin quietly assembles strong career for Redhawks

~ senior cornerback Eddie Calvin was in Samuel's first recruiting class and is looking for his first winning season at Southeast

Eddie Calvin has had an impressive football career at Southeast Missouri State.

In fact, Calvin's numbers suggest that he has been among the Ohio Valley Conference's better cornerbacks the past two years.

Yet Calvin has never earned any type of postseason OVC recognition, which indicates that the senior just might be among the league's more underrated defensive players.

"I feel like I've done pretty well, but I don't worry about that at all," Calvin said during Friday's Southeast media day.

Neither does Southeast coach Tony Samuel, who is content with the fact Calvin has been a steady and often spectacular performer since his freshman season.

"I can't worry about that," Samuel said of Calvin's lack of OVC recognition. "Eddie does a great job for us and he's just a great all-around kid."

Calvin may not have found his name on any all-conference lists, but one organization didn't overlook him.

Consensus Draft Services named Calvin a preseason honorable-mention Division I-AA All-American.

"I think he's that kind of player," Samuel said.

The 6-foot-1, 180-pound Calvin is coming off a junior season that saw him rank second in the OVC with eight passes defended and tied for fourth in the league with four interceptions.

In addition, Calvin was fourth on the team with 69 tackles, including five for loss, with a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. He added a career-long 56-yard kickoff return.

As a sophomore in 2007, Calvin led the OVC with 18 passes defended and added two interceptions. He returned one of those picks 100 yards for a touchdown against Southwest Baptist to become the 26th player in NCAA history to pull off that end zone-to-end zone feat.

Calvin was a solid contributor as a true freshman in 2006, playing as a backup cornerback and on special teams. He intercepted one pass and has seven for his career.

"He's had a great career for us," Samuel said.

Calvin, a product of Rockwood Summit High School in suburban St. Louis, came to Southeast not even sure if he would get on the field during his rookie season.

But as part of Samuel's first recruiting class in 2006, Calvin was forced into early playing time along with many other true freshmen.

"I was surprised a little bit, considering I had never played cornerback before," said Calvin, a safety/outside linebacker type in high school.

Said Samuel: "Quite a few of those guys had to play early. You'd like to have redshirted them, but you couldn't. But that's a big, big plus now, to have those kinds of leaders."

While Calvin has excelled on the field at Southeast, he also has stood out in the classroom.

A member of the Dean's List, Calvin is on track to graduate in December -- after just 3 1/2 years -- with a degree in criminal justice.

"I've taken a lot of summer classes," the soft-spoken Calvin said with a smile.

Calvin said his goal is to open up a private parole/probation office for adults, but he would like to put those plans on hold for at least a while as he hopes to pursue professional football opportunities.

With Calvin's speed and quickness, and the fact he continues to get bigger and stronger, Samuel believes he "has the ability to go on to the next level."

First, however, Calvin would love to go out a winner as far as team success is concerned.

The Redhawks are just 11-23 the past three seasons -- they were 4-8 a year ago -- and are predicted to finish at the bottom of the OVC in 2009.

Calvin believes a turnaround is possible.

"We have all the tools. We just have to come together," he said. "Individual success is nice, but it's still the W's you want to get. I want to win."