Competition (should) breed success for SEMO tight ends in 2023

There is only one tight end that receives recognition by the Ohio Valley Conference on each of its postseason honor squads, and Southeast Missouri State senior Will Weidemann was named to the league’s Second Team last season, which means there was only one other player at that position in the conference deemed better than him.

Suffice it to say, Weidemann’s graduation leaves a gaping hole in the Redhawks’ tight end room, which now has the SEMO coaching staff doing a whole lot of evaluating and teaching this spring to the players battling for that coveted starting spot.

“We were a little concerned last year,” Redhawk tight end coach Cole Cook said, “because we knew Will was going to be gone. There was a point in the (2022 FCS Playoff) game at Montana, where we only had one functional tight end, (then-freshman) Braden Thompson.”

To rectify the lack of depth at the position, the SEMO coaches got to work in the off-season and recruited other candidates, moved another position player to tight end, and had the SEMO Director of Sports Performance work his magic with Thompson.

Thompson came to Cape Girardeau last summer weighing 233 pounds but now weighs 256 pounds.

Not only did he pound the weights, but so did redshirt freshman Nolan Reed, who has moved from linebacker to tight end this spring, and added 31 pounds of muscle.

“I’ve got multiple guys in my room,” Cook said, “who have turned into freakish athletes through our great strength program. Now, it’s a question of ‘Can I get them better? Can they keep getting better, so that we can help this offense be really, really good?’”

Thompson played in five games as a true freshman last fall, while Reed has only spent about five minutes at the position. However, sophomore Danny Joiner played in nine games and caught seven passes in those games.

In addition, the Redhawk coaching staff recruited Southern Mississippi transfer Mitchell Sellers (6-foot-5, 270 pounds), who spent time at both tight end and defensive line with the Golden Eagles.

“Mitchell is a great kid,” Cook said. “He has been easy to coach. He works hard and he wants to get better. Obviously, with his size, that is something that is really helpful to our team. We’re going to continue to improve him, get him better, so he can help us win this fall.”

The Redhawks also have incoming freshmen Bryce Chrestman (6-foot-5, 240 pounds; Pontotoc, Miss.), Andrew Civey (6-foot-4, 225 pounds; North County HS), as well as redshirt freshman Nik Rowland (6-foot-5, 225 pounds; Poplar Bluff HS), who made a great catch across the middle late in a recent practice.

“We’re going to end up being deeper than we have ever been for fall camp,” Cook said. “I’m really excited about coaching these guys. They are so fun to coach. I love coming to work every day. It is a blessing to be around them.

“I am really looking forward to the potential they can provide for us.”