Incredibly young SEMO OL will face daunting task today

Veteran Southeast Missouri State football coach Tom Matukewicz has spoken often of how critical the play of the offensive line has been each time that his team has ventured West to compete in the FCS Playoffs against a nationally-ranked squad.

The history of the Redhawks’ play up front hasn’t been superb when facing really good teams from outside the Ohio Valley Conference.

Well, guess what? Saturday’s test at No. 16-ranked Kansas State (FBS) will be the toughest yet for a Matukewicz-coached team, and the SEMO offensive line is as young as it has ever been under Matukewicz.

“Kansas State is the best team that we’ve played since I have been here,” Matukewicz said of his 10 years with the program.

The No. 11-ranked Redhawks (FCS) will visit the Wildcats in Manhattan on Saturday at 6 p.m. (ESPN+), and how the incredibly inexperienced offensive line holds up will determine how competitive SEMO will be.

“We probably won’t know until we get a couple of FCS games under our belt how good we can be,” Matukewicz said. “Because Kansas State is that good. We may not know, even after this game, how good this team can be.”

At the heart of the offensive front is veteran center Zack Gieg, and the Redhawks will have nothing to worry about in that spot.

The senior has started 22 games and was honored as the best center in FCS a year ago.

Even next to Gieg at right guard, SEMO is fine.

Junior Kobe Sixkiller made 11 starts a year ago and fared very well in his first season after transferring from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M. However, at that point, no one – including Matukewicz – truly knows what to expect from this position group.

At left tackle, Jamarcus Hill (6-foot-5, 290 pounds) and Rashad Turner (6-foot-5, 305 pounds) will both be playing in their first collegiate games on Saturday after redshirting last fall.

SEMO is slightly better at left guard and right tackle, but not much.

“It is what it should be,” Matukewicz said of his offensive line’s performance in training camp, “which is inconsistent. There have been days that you feel good about it, and days that you are concerned.”

At left guard, the Redhawks will start graduate student Clive Truschel, so that sounds like a positive, right? Well, Truschel (6-foot-3, 290 pounds) has played in 15 games in his career, including eight during the 2022 season, but has only started twice.

His backup will be Trey Gibbs (6-foot-3, 285 pounds), who spent last fall as a redshirt at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M and will get his indoctrination into college football in a very hostile and challenging environment.

“We are going against a good (defensive) front seven,” Matukewicz said. “I would say a top 10 front seven, but that is a good thing.”

Come again?

“We can continue to get good at hard things,” Matukewicz said.

At right tackle, redshirt sophomore AJ Laux (6-foot-4, 290 pounds) will start the first game of his career and has nine games of playing experience while his backup is Marshakie Applewhite (6-foot-3, 300 pounds) and will be playing in his first game at the FCS level after transferring from Jones Community College in Mississippi.

“Eventually,” Matukewicz said, “I believe that we will have a good offensive line. But I also think that it is going to take us three or four weeks.

“It won’t be a talent thing, but until you do life together, those five (starting players) have to act like one, and it takes a lot for that to happen.”