Peiffer tries coaching while waiting for shot at NFL

~ The former football standout remains at Southeast as a student coach

Blake Peiffer's professional football aspirations were dealt a serious blow when the former Southeast Missouri State All-American linebacker was not invited to a single NFL tryout this year.

But don't write the final chapter in Peiffer's football career just yet.

While Peiffer knows the odds are stacked against him, the Jackson High School graduate plans to give the NFL one more shot next year.

"I still run, I still lift," Peiffer said. "There's a pretty good chance. ... I have to give it one more shot, being young, before I can say I'm done."

In the meantime, Peiffer is back at Southeast, taking classes toward his degree in exercise science and helping out the football program as a student coach.

"It's different, being on the other side of the ball, but I'm enjoying it," said Peiffer, who said he's contemplating entering the coaching profession some day. "That's one of the reasons I'm doing this. I'm learning a lot. ... now I have to see things as a coach instead of as a player."

It remains to be seen what type of coaching career Peiffer has, if he chooses to go down that path.

But as a player, Peiffer reached a level of success that few ever experience while suiting up for the Redhawks from 2009 through 2012.

Peiffer was named to multiple FCS All-American teams following both his junior and senior seasons. He set the school single-season record with 151 tackles as a junior, then last year compiled 117 tackles as he was named the Ohio Valley Conference defensive player of the year. He finished his career with 359 tackles, third all-time at Southeast.

Peiffer, more than individual success, relishes the Redhawks' 2010 season that saw them win the program's first OVC championship and earn the program's first playoff berth on any level.

"I can't complain at all," Peiffer said about his college career. "I basically accomplished everything I wanted, winning an OVC championship, making All-American."

Peiffer set his sights on following in the footsteps of his father Dan, a standout Southeast center in the early 1970s who went on to a solid NFL career.

Much to Peiffer's dismay, he received not even a sniff from football's highest league.

"It was real disappointing. But things happen for a reason," Peiffer said.

Peiffer knows what prevented him from getting an NFL tryout -- his lack of speed. He said he tested out fairly well in most areas during his Southeast pro day and at various regional combines but was timed in the 4.9-second range for the 40-yard dash.

"Mainly speed. If I can get that 40 time down, it will open more doors," Peiffer said.

Southeast coach Tony Samuel never failed to praise Peiffer's determination and work ethic during his career with the Redhawks.

Samuel believes that if anybody can get NFL scouts to give him another look, it's Peiffer.

"He did a great job for us. We all know that," Samuel said. "We all know how his work ethic is. The things he's working on now hopefully will help him get another shot."

For now, Samuel is happy to have Peiffer back with the Redhawks even if the coach can't use him in games.

"He's got an awful lot of experience he brings to the table," Samuel said. "It's great to have him out here with us."

Coaching might indeed some day be in Peiffer's future -- after he gives the NFL one more try.