Quarterback competition resumes at first Southeast Missouri State football practice

(function(d, s, id) var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));</script><div class="fb-video" data-allowfullscreen="1" data-href=""><div class="fb-xfbml-parse-ignore"><blockquote cite=""><a href=""></a><p>Senior wide receiver Paul McRoberts closed the Southeast Missouri Football team&#039;s first practice with a spectacular one-handed catch you have to see (and share).</p>Posted by <a href="">semoball.com</a> on Thursday, August 6, 2015</blockquote></div></div>

Southeast Missouri State's Paul McRoberts pulls down a pass during a drill in practice Thursday, Aug. 6, 2015 at Houck Stadium. (Glenn Landberg)

Southeast Missouri State senior receiver Paul McRoberts broke away from his defender, leapt into the air and snagged the ball with his right hand before turning and sprinting into the end zone at Houck Stadium while the rest of the offensive players joined him to celebrate.

That catch by McRoberts in a one-on-one "team finisher" on Thursday, which marked the end of the Redhawks' first practice of the season, was the same way the team's first practice a year ago concluded.

One of the few differences was who the throw came from. Junior college transfer quarterback Tay Bender was on the other end of McRoberts' impressive catch this time around instead of former Redhawks quarterback Kyle Snyder, who Bender and senior Alex Niznak are in the running to replace.

Bender, who enters the preseason with the No. 1 quarterback jersey that he obtained a few weeks into spring drills, hopes to see many more catches like that one during the season.

"Oh, yeah, definitely, and not just from Paul, all the receivers," Bender said. "Paul's a great receiver, but we've got four others out there, too."

McRoberts, a preseason all-Ohio Valley Conference selection, didn't stop smiling as he spoke about his teammates and the upcoming season. The 6-foot-3 receiver was especially thrilled about the progress he's made after fracturing his foot last season. He returned after missing five games to play the final three games of the season and was a first-team all-OVC receiver.

"Getting back out here and kind of having the mojo and confidence to really get off the ground like I used to, it's kind of coming back," McRoberts said.

Southeast coach Tom Matukewicz could sense an improvement from the entire team as he begins his second season as the head coach.

"I feel like you could tell that this was a Year 2 practice," Matukewicz said. "Year 1 it felt like a lot of balls on the ground, a lot of bodies on the ground, people not sure how to line up. This practice I felt like that wasn't the case. I felt like there wasn't hardly any balls on the ground, we didn't have to stop practice too much -- it felt good."

The 6-2, 240-pound Niznak agreed that it was a positive day for the Redhawks but knows that it's difficult to fully evaluate without the team practicing in full pads yet.

Southeast Missouri State's Alex Niznak looks to pass during a drill in practice Thursday, Aug. 6, 2015 at Houck Stadium. (Glenn Landberg)

"What are you going to judge in T-shirts?" Niznak said with a laugh. "I mean, it is what it is, but as far as not turning the ball over a ton [that was good]. Compared to last fall we have a lot installed so our ceiling is so much higher. I'm excited about how we're going to climb as we get smarter and smarter in what we want to do."

Niznak, who backed up Snyder last year after transferring from Central Michigan over the summer, completed 5 of 12 passes for 32 yards as a junior and rushed for 33 yards and a touchdown on seven carries.

"I really want to just continue to get better," Niznak said. "I know the standard rule that everybody talks about in college football is 3 percent [improvement] every day, but we made a lot of changes and some things over the summer that I talked about with the coaches and I set out to implement some changes in my mechanics, some changes in how we operate at the line of scrimmage, so if I can take everything that we worked on over the summer and just continue to see it shine through on the practice film then I think it'll be a successful day."

Niznak expressed how happy he was when he sat down with Matukewicz following spring practices and asked, 'Coach, all I want to know is are we competing?' and Matukewicz assured him that the starting job remained up for grabs.

Likewise Bender has an appreciation for the ensuing battle for the spot.

"It's not my first rodeo," Bender said. "I've been to other schools and had to do the same thing. I mean, you come here and you compete. You can't come into college thinking you're going to play right away. You've got to prove a point. Niznak's a great guy. We're competitive towards each other and it's up to the coaches on that decision."

Matukewicz said he doesn't believe Bender, who transferred from Iowa Western Community College, would be in competition for the job if he hadn't enrolled at semester and gone through spring drills with the team.

"Overall I think I did well," Bender said. "I mean, definitely got a lot of stuff to work on -- can't wait to see all the mistakes I made on film -- but overall I'm better than where I was last time and now it's just building up from there."

Southeast Missouri State's Tay Bender runs through a drill with coach Sherard Poteete during practice Thursday, Aug. 6, 2015 at Houck Stadium. (Glenn Landberg)

Bender led Iowa Western to a 22-2 record during his two seasons with the Reivers. The team's only loss last season was in the National Junior College Athletics Association national championship game.

He threw for 1,912 yards and 25 touchdowns and rushed for 184 yards on 82 carries with four touchdowns as a redshirt sophomore.

When he was asked for specifics on what he needs to improve Bender quickly replied, "Everything. There's not one thing I can say I'm great at."

Matukewicz's decision will come when he feels one of the quarterbacks shows that he's separated himself from the pack.

Last year it took until the team's final scrimmage of fall camp for Matukewicz to determine that Snyder was the man for the job. Matukewicz said Thursday that he judges his quarterbacks on what they're able to accomplish when the designed play isn't there and if they're able to extend a play or run for a first down, which Snyder did frequently as last year progressed.

"That scrimmage there was a couple plays down here on that end zone where he did just that and that's what I was looking for," Matukewicz said.

Snyder broke the school's single-season record for total offense with 3,243 yards during his final season at Southeast. He threw for 2,582 yards with 23 touchdowns and rushed for 734 yards with five touchdowns.

"I think the team kind of rallied around Kyle," offensive coordinator Sherard Poteete said. "They saw the capability of him being able to make plays. Just when a play broke down it wasn't, 'The play's over.' Kyle was able to make something happen."

Redshirt freshman Anthony Cooper and freshman Dante Vandeven, a graduate of Jackson, round out the quarterback contingent.

"Those two guys, I think, are ahead of the other two and I don't think it's even close right now," Poteete said of Bender and Niznak. "Those two guys are getting it done. Great leadership skills, guys that can throw it, they're very comfortable in the system right now so I just sit back, give them some advice and let them play."