Samuel, Harris are finalists for FCS awards

~ The Southeast football coach and running back are among 20 finalists for the Robinson Award and Payton Award, respectively

Southeast Missouri State football coach Tony Samuel and record-setting senior tailback Henry Harris are in the running for two major national awards, it was announced Monday

Samuel was named one of 20 finalists for the Eddie Robinson Award, which honors the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) national coach of the year.

Harris was named one of 20 finalists for the Walter Payton Award that goes to the FCS's outstanding player.

Both awards will be presented at the national awards banquet Jan. 6 in Frisco, Texas, the night before the national championship game.

A panel of nearly 175 sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries will select the award winners.

Samuel has guided the Redhawks to one of the best seasons in program history and the fourth-best one-year turnaround in FCS history after Southeast went 2-9 last season.

The Redhawks, ranked eighth and ninth in the two major FCS national polls, won their first Ohio Valley Conference title this year.

Southeast, 9-2 overall and 7-1 in the OVC, is in the playoffs for the first time in the program's 104-year history.

The Redhawks, who received a first-round bye for the 20-team FCS playoffs, visit Big Sky Conference co-champion Eastern Washington (9-2, 7-1) at 3:05 p.m. on Dec. 4.

Eastern Washington, No. 1 in both major FCS polls, is seeded fifth for the playoffs. Only five of the 20 teams receive seeds.

Harris ranks first nationally in all-purpose yardage (219.8 yards per game), second in rushing (147.9 yards per game), second in rushing touchdowns (17) and fourth in scoring (9.82 points per game).

Harris rushed for a school-record 293 yards against Southwest Baptist on Nov. 6, the highest total by an FCS player this year.

Harris has broken Southeast single-season records for rushing yardage (1,627), all-purpose yardage (2,418), rushing attempts (285), rushing touchdowns (17) and total touchdowns (18).

Prepping for EWU

Samuel said the Southeast coaching staff already has done some preliminary film study of Eastern Washington and came away impressed.

"They're a spread offense. They've got a great running back, a very good quarterback. You can see he knows the game," Samuel said. "They're coached up well. You can see the fundamentals there."

Eastern Washington, making its eighth playoff appearance -- and fifth in the last seven years -- is led offensively by All-American junior running back Taiwan Jones and junior quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell, a transfer from SMU who started all 19 games in which he played for the FBS program.

Jones leads the Big Sky Conference with 1,344 yards rushing after piling up 1,213 yards in 2009. He is averaging 7.6 yards per carry and has scored 14 touchdowns, 11 rushing and three receiving. He also is first in the league in all-purpose yardage with an average of 195.1 per game.

"He's explosive," Samuel said.

Mitchell is the Big Sky's No. 2 passer, having completed 210 of 358 (58.7 percent) for 2,583 yards. He has thrown 25 touchdowns and been intercepted 11 times.

Samuel said the Redhawks will have a "chopped up" practice schedule this week.

Southeast will practice this afternoon and Wednesday morning, after which players whose families live fairly close will have the opportunity to head home for Thanksgiving. Practice resumes Friday afternoon.

Travel plans for Southeast's trip to Eastern Washington -- in Cheney, Wash., about 1,935 miles from Cape Girardeau -- still are being worked out. The NCAA pays travel expenses for the team and support staff.

The Redhawks will fly to Washington, likely landing in Spokane, which is less than 20 miles from Cheney. Samuel said Southeast's team hotel will be in Spokane.