Scott City senior duo makes college football future official

Mark Panagos and Tyson Underwood have spent their entire careers as two of Scott City's top athletes over the last four years, especially on the gridiron.

On Wednesday, what has long felt like the inevitable became reality, as the senior duo signed their letter of intent to play college football in front of coaches, friends, and family.

Panagos signed to play for Truman State of the Division II ranks, while Underwood signed to be a preferred walk-on at Southeast Missouri State.

"The biggest thing was the sense of relief," Underwood said. "You work so hard for four years to try to go somewhere after high school. Your senior and part of your junior year is spent heavily on recruiting, all the hours you spend on social media and going to campuses. Knowing that stuff paid off and they want us to put pen to paper and extend my career another four or five years, it really was a sense of relief."

Panagos came onto the scene immediately after his brother, Joe Panagos, concluded his memorable athletic career at Scott City. He wore No. 12 in his honor and played all four boys' sports. If you were an athletic male playing sports in Scott City over the last four years, you had Panagos as a teammate.

Panagos played every offensive skill position for the Rams over the last four years. He went from wide receiver to running back to quarterback.

Playing college football was clearly his aim from the start. When his coaches handed him a map to locate his targets to send the film for the recruiting process, he sent it back with one circle.

"I just circled the whole map," Panagos said.

Panagos said he knew Truman State was the place for him after he visited the program and campus. There, he is expected to either return to his roots as a receiver or play primarily as a defensive back, which was his primary position on defense at Scott City.

"Wherever they need me, I'm going to play," Panagos said. "I wasn't really looking and going in for a position. I was looking for a college that fit me the best and I could just go in and play wherever they needed me."

As for Underwood, he followed the path to SEMO paved for him by Trenton Lathum, who was his teammate at Scott City in 2022.

"All I heard was good things about the program," Underwood said, "how well they treat you, how well they treat their players, and how the development is there. I really wanted to get and play with my former teammate."

SEMO had long been the preferred destination for this preferred walk-on. Underwood reached out to the Redhawks coaching staff as early as the spring. He also contacted SEMO head coach Tom Matukewicz in the middle of the season. Matukewicz watched Underwood and the Rams defense decimate New Madrid County Center in the playoffs and the process of the senior becoming a Redhawk truly began.

"When you shut down a high-powered offense like that, really just blow the scoreboard up, it opens eyes," Underwood said. "Especially when a lot of people thought going in that New Madrid's wide receivers would have a heyday against us."

There were programs from Division II to NAIA that inquired about bringing in Underwood as a running back. However, he knew that defense would be his path to SEMO and leaned into it.

"I did a lot of reflecting and a lot of good thinking about what I wanted to actually play in college," Underwood said. "I feel that the defensive side of the ball for me, I have a better natural talent for it and I can really hone that craft and ability and be great."

Underwood battled shoulder injuries to become a dependable running back for the Rams. He said because of those injuries, it took a while during this past season to find his identity on defense.

"Mainly due to my shoulder injury from this past year, I had a hard time trying to find a fit with that, really trust in myself to not break down again," Underwood said. "When I finally started trusting myself, that's when those big defensive games came about, all those big hits, interceptions, all that stuff."

Unlike a traditional NLI, a preferred walk-on only has a spot on the roster, no scholarships, and no guarantees or promises of a future. Everything that comes Underwood's way from here on out is to be earned.

"I'm ready to show people how hard I can work and what I can bring to the team," Underwood said. "I got a spot on the roster. That's all I got and that's all I need, so that's what I'm going to work with. Since I got so little, I can only go up from here."