SEMO FB brings in talented (and smart) 2023 recruiting class

"I've earned the right not to coach any dumb-butts."

- SEMO Football coach Tom Matukewicz

Last month, the Southeast Missouri State football program signed 26 student-athletes from 10 states, several of which are already in Cape Girardeau, as the program begins its work today towards another Ohio Valley Conference championship.

“You stand here and look at (2023),” 10th-year Redhawk coach Tom Matukewicz said on National Signing Day, “and man, it’s going to be a pretty good team.

“We’ve got to make sure that we do a great job from January to August and be humble and hungry.”

The work ethic of the Redhawk athletes – from a football perspective – won’t be in question, and based upon the signing of these players, neither will their focus in the classroom beginning on Jan. 17 when the Spring Semester gets underway.

“This class,” Matukewicz said, “between the 26 of them, has $94,000 of academic aid.”

Of the 26 student-athletes that signed, 24 had grades higher than a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, which Matukewicz said is a stark difference between now and when he first took the SEMO job.

“When I first got here,” Matukewicz explained, “if you were a good player, and you had a 3.0, then you ain’t coming here.”

Those players are now, and that ability to attract top athletes, who are also top students, has a meaningful impact on the remainder of the Redhawks’ roster.

“That ($94,000) is four more players,” Matukewicz said of being able to sign more players out of his pool of scholarship money. “That has really helped us spread it around.”

The emphasis on academics is addressed early in the recruiting process by SEMO, according to recruiting coordinator Madison Bunch.

The Redhawk coaches will watch film of a player, which begins the recruiting process, but that is followed by a series of “hard questions,” which will determine the direction of where the journey leads.

Bunch said that the Redhawk coaches will ask the young man about their love of the game, their work ethic, their love of competition, and “are they coachable?”

“As the recruiting coordinator,” Bunch said, “I have to be able to build relationships with not only the kid, but their coaches, and their family. That academic money says a lot about these kids and their character.”

The SEMO coaches leave no stone unturned, which includes evaluating the parents of each player.

“The (assistant coaches) do a lot of the talent evaluation,” Matukewicz said. “But I am more of a ‘fit first’ guy. They have to fit. That doesn’t make them bad or me good, or the program good, but if it doesn’t fit, it doesn’t fit.

“If I don’t like the parents, then I’m not taking their kid. They have spent 18 years with them, what am I going to do in four?”

Signing class

The Redhawks added 26 incoming players for the 2023 class. Here is a list of those who signed with SEMO.

Demarkus Brown, defensive back, Mt. Pleasant, Tenn.

Jaleel Chambliss, defensive back, Griffin, Ga.

Camani Cobbs, defensive back, McDonough, Ga.

D.J. Delmore, defensive back, Baton Rouge

Amari Townsend, defensive back, Louisville

Jehchys Brown, defensive line, Centralia, Ill.

Servhant Counsellor, defensive line, Tulsa

Jaylon Stone, defensive line Athens, Ga.

Sam Cook, outside linebacker, Neosho/Western Illinois

Kingston Kamal, outside linebacker, Jacksonville Beach, Fla.

Temidayo Odugbemi, outside linebacker, Dallas, Ga.

Jeremy Walton, outside linebacker, Gurnee, Ill./Trinity International University

Marshakie Applewhite, offensive line, Itta Bena, Miss./Jones CC

Trey Gibbs, offensive line, Jenks, Okla./Northeastern Okla. A&M

Ethan Hatton, offensive line, Memphis

Kaleb Pearley, offensive line, Metairie, La.

Demoni Taylor, offensive line, Radcliff, Ky.

Logan Leftrick, punter, Springfield, Tenn.

Greg Menne, quarterback, Independence

Cole Ruble, running back, Imperial

Bryce Chrestman, tight end, Pontotoc, Miss.

Andrew Civey, tight end, Bonne Terre

Dorian Anderson, wide receiver, Oakland, Tenn./Shorter University

Demetrion Cannon, wide receiver, St. Louis

Donnie Cheers, wide receiver, Marion, Ark.

Jacques Wyatt, wide receiver, Clarksville, Tenn.