SEMO lands productive transfers to bolster thin WR group

The biggest positive for the Southeast Missouri State football program as it begins spring drills on Tuesday will be the fact that senior quarterback Paxton DeLaurent doesn’t have his arm in a sling any longer.

For the second consecutive season last fall, DeLaurent was injured, which resulted in the Redhawks struggling without him.

It is a great thing that DeLaurent is back on the field, however, it remains a concern that SEMO graduated four of its top five pass catchers from last fall, so DeLaurent will have to build chemistry – in large part – with a whole new group of receivers.

“(Recruiting) is still the philosophy that we’re trying to build this (program) through the high school ranks,” 10th-year SEMO coach Tom Matukewicz said this off-season, “But we did have some needs that I felt like we had to address.”

The Redhawks signed a pair of junior college recruits in Wesley Corbitt (Northeast Mississippi College) and Tristan Smith (Hutchinson Community College).

Corbitt had 15 receptions in six games and averaged an impressive 19 yards per catch while scoring three times.

A couple of things standout in regards to Smith. First, he is 6-foot-5, which could pair nicely with returning SEMO wideout Dorian Anderson, who is 6-foot-7. Secondly, Smith played in 10 games last fall for national junior college powerhouse Hutchinson Community College, which finished its season 10-1.

Smith hauled in 14 receptions for the Blue Dragons.

Those two will compete with the Redhawks’ top returning pass-catcher, redshirt junior Jack Clinkenbeard, who played in all 11 games and caught 27 balls for 315 yards.

As much potential as Corbitt and Smith possess, the most productive signee in the 2024 recruiting class is former Truman State standout, Tate Crane.

The 6-foot-3 athlete was tremendous at the NCAA Division II level over the past three seasons.

“We are always doing our homework on guys, no matter the level,” Redhawk recruiting coordinator Desmond Noird said. “It’s not like we dive into the D2’s and D3’s, but we always take a look at the transfer portal and see who is in there.

“We watch the film, evaluate it, and make sure that they are a good fit for us.”

Crane certainly should be on the field.

During his time at Truman State, he caught over 100 passes for 1,200-plus yards and 10 scores.

He led his team in receiving each of the past two seasons.

Matukewicz said that he would “rather” recruit very good players from lower levels, as opposed to signing less productive guys from higher levels.

“If I get somebody from (Missouri),” Matukewicz explained, “it’s just tough because he’s going to wonder where his fifth pair of shoes are. It will be ‘Where is my this and where is my that?’

“That just gets your locker room a little funky.”

SEMO finished last season 4-7 and will conduct 14 spring practices followed by the annual spring game on April 20 at Houck Field (5:30 p.m.).