Southeast football adds key talent on offense

The Southeast Missouri State football team will have at least two more nice additions to its 2011 roster, along with the incoming recruits that already have been announced.

Joining the program, although not yet announced by the university, will be running back Levi Terrell and quarterback Scott Lathrop.

Terrell should be a major boost to the backfield after he led Division II Nebraska-Omaha in rushing the past two seasons before the school dropped its program. Terrell will be eligible to play immediately at Southeast since UNO no longer has football.

Terrell led the MIAA -- among the nation's premier Division II conferences -- as a freshman in 2009 with an average of 159.6 yards rushing per game. He had 1,182 yards and seven touchdowns in only eight contests, then rushed for 960 yards in 2010 despite being slowed by a hamstring injury.

Terrell rushed for nearly 2,300 yards and 33 touchdowns as a senior at Fox High School in Arnold, Mo., in 2008. He piled up 720 yards and 10 touchdowns in three playoff games, including a whopping 402 yards and six touchdowns against Oakville in the Class 6 quarterfinals.

Terrell then considered Southeast before opting for UNO. The 6-foot, 200-pounder reportedly runs a sub-4.5 40-yard dash.

Lathrop, a Warrenton High School senior, will come to Southeast as a walk-on. The dual-threat quarterback led the Warriors past Sikeston in the 2010 Class 4 semifinals before they lost in the championship game.

Lathrop passed for more than 2,200 yards as a senior while rushing for more than 1,800 yards and accounting for more than 40 touchdowns. Southeast doesn't need his skills right away but he is a player to watch for the future.

There also has been talk that Sikeston High School senior Corey Porter, the standout two-way lineman, will join the Southeast program.

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A little on the Southeast football facility upgrades finalized over the past several months by the university:

The FieldTurf surface at Houck Stadium is in the process of being replaced, and renovations are underway at the Rosengarten Athletic Complex, including a new locker room. A new scoreboard also is coming to Houck.

All are welcome and necessary improvements in Southeast's attempt to keep up with its competitors in the all-important area of recruiting.

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The Southeast men's basketball program did not land Dijon Farr, a junior college wing player it had been recruiting. Farr signed with Utah last week.

Give Southeast coach Dickey Nutt credit for being in the mix for someone talented enough to wind up at a major program.

Nutt told me the Redhawks still are looking at a player or two as the spring signing period continues.

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Former Southeast assistant basketball coach Toby Lane officially was announced as joining the University of Missouri staff under new coach Frank Haith on Friday.

Lane will be the Tigers' director of basketball operations after serving the past four seasons as associate director of basketball operations at Miami under Haith.

Lane spent three seasons under two coaches at Southeast. He served during Gary Garner's final two years and was on Scott Edgar's initial staff during the 2006-07 campaign before going to Miami.

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Former Southeast All-American catcher Jim Klocke recently announced his retirement from professional baseball.

Klocke, who completed his eligibility at Southeast in 2010, had a solid rookie season last year in the Phillies' organization, hitting .290 for Philadelphia's short-season Class A team. He had one home run, five doubles, two triples and 17 RBIs in 100 at-bats.

Klocke was selected by the Phillies in the 31st round of the 2010 major league draft.

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The Harding University baseball team that features two local products won the Gulf South Conference West Division, marking the Division II program's first regular-season conference title since 1984.

Ryan Modglin, a Scott City High School graduate, was 3-0 with a 3.49 ERA entering the Gulf South tournament that concludes Tuesday. He had eight starts for the Bisons.

Modglin is a sophomore transfer from Division I Missouri State, where he saw limited action in 2009 before missing all of last season with a shoulder injury.

Talley Haines, a Central High School graduate, is in his first season as the Bisons' pitching coach while also serving as their high school recruiting coordinator.

Haines pitched in the minor leagues for 10 years, reaching as high as Class AAA.

Harding, located in Searcy, Ark., was 37-10 -- the highest win total in school history -- heading into the league tournament that sends the winner to the NCAA tournament.

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If you've completed your American Legion eligibility and want to play some baseball this summer -- and you're pretty talented -- the Plaza Tire Capahas will hold tryouts at 2 p.m. Sunday at Capaha Field.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.