Southeast football team lands Sikeston's Trey Lewis

It's been a good two days for Southeast Missouri State football coach Tony Samuel.

Southeast announced that Samuel signed a new five-year contract with a nice pay raise Tuesday morning.

A little more than 24 hours later Samuel announced the signing of 22 players to national letters of intent during Wednesday's opening of the NCAA signing period. Up to four more signings are expected today.

"We had a nice mix of junior college and high school kids," Samuel said. "We felt that was very important."

According to various Internet reports, Southeast beat out some high-profile Football Championship Subdivision schools for several of the signees who no doubt were influenced by the Redhawks' success in 2010.

Poplar Bluff senior Josh Freeman, left, recorded 237 tackles and 7 1/2 sacks during his high school career. He rushed for 183 yards and a score as a senior. (DAVID JENKINS ~ Sikeston Standard Democrat)

"A lot of guys I feel like of higher quality we were able to go after. That's what winning does," said Samuel, who led Southeast to its first Ohio Valley Conference title and first playoff berth while being named OVC and national coach of the year. "We were able to attract more people to at least take a look at us."

Southeast's latest batch of signees, featuring players from nine states and one from the Netherlands, includes eight junior college transfers, one Football Bowl Subdivision transfer and 13 high school seniors. The Redhawks signed considerably more junior college transfers than last year to help replace the 20 seniors on the 2010 roster.

Southeast did better in Missouri and the St. Louis area than a year ago, which Samuel said also was a result of the 2010 success. The Redhawks landed six players from Missouri and five from the St. Louis area, including two from O'Fallon, Ill.

"I think we did a much better job on Missouri kids, the St. Louis area," Samuel said. "A big part of that was the success we had as a team. It opened up a lot more doors."

Two of the high school signees are from Southeast Missouri -- dazzling dual-threat quarterback Trey Lewis from Sikeston and safety Josh Freeman from Poplar Bluff.

Lewis passed for more than 1,500 yards and rushed for more than 1,400 yards while accounting for 40 touchdowns in leading the Bulldogs to a 13-1 record and Class 4 semifinal appearance last season. He averaged nearly 12 yards per carry.

Samuel said Lewis is capable of playing several positions, including wide receiver and defensive back, but he will start out at quarterback when he arrives on campus.

"He's just a great all-around athlete," Samuel said about Lewis, also a state track champion. "When he settles in and starts playing just one sport, I think he'll be really good."

Southeast signed a second touted dual-threat quarterback in Demarco Billups from Career Academy High School in St. Louis. He passed for more than 2,500 yards and 25 touchdowns while rushing for more than 400 yards with a per-carry average of better than 12 yards last season.

One Internet site ranked Billups as the top dual-threat quarterback in the state.

"He's another kid athletic like Trey," Samuel said.

While all-conference senior-to-be Matt Scheible is established firmly as Southeast's starting quarterback, Lewis and Billups appear to have the skills to battle for the position one day in the Redhawks' versatile attack that includes plenty of option.

"Both guys can run our offense," Samuel said. "You want the mobile quarterback that is a dual threat."

After graduating four starting offensive linemen -- three were all-conference and two made All-American -- Southeast signed six at that position. Three are juco transfers and five are listed as weighing at least 315 pounds.

"We'll have some numbers there, a mix of junior college and high school," Samuel said.

Southeast signed four defensive backs, three defensive linemen -- all juco transfers -- three linebackers, two running backs and two juco transfer tight ends in addition to the pair of quarterbacks.

A big topic among Southeast fans is who will man the backfield in 2011 after the Redhawks graduated their top three running backs, including record-setting All-American Henry Harris.

Samuel said that remains to be determined, with several candidates already in the program and two talented high school backs entering the fold Wednesday.

Samuel suggested that a back to keep an eye on among the latest signees is Lewis Washington Jr., a 215-pounder from Arlington, Texas.

Washington rushed for nearly 1,000 yards and 15 touchdowns in a highly competitive district last season. He also was offered scholarships by FBS programs Minnesota, Colorado State, Rice, North Texas and Arkansas State, according to Rivals.com.

AJ Cobb, who is from Oklahoma City, was named Oklahoma All-State Player of the Year after rushing for 2,448 yards and 32 touchdowns last season.

Southeast's FBS transfer is safety Bunduka Kargbo, who played in six games as a freshman at Buffalo last season. Samuel said he can play a variety of positions.

"We haven't figured where we're going to play him. We just know he's a great player," Samuel said.

Kargbo already is enrolled at Southeast and will participate in spring practice. The same goes for three juco transfers: offensive lineman Pete Niggemann and defensive linemen Quinn Perry and Taylor Ramsey.

Southeast's international player is Stern Vile, a 6-foot-6, 325-pound offensive lineman originally from the Netherlands who played juco ball in Arizona.

The two signees from O'Fallon, Ill., were among the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Super 30 recruits. Offensive lineman Carlos Beverly was ranked 18th and cornerback Sam Poole was rated 28th. They played together in high school.