Southeast freshmen add depth to Redhawks football team

Southeast Missouri State football coach Tony Samuel has said all along that he's been impressed by this year's freshman class.

That fact is evidenced by the most recent depth chart released by Samuel.

While no true freshmen are scheduled to start Thursday's season opener at Southeastern Louisiana, seven are listed as No. 2 at their positions for the 7 p.m. kickoff in Hammond, La.

"With those true freshmen, it's not because of necessity," Samuel said. "In most cases, they earned those spots."

True freshmen listed as backups on offense are center Jake McCandless from Newburgh, Ind.; right guard Billy Dasher from Birmingham, Ala.; and fullback Luke Dougherty from Phenix City, Ala.

Defensively, true freshmen penciled in as backups are end John Popovich from Louisville, Ky.; tackle Marlon Hampton from the St. Louis suburb of Webster Groves, Mo.; linebacker Alex Schwab of New Berlin, Wis; and cornerback Buck Wilson of Commerce, Texas.

Several more rookies could see action, either Thursday or in other games this season.

"We'll just have to see how it goes," Samuel said.

This year's Southeast squad is young in general, with only a handful of seniors expected to start. A host of underclassmen will be in the lineup at Southeastern Louisiana.

Redshirt freshmen slated to start are Garret Baker at right offensive tackle, Selwyn Carrol at defensive end and Austin Black at defensive tackle.

Sophomores listed as starters are right offensive guard Traven Mable, wide receiver Paul McRoberts, nose tackle Jon Slania and defensive end Travis Sanders.

"I know we're young, but we have more experience than it looks," Samuel said.

Noteworthy

* The Redhawks, who normally leave for road games the day before the contest, will depart by bus Tuesday evening in order to break up the roughly 510-mile trip.

Southeast will travel a few hours Tuesday, spend the night and then complete the journey to Hammond, La., on Wednesday.