Southeast looks for talent to fill small gaps in roster

Southeast Missouri State University football coach Tim Billings said he hopes to land as many as 15 players during the national signing period that begins today.

The Indians, who have gone 7-15 in their first two seasons under Billings, lost just eight seniors from last year's 4-7 squad, including only three starters.

WIth some of the young talent Southeast featured last season, the Indians aren't in desperate need of major impact players across the board, although Billings said he would like to shore up the defensive line and add depth at several positions.

"We definitely would like to get a couple of defensive lineman from junior college," said Billings. "We'd also like to sign a player or two at the other positions to improve our depth, and we want to keep adding to our talent level."

Billings said the Indians will attempt to sign about 10 high school players, with the remainder coming from the junior-college ranks. Coaches are prohibited by NCAA regulations from commenting directly on a prospective recruit until he signs a letter of intent, but Billings said he feels like his staff's recruiting efforts have gone well overall.

"We feel like we're in on some really good players," Billings said. "In some cases, we're going up against Division I-A programs. We know we won't win most of those battles, we just hope to win a few."

-- Marty Mishow