Southeast Missouri State football coach Tom Matukewicz makes most of extra time to recruit bigger, deeper class

The script was written last year for how the Southeast Missouri State football coaching staff would recruit -- local kids first, move north toward St. Louis and south to Memphis, pick up some kids along the way to both locations and then snag any other "difference-makers" wherever they could be found, according to coach Tom Matukewicz.

That remained the same, but with much more time leading up to signing his second recruiting class of 26 players from five different states.

"Last year it was basically you're just trying to put a class together, so we didn't know a whole bunch about a lot of guys, but we got started in our recruiting model," Matukewicz said. "We took guys from the area we're going to come back and take more guys from, and we got that started. This class you just know a lot more. And we beat people. Two kids that had been committed we lost to [BCS]. When you do that, you lose a kid to Arkansas State and you lose a kid to Ball State, that's a good sign."

The Redhawks signed 11 student-athletes from Missouri, five from Memphis, five from Florida, four from Mississippi and one from Nebraska.

A dozen of the 18 high school signees were seen by the Southeast coaching staff at camps.

"Anytime you can validate a recruit like that, it's a lot less chance of a bust," Matukewicz said. "I'm not going to go buy a house on YouTube or buy a car on Hudl, so I want to see those kids, see what their work ethic's like and all those things, and we were able to do that. Just looking forward to getting them here and getting things going."

The recruits also had some evidence as to what Matukewicz and his staff were capable of. The Redhawks' improved record and wins over ranked opponents Southeastern Louisiana and Tennessee State were a selling point.

"I think they loved what they were hearing because that gave teeth to the talk as far as, 'Hey, they are doing this. This is an exciting time here,' so it just gave you a little more validity when you come into the home and talk about what we're doing and how we're going to do it," Matukewicz said. "Now you have proof."

Getting bigger

Throughout Matukewicz's first season he stated on more than one occasion that he and his staff were going to recruit bigger, stronger and faster players.

This year's class had at least a few that Matukewicz believes fits part of that bill.

Six-foot-6, 311-pound Drew Forbes of North County High School; 6-5, 319-pound Drew Swihart of Parkway West High School; and 6-6, 265-pound Mitch Yant of Vianney High School will join Southeast's offensive line as freshmen and have the size advantage of their upperclassmen counterparts.

"On the offensive line we didn't have a kid over 6-5, and we signed three of them this year," Matukewicz said. "It's just the fact that you've got to have the frame so you can put 300 pounds on there and still be quick. If you're 6-2 and in the 300s, you know what that looks like compared to 6-5. We didn't have any and we were able to get three this year, so that tells me a lot.

"And all three were at a padded camp. We have a padded camp. A lot of kids come and wear a bunch of lingerie and run a 40[-yard dash]. Well, that's not what a 40 is. I mean, that's not what football is. It's not a cross country race, there's a physicalness to it, and that's why we have padded camps. All three of those offensive linemen were at our camp, and that's why I feel really good about it."

There will also be some added size to the defensive line with 6-6, 265-pound Ryan Truvillion from Park Hill High School in Kansas City, Missouri.

"He's going to be a big individual," Matukewicz said. "We've got to develop him, but he's a guy that's got a 27 on the ACT -- the only thing I'm worried about is if he's too smart to coach."

Filling the greatest need

There was one area that needed more replenishing than the rest of the roster during this year's recruiting process -- the secondary.

The Redhawks picked up seven defensive backs, including four junior college transfers, to help fill in the holes left by the likes of all-conference cornerback Tim Hamm-Bey, corner Reggie Jennings and safety Ron Davis.

Southeast gave up an average of 229.6 receiving yards per game last season.

Another new addition to the secondary is cornerbacks coach Melvin Rice, whose hiring was announced on Jan. 20. Rice had served as defensive quality control assist on Minnesota coach Jerry Kill's staff since 2011 and replaces Travis Fisher, who accepted the cornerbacks coaching position at his alma mater, the University of Central Florida.

"Unfortunately we had to get some guys that could play right away," Matukewicz said. "I didn't get a seven-year contract, I've got three years left on this thing, and we've got to win. All of our secondary is depleted. When that class went out we had a lot of empty classes, and we signed more junior college players than I normally will. I'm a junior college product, so I'll always recruit some of those kids, but we had to fill in some of these empty classes that we've had to just get more depth."

Read more about the players who signed here. Read more about Jackson quarterback Dante Vandeven's signing here. Read more about the team's junior college transfers here.