Southeast Missouri State football picked to finish 5th in conference at OVC media day

There are three Ohio Valley Conference opponents that coach Tom Matukewicz and the Southeast Missouri State football team have yet to beat.

That trio -- Jacksonville State, Eastern Kentucky and Eastern Illinois -- is expected to remain the upper echelon of the conference.

Two-time defending conference champion and Football Championship Subdivision runner-up JSU was picked as the favorite to win it again this year in the OVC preseason poll, which was released Monday at the annual OVC media day in Nashville, Tennessee.

JSU, which has gone undefeated in conference the last two seasons, received 16 of the 18 first-place votes and had 128 points in the poll, which is voted on by league coaches and sports information directors.

EIU picked up the other two first-place votes and was third with 97 points while EKU was second with 100 points.

Southeast Missouri State's Tremane McCullough talks to the media on Monday.

"I feel like there's kind of the three at the top with Jacksonville State, Eastern Illinois and Eastern Kentucky that the rest of us are kind of chasing," Matukewicz said in an interview at media day.

UT Martin came in at No. 4 with 96 points while the Redhawks were fifth with 66 points.

Southeast was also picked to finish fifth in an OVC media poll. The Redhawks were picked sixth in the preseason poll last year and finished fifth with a conference record of 3-4.

Tennessee State was picked sixth with 55 points, Tennessee Tech was seventh with 45 points, Murray State was eighth with 43 points and Austin Peay was ninth with 18 points.

"Well, I say it every year. The parity in the OVC over the last few years has gotten at an all-time high, I think," JSU coach John Grass said. "Every week you've got to go out and play your very best and being picked to win the big conference is a big task.

"You've got to take each and every week as its own. You can't look ahead or look behind because every team in the OVC is capable of beating each other every week and I think you see that in how close the games are and an upset here and there. I think the OVC, the parity in the league is really, really good."

So how does Southeast close the gap to the top?

"I think the biggest thing is just coming together," Matukewicz said. "I think we're good enough, we have the talent. It's just whether or not we can play together and care about each other enough to do all the little things it takes when you're not doing football."

Some of the Redhawks' talent was recognized on Monday, with five being selected to the preseason all-OVC team.

Running back Tremane McCullough, guard Garret Baker, linebacker Roper Garrett, cornerback Mike Ford and safety Eriq Moore all earned preseason all-conference recognition.

McCullough, who called himself a wide receiver during interviews at media day, was a first-team all-OVC RB as a junior while Baker, Garrett and Ford were each second-team selections.

"We're excited. Excited that we're returning kind of a veteran team," Matukewicz said. "Last year we had 11 seniors. This year we have 25 and 17 returning starters, so this isn't their first rodeo, and that's kind of nice. Hopefully we can move from Chapters 1 and 2 to Chapters 6, 7 and 8 here. Just a lot of enthusiasm within the program."

One of the biggest challenges Matukewicz foresees is replacing receiver Paul McRoberts, who signed with the Los Angeles Rams as an undrafted free agent following his record-breaking, four-year career at Southeast. Finding a good kick and punt returner and maintaining the team's health are also priorities.

Matukewicz anticipates the defense, which returns seven starters, to be ahead of the offense to start the season.

"It feels like the leadership is just outstanding," Matukewicz said. "They've been basically working on their own all summer at 6:30 in the morning, five days a week, and we haven't had any issues pop up. There's a couple days they've been a little growly, but that's about it, and so that's nice as a coach you just feel like even when you're not there that standard's still the same."

The Redhawks open the season Sept. 3 at Memphis. It's the first game that Matukewicz, in his third season at Southeast, was involved in scheduling.

"That area is extremely important to us in recruiting," Matukewicz said. "It's just 2 1/2 hours away, so a lot of our donors and fans and alumni can travel to the game. We're excited about that. Then we get to take on two Missouri Valley teams in SIU and we open up with Indiana State at home, so those are good. Then we're on ESPN3 for Murray. The first four games are really exciting and then after that I don't even know who we play."

The Redhawks travel Sept. 10 to Carbondale, Illinois, to face regional rival Southern Illinois and the following weekend host Indiana State in their home opener on family weekend.