Southeast Missouri State football team looking for respect vs. Missouri

Southeast Missouri State junior defensive lineman Marlon Hampton made his way up the hill from the lower practice field at the Rosengarten Athletic Complex toward the end of Tuesday's football practice.

When the 6-foot-2, 314-pound nose tackle got to the top he paused and began dancing, which isn't uncommon at Redhawks football practices.

But the song wasn't the usual hip hop and rap music usually heard during the team's two-hour sessions.

For the first 15 minutes and the last 15 minutes of practice Aretha Franklin's "Respect" was played continuously over the speakers at the Rosengarten Athletic Complex, and it will likely continue throughout the rest of the week.

Southeast coach Tom Matukewicz used the same tactic prior to the team's game against Football Bowl Subdivision opponent Kansas last season.

The song played on a loop until he felt the players were tired of it, then he had the team's regular playlist switched back on as the Redhawks prepared for their season opener against FBS foe Missouri.

"I just want them to know that you're not only playing for Southeast and your teammates but for everybody that's been told they ain't quite good enough, you know?" Matukewicz said. "I'm pretty sure they wouldn't trade rosters, they wouldn't trade coaching staffs. At the end of the day if the man across from you*...does he respect you? Everybody respects a hit. Everybody respects playing hard. Everybody respects playing smart. Those are the kind of things that when we walk off that field, win or lose, we want to gain their respect by what we prove out on the field."

The Redhawks opened last season with a 77-0 win over NAIA Missouri Baptist, which was playing its first game in its inaugural season, but have a much tougher task at hand this year.

Matukewicz said he would prefer to play an in-state team like Division II University of Missouri-Rolla to open the season, an opponent that Southeast would have a much higher chance of beating than the Tigers.

"Eventually, hopefully you're good enough to where you're in a playoff scenario and now playing those tougher teams help you prepare," Matukewicz said. "The Ohio Valley Conference is plenty tough so from a schedule standpoint I'd try to schedule wins if it was up to me. It's not, so I take them how I see them and prepare my team."

The switch from preseason preparation to a focus on Mizzou began on Sunday.

Matukewicz acknowledged that a Football Championship Subdivision team like Southeast "can't exist without" games like it will play Saturday, one in which the Redhawks will make $385,000 for playing at Faurot Field. He knows the program is fortunate to face an in-state opponent rather than traveling across the country for a money game.

"A game like this also can legitimize your program like that," Matukewicz said as he clapped his hands together. "You walk in a recruits home and they say, 'Hey, man, you almost had Mizzou,' or 'You beat Mizzou,' and now all of a sudden you're relevant. That's a tall task. They've been playing football a long time and they've never had an FCS team beat them, so we're trying to do something that's never been done."

The Redhawks made a stop at Faurot Field for a walk-through en route to their game against Kansas last September, and Matukewicz enjoyed being able to tell his players they'd be right back there a year later.

"I want to make sure that we enjoy the moment," Matukewicz said. "One thing about it is you can get caught up in all this stuff and the pressure and all these things, and we don't really realize how fortunate and blessed we are to be able to play a great game like football and play it at an SEC institution on a national stage. We're going to make sure we take the time to sit back and really enjoy the moment."

Matukewicz was heard hollering at senior DeMichael Jackson on a punt return drill, "They didn't want you," and "You wouldn't even be on their travel team."

Jackson laughed at the outburst from the second-year coach, which was less for motivation than it was to get a rise out of his running back and returner.

"I like being funny. I tell them I'm the only guy on the team that can be funny, so I make jokes," Matukewicz said. "One thing is you don't have to motivate them. You've just got to make sure they understand how to play well."