Southeast Missouri State football team set to open spring practice

Tony Samuel enters his sixth spring practice as the Southeast Missouri State football coach.

This one is different than the rest because it marks Samuel's first spring following a winning season.

And not just any kind of winning season. One of the top seasons in the program's 104-year history, a season that saw Southeast capture its first Ohio Valley Conference title and earn its first playoff berth among other record-setting accomplishments.

But as the Redhawks begin spring practice Saturday with a noon session at Houck Stadium, Samuel emphasized that he's approaching this spring with the same consistency he has his other five at Southeast.

"Last season was great, but we have to start over now," Samuel said. "Nothing has really changed in the way we approach things. We try to do the same basic things, work on fundamentals, identify players. ... Spring is very important."

The NCAA allows college football teams 15 spring practices, including a spring game, which will be at noon April 30 for the Redhawks. The Redhawks also will hold scrimmages at noon April 9 and 16.

Southeast primarily will practice at 6 a.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays leading up to the spring game. The public is invited to attend all practices and scrimmages, which are at Houck Stadium.

While the entire Southeast squad won't be together until fall drills, the Redhawks will get a jump on finding replacements for the 20 key seniors lost off a squad that went 9-3 overall and 7-1 in the OVC. Southeast fell to eventual national champion Eastern Washington in the program's first playoff game.

"We have an awful lot of work to do. We have a lot of people to replace," Samuel said. "We've got a mixture of veterans returning, some young talented guys. We need to identify some guys, see how they develop into the system."

Despite having such a senior-dominated 2010 club, the Redhawks do return quite a few top players, including all-OVC quarterback Matt Scheible and All-American safety Tylor Brock.

A big question mark is what players will fill the void left by the departure of All-American tailback Henry Harris, who broke most of the program's single-season rushing records. The Redhawks' next two top running backs, Mike Jones and Nathan Grass, completed their eligibility as well.

Southeast also must replace four offensive line starters, including two All-Americans, along with key performers on the defensive side of the ball.

"It's real easy for people to talk about replacing the players who did great things, but every position is just as important," Samuel said. "We lost a lot of people."