Southeast Missouri State football team signs three quarterbacks among its 17 recruits

A pretty good quarterback battle should be in the works at Southeast Missouri State after Wednesday's opening of the NCAA signing period.

Southeast coach Tony Samuel announced the signing of 17 players to letters of intent, including Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) transfer quarterback Kyle Snyder.

Snyder, who was a redshirt freshman reserve at Ohio of the Mid-American Conference this year, already is enrolled for the second semester and will participate in spring practice.

"He's very talented." Samuel said.

The 6-foot-1, 225-pound Snyder, originally from Barberton, Ohio, completed 5 of 8 passes for 38 yards and rushed 13 times for 80 yards in five games at Ohio, which went 9-4 overall and 6-2 in league play to win the MAC East Division championship.

Snyder set career records at Barberton High School for passing yards (6,553) and touchdown passes (64). He finished his prep career with 85 total touchdowns and 8,233 yards of total offense.

Snyder operated in an offense at Ohio that was fairly similar to what Southeast utilizes.

"He runs our offense first of all," said Samuel, whose squad employs a multiple offense with plenty of option principles that requires a capable running quarterback. "He's a very good runner. He has a great reputation as a worker."

Snyder was among three quarterback signees announced Wednesday, the other two being high school seniors.

Samuel said it's way too early to anoint Snyder the favorite to take over as the starter for record-setting Matt Scheible, who completed his eligibility.

Southeast's only other quarterback who has appeared in a college game is Sikeston, Mo., native Trey Lewis, who saw limited action as a true freshman last season after winning the job to back up Scheible.

"Snyder's a kid that's played Division I football. He's going to be here in the spring. Anybody who's here in the spring will have a leg up," Samuel said. "I would expect it's going to be a stiff competition. We have to wait and see how things work out."

The other 16 signees announced Wednesday are all high school seniors.

Samuel seemed pleased about that, and he indicated the need for junior college transfers was not as great as in years past because the 2011 Redhawks had only a handful of senior starters.

"I think we signed a good crop. We have a good combination of speed, youth and athleticism," Samuel said. "I feel real fortunate. When you take a look at these kids. ... Some of them will develop into top-flight athletes."

The signees feature players from nine states. Six are from Missouri.

Southeast signed five defensive linemen, three quarterbacks, three wide receivers, two defensive backs, one offensive lineman, one running back, one linebacker and one player classified as an athlete.

"Quarterback and defensive line were two areas we really focused on," Samuel said. "We needed quarterbacks. We signed some athletic quarterbacks. We have six defensive linemen that will be seniors."

The other quarterback signees are Blake Jackson from Houston and Colby Baker from Hardee, Fla.

Jackson was limited to two games during his senior season at Dobie High School due to injury. As a junior he threw for 1,036 yards and 10 touchdowns while rushing for 980 yards and nine TDs.

Baker led Hardee High School to the second round of the state playoffs.

Another quarterback possibility is BJ Buckner from Kirkwood High School in suburban St. Louis.

Buckner, listed as a wide receiver, threw for 1,202 yards and 16 touchdowns as a senior in helping Kirkwood reach the Class 5 state championship game.

Two of the signees are rated among the top 20 recruits on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Super 30 list.

Austin Black, a defensive lineman from Warrenton, Mo., is ranked 16th. He recorded 108 tackles as a senior.

Wide receiver Paul McRoberts, from Soldan High School in St. Louis, is ranked 20th.

McRoberts, also considered a Division I basketball prospect, led the metro region with 1,607 receiving yards and 23 touchdowns as a senior.

"We were tickled pink to get him. He's very explosive," Samuel said.

Another player with eye-opening statistics is running back DeMichael Jackson from Louisville, Ky.

Jackson ranked third in the state of Kentucky in rushing with 2,093 yards and 29 touchdowns as a senior.

Samuel credited the numerous facility upgrades in the Southeast football program for helping land the latest batch of signees.

"A lot of the kids were very surprised when they came on recruiting trips about the facilities, the upgrades, the improvements," Samuel said.