THE LATEST LINE: BILLINGS ANXIOUS TO BEGIN

Tim Billings was the picture of calm Tuesday afternoon as he sat behind the desk in his office at the Rosengarten Athletic Complex.

But Billings, who was hired in December to turn around Southeast Missouri State University's football program, admitted that his relaxed demeanor masked plenty of excitement and anxiety.

Billings is raring to go as he and his staff take care of last-minute preparations prior to welcoming all of their players on to campus for the start of preseason practice.

The wait for SEMO's first-year head coach is just about over. Approximately 30 newcomers -- freshmen and transfers -- report Thursday. They'll have three days of workouts among themselves.

Then Aug. 7, the rest of the squad -- about 60 more players -- comes in. After a brief break for the team's annual media day Aug. 8, full-squad, two-a-day practices will begin Aug. 9.

"I'm always excited when practice gets closer, but I'm a lot more excited now,' said Billings with a laugh. "It's a nervous excitement."

Billings' excitement is a bit different these days because his job title has changed dramatically. For the past 10 years, he was an assistant coach at Marshall, which made the unique transition from Division I-AA juggernaut to Division I-A powerhouse without missing a beat.

But now, for the first time ever, Billings is wearing the title of college head coach. He's going to try and jump-start a program that is 13-31 over the last four years and has had just one winning season since 1990.

Billings isn't about to promise that SEMO will win a certain number of games this first season -- it figures to take at least a couple of years before he's able to build his talent base to a solid I-AA level -- although he did tell me that he believes the Indians will have an opportunity to snare quite a few victories.

But Billings does promise plenty of excitement, with his basketball on grass offense and attacking, speed-oriented defense.

The schedule is extremely difficult, starting with an intriguing road game Aug. 31 when Billings takes his new team to face his old squad. Billings knows most people will expect the Indians to be slaughtered by Marshall, but he's anxious to see just how his group stacks up against the mighty Thundering Herd.

Excitement surrounding SEMO football seems to be fairly high around town, and it's definitely high in the Indians' camp. That's generally the case when there is change, in this case a brand-new coaching staff.

Whether that excitement will translate into success on the field this year remains to be seen, but Billings says he can't wait to find out -- no matter how calm he looks.

* You can't put all that much stock in preseason polls, but Missouri's football team is expected to have a second straight down year as the Tigers are picked to finish last in the Big 12's North Division.

* Former Scott County Central High School basketball great Marcus Timmons, who enjoyed a brilliant career at Southern Illinois in Carbondale, will be inducted into the SIU Hall of Fame Sept. 9.

Timmons has spent the past several seasons playing professional basketball overseas.

~Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian