Turner capitalizes on 1st Indian start

Plenty of freshmen made major impacts right away for Southeast Missouri State University's football team this season, but O.J. Turner was not among them.

That, however, is no longer the case.

Turner, a Cape Girardeau Central High School product who had primarily seen action on special teams, made his first collegiate start at outside linebacker Saturday night against Tennessee-Martin.

And Turner came up big. After coaches reviewed game film Sunday, Turner was credited with a team-high 12 tackles, including a quarterback sack, as the Indians knocked off the visiting Skyhawks 45-30.

"O.J. is maturing and learning what we want him to do," said Southeast coach Tim Billings during his weekly media conference Monday. "He's a real good athlete and he plays hard. He made some big plays (Saturday)."

Enough that Billings said Turner would probably be in the starting lineup once again this Saturday when the Indians (3-3, 1-1 Ohio Valley Conference) hit the road to take on league favorite Eastern Illinois (3-1, 2-0), the nation's 10th-ranked NCAA Division I-AA team.

"We've had high hopes for O.J. all along," Billings said. "He's just another of our good freshmen. We're happy we've got him."

Two other local true freshmen also recorded collegiate 'firsts' against UT-Martin. Tight end Ray Goodson, who has started a few games, caught his first pass, good for 27 yards, while backup defensive tackle Caleb Daniel had his first quarterback sack. Goodson and Daniel are both from Jackson.

And one more rookie from the area prep ranks -- true freshman kicker Derek Kutz out of St. Vincent -- continued to shine as he booted a field goal and six extra points Saturday. For the season, Kutz is 5-for-6 on field goals and 16-for-18 on PATs.

NCAA statistics

Several Indians continue to rank in the top 10 in various national statistical categories.

Tailback Curtis Cooper, who rushed for a career-high 216 yards against UT-Martin, is third nationally in all-purpose running with 222.8 yards per game. He is also sixth in punt returns with an average of 20.25 yards per attempt and is just outside of the top 10 in rushing as he ranks 11th with 133 yards per game.

Cooper's rushing performance Saturday was Southeast's first 200-yard outing since 1992 when Kelvin "Earthquake" Anderson gained 222 yards against Murray State. It had previously been incorrectly reported that Dione Tyler had gained more than 200 yards in 1995.

Wide receiver Willie Ponder, despite catching just one pass for 17 yards Saturday, is still eighth nationally in receiving yards per game (118.5).

Defensively, safety Prince Anderson ranked fifth nationally last week in tackles per game (13.5). Injury update

The Indians suffered several injuries against UT-Martin, but Billings said most of the players should be able to go against Eastern Illinois

Quarterback Jeromy McDowell, who left in the first quarter after re-injuring the left knee he had originally sprained Sept. 22 against Illinois State, suffered no structural damage.

"He's sore, but his knee is stable," Billings said. "We'll just have to see how well he does in rehab this week."

Wide receiver Adrian Sanders (bruised knee), defensive end Adam Jones (bruised knee) and safety Leotis Belcher (sprained ankle) should be ready this Saturday.

Billings said defensive end John Paul Usrey, who suffered a concussion and spent Saturday night in a local hospital for observation as a precaution, is questionable.

Also, No. 3 quarterback Rashad West was on the sidelines but not suited up against UT-Martin. Billings said West continues to be bothered by knee problems and his status for the rest of the year is up in the air.