Young SEMO recruiter was a 'dog' in landing 2023 Redhawk class

Some college football programs will add to their Class of 2023 recruiting classes today, as the second of two National Signing Days kicks off. However, in the case of Southeast Missouri State, the work of the Redhawk coaching staff, in particular, first-year recruiting coordinator Madison Bunch, is complete.

SEMO added 26 signees from 10 different states during the initial signing period in December, and the overall assessment of the class, which was under the guidance of Bunch, was positive.

“Don’t let the glasses and skinny arms fool you,” 10th-year Redhawk coach Tom Matukewicz said of Bunch on National Signing Day, “he’s a dog.”

Bunch has spent the past five years working… well, like a “dog,” to prepare himself for a career in coaching. He played at both Southern Nazarene (Oklahoma) and Central Arkansas, before graduating in 2018.

He spent his final season at UCA as a student assistant, which led to a year as the wide receivers coach at NCAA Division III Hendricks College in Arkansas.

That step in the process led to working with running backs at NCAA Division II Arkansas Tech, before moving on to NCAA Division II North Alabama.

Bunch had a connection with former Redhawk assistant defensive backs coach, Tevin Madison, who recommended that he come to Cape Girardeau.

“It’s been a wild ride,” Bunch said. “Coaching at (five schools) in four years, but that is how football is. It’s been fun and I’ve learned a lot along the way.”

Throughout that circuitous journey, Bunch has built on his knowledge base at each stop, but in his current role, he always has had the foundation of possessing personable skills, which translates well in recruiting.

“He is a great people person,” Matukewicz said of Bunch. “He has really developed a lot of the processes in our program to make sure that we recruit at a high level.”

Bunch had the luxury of being able to tap into some valued resources in current SEMO offensive passing game coordinator Justin Drudik and running backs coach Luke Berblinger, who both served as the program’s recruiting coordinator earlier in their career.

“This place,” Bunch explained, “is all about the people. Having Coach Berblinger and Coach Drudik (still) on staff, really helped me out a lot, along with our director of football operations, Brett Blackman.

“Without them, I don’t know if we would have had the class that we had.”

Both Bunch and Matukewicz spoke of the SEMO football program in terms of being a “family,” which Bunch said he emphasized when speaking with all of the parties involved in a student-athletes decision.

“As recruiting coordinator,” Bunch said, “I have to be able to build relationships with, not only the kid but their coaches and their families.”

The class of 2023 proved unique, because of the level of academic success that the class, as a whole, brought.

This group received over $94,000 in academic aid, which helps the Redhawk coaches distribute the limited football money to more student-athletes.

“The $94,000 in academic money in this class,” Bunch said, “says a lot about these kids’ character on and off of the field.”

Bunch said that each of the signees had to possess the talent to help SEMO win another Ohio Valley Conference championship, but each player had to bring a lot more to the table than just talent.

“We ask a lot of questions,” Bunch said. “We ask ‘Does (the player) love football? Does he work hard? Is he competitive? Is he coachable?’

“I feel if you are like that in the classroom, then that relates to the field.”

The Redhawks do not have plans to add to the class of 2023 on the first day of the second signing period.