Southeast Missouri State football team inks Jackson QB Dante Vandeven

Southeast Missouri State football coach Tom Matukewicz needed few words to explain what Jackson senior quarterback Dante Vandeven, who signed a National Letter of Intent to play for Matukewicz on Wednesday morning, brings to the Redhawks football program.

"Well, first and foremost, he's got 'it,'" Matukewicz said at a press conference.

The coach, who signed his second class of recruits Wednesday, followed that up with some of what that it-factor entails.

"If you haven't met him, he's just a guy that's extremely talented and he makes those around him better," Matukewicz said. "He's got a lot of presence about him. When he came to camp I really liked him. We ended camp with a one-on-one, really a lot of competition where we put some heat on him and the guy's just a cool cucumber. I mean, the guy stands there and delivers the ball. I'm really excited about him."

The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Vandeven is equally excited about the opportunity to continue his football career at the college level, but understands there will be a learning curve when he arrives on campus in the summer.

"I'm going to have to go in and definitely [work] on maturity still," Vandeven said. "As being the freshman in college, you're still going to have to be able to switch lanes from high school to college football. People tell me all the time, 'It's a lot different. It's a lot faster,' which I'm going to have to understand, and I'm going to have to pick up on, but I'm just going to have to be a better quarterback on my reads and being quicker with the ball and stuff like that."

Vandeven completed 58 percent of his passes as a senior, throwing for 2,210 yards and 24 touchdowns. He also rushed for 954 yards and 19 touchdowns as he helped the Indians to a 10-2 record and a berth to the Class 5 state quarterfinals for the second year in a row.

"For the last two years he's been one of the better athletes that's been on the field, no matter who we've played, and there have been times where he hasn't been challenged athletically," Jackson coach Brent Eckley said. "And I see his skill set -- he's got quick hands, he's got quick feet and that transitions very well to that level. Plus he's got the height, he's got the weight that he can play that level. They're a spread-type offense, their quarterback's going to have to read, they're going to have to run and throw, and that fits him perfectly."

Eckley noted that even if quarterbacking didn't work out for Vandeven at Southeast, he's a more-than-capable punter and has the talent to be a receiver, but Matukewicz succinctly answered, "Yep," when asked if Vandeven would compete at the quarterback position for the Redhawks.

"He's just got to get his weight up a little bit, physically just mature and get bigger," Matukewicz said. "He's got to learn the offense, he's got to stay healthy, he's got to earn the respect of his teammates just like the rest of this class."

Jackson quarterback Dante Vandeven poses during his All-Missourian photo shoot last month. (Laura Simon)

Vandeven was one of two quarterbacks signed by Southeast. Junior mid-year transfer Tay Bender, from Iowa Western Community College, is enrolled at the university and will participate in spring practices.

The two will be in the mix to replace quarterback Kyle Snyder, who exhausted his eligibility, along with senior Alex Niznak and redshirt-freshmen Anthony Cooper and Griffin Pickler.

Eckley said that Vandeven's become more serious at the work that goes in to being a successful quarterback and was more committed to watching film and training. He added that he will need to continue that and work to increase his size and strength for the next level.

"He's a guy that probably needs to carry 15 more pounds to be able to stay healthy throughout a season and getting banged and bounced around," Eckley said. "I mean, shoot, I saw the physical specimens that Southeast has at quarterback -- some physical kids -- and they're not able to finish. ... They've gotten banged around, knocked out of games, so he's going to have to get heavier. What's good about it is he's such a good athlete that he's good at avoiding the shots. Sometimes the guys that have that don't have to be as big and physical if they're quick and athletic enough to avoid the shots. He's pretty good that way, but he'll still need to carry a little bit more weight."

Vandeven doesn't expect to instantly arrive on campus and be a star, but believes he's capable of contributing to the turnaround of the Redhawks program, which enters its second year under Matukewicz.

"One thing's for sure, you go into wherever you're going and you become a team player rather than being that leader on the team," Vandeven said. "Over there you're not going to have that seniority deal. It's going to be totally different like that, the best players are going to play. I really liked how Coach Tuke expressed that, so I feel like going over there it's just going to be everyone coming together, and we're going to try to get an OVC ring or something like that."