Southeast Missouri State football team's Ryan McCrum trying to kick inconsistency

Southeast Missouri State kicker Ryan McCrum knew coming into his junior season expectations were high.

The first-team All-Ohio Valley Conference and third-team Sports Network All-American kicker, who made what is probably the biggest turnaround of any Redhawk last season in coach Tom Matukewicz's first season, placed his own expectations for himself higher than anyone else's.

Six games into the season, he's struggled to reach the standards he set.

"Not living up to my expectations," McCrum said following Tuesday's practice at the Rosengarten Athletic Complex. "Also, not living up to the coaches' expectations of me this year. I definitely need to keep on improving, whether it be just little work here and there, but my game just needs to step up completely overall. Everything."

McCrum was elevated from walk-on to full scholarship recipient following his sophomore season when he made 18 of 23 field goals. He broke Southeast's single season record for field goals, including making four 50 yards or longer and a career-long 55-yarder, and made 42 straight PATs before missing his final attempt last season.

McCrum has made 5 of 10 field goal attempts this season and is 15 of 15 on PATs.

He missed three field goals against Southern Illinois on Sept. 12 before kicking the game-winner in the final seconds.

He missed one in Southeast's 27-26 loss to nationally-ranked Indiana State and one last weekend in a 33-28 loss to Eastern Illinois.

He made one 35-yarder against Missouri in the season opener and two in the Redhawks' 27-10 win over Murray State.

"He's just like everybody else on our team, just inconsistent," Matukewicz said. "We go from game-winning field goals to missed field goals that he should be able to make."

No one has more confidence that McCrum will turn his season around than Matukewicz does, though.

"I think it's a focus thing that leads to just physical stuff with his steps and his plant foot and those type of things," Matukewicz said. "I know he knows what to work on, and he's just in a slump and he's got to work himself out of it."

The second-year coach said he'll continue to send McCrum out when the game situation calls for a field goal and remains loyal to his kicker.

"I've had bad days, too," Matukewicz said. "So he may have another bad day, but I know eventually he'll be good."

McCrum hasn't pinpointed the cause of his missed field goals. He's had the distance on all, but two have been wide right and three wide left.

He analyzes all of his film, studying everything from his body language after a make or a miss to his preparation and walk up to kick.

"I just keep on coming out every day and keep on practicing on what I know that I need to do," McCrum said.

McCrum has 10 touchbacks this season and is averaging 62.5 yards per kickoff. He finished last season with 31 touchbacks and averaged 62.1 yards.

"I'm not fine with where I'm at on kickoffs," McCrum said. "I know I can perform a lot better than that considering I was kicking a lot better last year than I am as of right now. I need to get more touchbacks so I can get our defense in a better position."

McCrum's fellow specialist, punter Alex Knight, has been able to assist the defense again this season.

Knight, a junior, leads the conference and is third in the Football Championship Subdivision with a punt average of 46.6 yards. He finished second last season with an average of 41.4 yards.

His career long is 65 yards, and he's punted inside the opponent's 20-yard line 15 times this season. He had 13 downed inside the opponent's 20 last season.

"He's done a great job and Coach [Matt] Martin has done a great job of moving the punts around to where a lot of the balls are hitting the ground, [bouncing] and gaining yards," Matukewicz said. "Our punt team is doing a good job."

During practices, Matukewicz will get in Knight's face, jumping around, waving his papers in his face while telling him to do better or do what he just did well every time.

Knight laughed when asked about the odd encouragement tactic from his coach.

"It's good for me because it really makes me focus and makes me know that this is an important job, like punt's a big deal, and I need to be always perfect and consistent with my job," Knight said.

"If I have the ball on the right spot on the field -- on the numbers, in between the numbers and the hash and the sideline -- every single time, everyone's job is easier," Knight added.

Career over for Black

Junior defensive end Austin Black's football career is finished.

Black has suffered from a chronic lower back injury known as a Pars Defect, which Southeast athletic trainer Ben Fox likened to a stress fracture, and over time it became severe enough that he will need surgery and end his career.

Matukewicz said the decision was made after Black met with a specialist.

"It's been bothering him," Matukewicz said. "We've been holding him a little bit on some contact, and at the end of the day they just recommended that he give it up."

Black, from Warrenton, Missouri, redshirted in 2012 and was a first-team Phil Steel All-American, a finalist for the Sports Network's Jerry Rice Award for the top first-year player in the FCS, and was named to the College Sports Journal All-Freshman and OVC All-Newcomer teams as a redshirt freshman. He had 52 tackles, 9 1/2 for loss and 4 1/2 sacks that season.

He had 18 tackles, 2 1/2 for loss, last season, and had seven tackles, one for loss, in six games this season.

Fletcher Evans moves into the No. 2 spot at defensive end behind John Popovish.

Senior Travis Sanders began the season as the starting DE before tearing his ACL. Junior defensive end Selwyn Carrol is currently day to day with a lower back injury sustained at EIU.

Nose tackle Joshua Wilson also tore his ACL but could hold off on surgery and play some the remainder of this season.

Evans and redshirt freshman DT and Poplar Bluff graduate Quentin Michel were moved from scout team to second string.