Matukewicz holds steadfast about his plans for Year 3

Southeast Missouri State football coach Tom Matukewicz has never wavered from the statement he made when he was first hired in December 2013.

His plan was to be in the mix for an Ohio Valley Conference title by Year 3, and still is as his team is another step closer to that third season beginning as the Redhawks wrapped up their third spring under Matukewicz on Friday.

Most of Matukewicz's blueprint for success had come from his past rebuilding experiences in various assistant coaching positions under Jerry Kill, but this January he veered from that blueprint with an overhaul of his leadership model and after five weeks of spring practices he's plenty pleased with the progress.

"Instead of me trying to lead the 105 guys, I'm going to do a good job leading my 10 full-time position coaches, and then they're going to lead their units," Matukewicz said. "What I try to do is get 105 guys to come together, and that's just not possible, so what we're trying to do is get our position groups to come together and lead through that."

The decision to restructure the program from a leadership standpoint stemmed from Matukewicz not feeling like the team's unity and leadership last season, in which the Redhawks went 4-7 and 3-4 in the OVC, was at the level he'd hoped it would be.

He read a few books and talked to a few people on the matter before changing it up in January.

"I felt like we failed. I failed as a leader," Matukewicz said of the decision.

"I've been a part of a lot of championships, been a part of a lot of good teams, and when you reflect on those good teams there is just a bond and a caring factor in every one of those teams, and so that's really what we're trying to do," Matukewicz said, "trying to get these guys to be together not only when they're in school and lifting and all that, but also when they're off they're hanging out with each other also."

The leadership council that's been in place since he arrived will remain, but the "10 strong" concept of the 10 position units within the team leading each other is top priority.

The Redhawks wrapped up spring ball with a team meal with visiting family and a kickball tournament. The teams were split up by their position units. The team-bonding activity was in place of the annual spring game, which was canceled due to injuries.

"It was a good spring, and I think we grew," senior safety Eriq Moore said. "I think if we stay healthy, we should be a really good team. I think us not having a spring game, some people may look at it as like, 'Aw, man, no spring game. Bummer.' But we're trying to put together a winning team and I think that not having a spring game definitely helped that."

Moore likes the new leadership model and embraced a role as a "big brother" to some of his fellow defensive backs this spring.

Junior outside linebacker Chad Meredith described his group as "one of the best defenses I've ever been a part of," and believes that can only be improved through the group's unity and leadership.

"You just work with people better, so when you come out there you can communicate more clearly with each other and just become a more successful team," Meredith said.

Matukewicz has seen the improvement and a sense of togetherness on the field, but was most impressed with how his players were handling themselves when he made a surprise visit to the weight room last week.

"Part of my job as the ultimate leader is to give our kids an opportunity to lead," Matukewicz said. " ... I went over there on Thursday, so it was after spring's over, there are no more practices and sometimes guys check out. I witnessed it. It was a great job leading. They had a team finisher, player ran. No coach told them to do a team finisher. They split sides just like if a coach was there, a lot of energy. I almost punched a wall I was so fired up."

He had some concerns coming into this spring. Could the defense stay healthy and perform consistently? How would Zach Stagner handle long-snapping duties? By the end of the five weeks Matukewicz felt at ease with both.

But most importantly, could newly-promoted offensive coordinator Jon Wiemers build up the leadership needed on the offense?

"Really challenged Coach Wiemers to try to bring his group together and establish an identity and culture on that side of the ball, and I think he's done a good job," Matukewicz said. "I think we're still trying to finalize that thing through summer and fall camp. Also, schematically we wanted to be a very physical, run-oriented team and our passing game to be more vertical, and I think when we come out of camp that was probably the biggest thing we still haven't had answered. [Wide receiver] Adrian [Davis] was out most of the fall and spring [with an ACL injury], so we still need a receiver to replace that 800 yards that Paul [McRoberts] gave us."

Matukewicz will get a better look at his full team when players report for summer workouts on June 6, and then during fall camp beginning in August. The Redhawks open their season at Memphis on September 3.