COLUMN: ‘Mr. SEMO’ shouldn’t wait to be enshrined in Redhawk HOF

It’s a shame that one month when the Redhawks went 1-3 undermined what seemed like a potentially historic season.

Southeast Missouri State’s FCS playoff loss to Illinois State last week wasn’t just the end of the 2024 season, but the end of one of the most legendary football journeys in our community’s history.

Senior linebacker Bryce Norman went out like the warrior he has been all four years at SEMO with 11 tackles and a sack against Illinois State to finish his senior season with 136 tackles and 6.5 sacks, both of which led the Big South-OVC.

He was predicted to be the conference’s defensive player of the year during the preseason, and he proved them right by claiming the award at the end of the season.

At a time when the Redhawks were playing their worst, Norman was seemingly at his best. He averaged 12 tackles during November and earned the respect of opposing coaches along the way.

"He's that type of player that you really respect,” Lindenwood head coach Jed Stugart said. “He's kind of a throwback-type linebacker."

Norman is a Redhawk who shouldn’t have to wait such a long time to be enshrined in the SEMO Hall of Fame. Fellow Jackson alum Blake Smith was a member of the track and field team who graduated in 2015 and was inducted into the hall in 2023. Ex-Tennessee Titans offensive lineman Eugene Amano was inducted into the SEMO HOF 10 years after his final season. Same goes for running back Kelvin “Earthquake” Anderson, who left in 1994 as the school's all-time career rushing leader with 3,392 yards.

Regardless of his future, Norman’s wait time to the hall should at least be half that.

Norman is a local legend who has been playing for championships for seven years, dating back to the Jackson Indians winning a district title in 2018 for the first time since 2014. He leaves SEMO responsible for two of the program’s five OVC championships

Norman was declared the “best linebacker in the state” by his high school coach leading up to his senior season in 2020, which ended with the school’s first state championship.

When no program in the FBS or FCS recruited him, SEMO head coach Tom Matukewicz took a flyer on Norman, and the linebacker instantly became one of the Redhawks’ best defensive players by leading the team in tackles all four years.

"I didn't even think of playing college football for a while in high school," Norman said. "Then coach Tuke gave me the opportunity here and just what it means to be a part of SEMO football and becoming a better man. Just building the relationships with the people around me that I never thought I'd really have, because it's been awesome for me. The respect I have for this program has been awesome."

There’s a reason why Norman is known as “Mr. SEMO,” and why it was so hard to see his career end in a loss.

“This guy played for four years here, won a state title at Jackson,” SEMO senior quarterback Paxton DeLaurent said of Norman. “I don't think I cried until I saw him. So proud and thankful for him and the guys."