Healthy Terrell provides threat in Southeast Missouri State football team's backfield

Levi Terrell was on quite a roll last year when the tailback suffered a season-ending injury during Southeast Missouri State's fifth game.

Terrell naturally was disappointed but chose not to dwell on it. He instead threw himself into rehab mode to regain 100 percent health as quickly as possible.

"It was definitely frustrating at first," Terrell said. "Everybody is going to be upset at first. You just have to get over it and get focused to try and come back."

Terrell is back based on his performance in Saturday's first spring scrimmage. The senior led all rushers with 63 yards on just seven carries.

"I'm feeling great," he said. "I haven't had any problems."

Terrell's rookie season at Southeast last year got off to a slow start in the first two games, but he quickly picked up the pace.

Terrell rushed for 154 yards on 15 carries and scored three touchdowns at Tennessee Tech in week three, then followed with 106 yards on 16 carries against Eastern Illinois in week four.

But Terrell's season came to a crashing halt early in week five at Tennessee State when he suffered a broken collarbone that required surgery.

"It was so weird," Southeast coach Tony Samuel said about the injury. "He just landed. ... It didn't look like that big a hit."

Terrell finished as Southeast's second-leading rusher among running backs with 312 yards while averaging 6.6 yards per carry despite missing the final six games and most of the contest in which he was injured. Fullback Ron Coleman's 320 yards led the way.

Terrell laments that he has yet to be healthy for a complete college season. That includes his first two years at Division II Nebraska-Omaha, when he was among his conference's top rushers despite missing several games each season.

"I haven't had a 100 percent season in a while," Terrell said. "My freshman year it was an ankle sprain, and my sophomore year it was a hamstring."

Terrell, a former standout at Fox High School in Arnold, Mo., transferred to Southeast after Nebraska-Omaha dropped football. He considered the Redhawks at one time but opted for the Division II program.

Samuel was happy to have Terrell make the move to Southeast, and he's just as happy now to have a healthy Terrell.

"He's been doing good," Samuel said. "I think he had a really good offseason, working to get back. It's good to have him back."

Southeast will have its second spring scrimmage at 1 p.m. Saturday. The Redhawks will conclude their four-week spring session with a noon intrasquad game April 28.