Sam Cook, SEMO football ‘excited to get after’ Western Illinois

There were a few bright spots during No. 12 Southeast Missouri State’s loss at Lindenwood this past Saturday.

Outside linebacker Sam Cook was one of them.

On a day that saw the Redhawks defense yield 375 total yards and a handful of costly explosive plays, Cook continued to prove he could be a disruptive force as a pass rusher after posting a season-high seven tackles and two sacks.

And considering that the 6-foot-4, 230-pound senior entered the day with just one multi-sack game in his college career, it was the type of performance that stands out for a player who handled a ton of adversity during the preseason.

“So proud of him,” head coach Tom Matukewicz said. “He was a guy that missed two weeks of fall camp, came back and then had a pretty nasty cut on his finger, and so it was probably three or four weeks. He didn't even play while working through all that, and it's frustrating. He wanted to play well and all that, but he didn't let that adversity affect him, and he just kept coming to work, showing up, working hard, got better and he is really rolling the last couple games. He's just been an impactful player.”

Cook said the preseason setbacks tested him mentally, but believes that he is a stronger player because of it.

“A lot of it came down to focusing on things you can control,” he said. “Sometimes things happen that you can't control, and you can't spend too much time dwelling on it. Now you’ve just got to figure out how you can move forward in the future. And that's really what I tried to do is just keep looking forward, keep trying to figure out how I can get back and what I can do to get myself back to where I want to be.”

Cook, who transferred from Western Illinois following the 2022 season, has been one of the building blocks of a SEMO defense that went from being the second-worst unit in the Ohio Valley Conference last season to the very best in 2024.

Now a 19-game starter for the Redhawks, Cook said he spent countless hours working on his technique in the offseason and is now seeing a lot of progress this year because of it.

“I feel like I’m just more consistent with my technique,” Cook said. “I feel like I've been proving that a lot this year. Just getting it to the point where that technique is automatic, so I can focus on keeping my eyes up and being able to make plays when they come my way.”

SEMO’s FCS Playoff dream — one that has been the talk of the town this fall — is still very much intact. It is 361 days old and began after SEMO lost at Bryant in the final game of the 2023 regular season. Ignited in the moments after an emphatic 45-42 overtime victory over UT Martin and a statement win over then-No. 7 Southern Illinois, SEMO’s playoff push became a confluence of storylines and a new hope for a program that finished 4-7 a year ago.

Then there was a bump in the road. On a rainy afternoon in St. Charles, the Redhawks suffered a shaky 24-12 loss to rival Lindenwood. It wouldn’t have been a marquee victory, but the loss essentially squashed any hope of receiving a first-round bye in the playoffs.

And what will haunt SEMO after this one is that Cook and the defense kept the Redhawks in it for a while. SEMO blocked a kick on the first Lindenwood drive of the game before forcing a turnover on downs and getting a Khalani Riddick interception on the following possession. The Redhawks just could not overcome their offensive woes.

Cook says the goal of winning a conference title and storming on a playoff run all rides on the team’s ability to respond and remain consistent in the final two weeks of the regular season.

“I wouldn't even say our backs are against the wall,” Cook said. “It comes down to preparing every week to win, and that's what we’ve got to keep doing. That's what we've been doing all season, and that's what we're going to keep doing.”

SEMO’s next test is a matchup against Cook’s former team. And the only other time the Neosho native had two sacks in a college football game was in 2022 when he was still repping the Western Illinois uniform.

“This one I’ve had circled for a while now,” Cook said. “I'm excited to get after them boys and it's gonna be fun, for sure.”