Southeast Missouri State football team begins summer workouts

Even though the Southeast Missouri State football team's first game of the season isn't for nearly three months, and its first official practice isn't until early August, in Southeast first-year coach Tom Matukewicz's eyes the 2014 season began June 1 when players reported for summer workouts.

"Season's started," Matukewicz said enthusiastically Tuesday morning at Houck Stadium. "See, that's what I love about June. We had our first team dinner Sunday night, and it's just good to be around them. I do a lot better when I'm around my players."

His players had just finished their first summer workout as a team Tuesday on the field where they'll kick off their season against Missouri Baptist on Aug. 28, and he wasn't the only person excited to be there.

"It's a different life," wide receiver Paul McRoberts said. "It's like we're alive, and it feels good to know that everybody's coming out here to work hard and feel like coming out here. Last year it was like, 'Here goes this again' and 'Let's just get this over with.'"

There are some differences to the Redhawks summer program, including the arrival of the incoming freshmen Sunday.

Southeast Missouri State head strength coach Ryan Johnson directs the players during the first summer football workout Tuesday at Houck Stadium. The NCAA allows teams an eight-week conditioning and preparation period during the summer. (Fred Lynch)

"It's good for them to get started off early, fresh out of high school, and get into the routine with us," wide receiver Spencer Davis said. "The more people here the better. That builds that bond we need for the summer to compete and get ready for the fall."

Prior to this season, Southeast could not fund housing for incoming freshmen football players during the summer, meaning those players did not move to campus or begin work with the team until practice began in August.

The funding came from a combination of institutional, conference, NCAA and external giving as well as additional money in the past year's scholarship fund that was found. In addition to football, it also funds other student-athletes to take summer classes.

"It just starts from leadership from the top down," Matukewicz said. "[Southeast president] Dr. [Kenneth W.] Dobbins and [Southeast athletic director] Mark Alnutt ... that's something when I was interviewed we talked about having a 12-month program. You know, 'You've got to train 12 months, you've got to recruit 12 months, you've got to go to school 12 months a year,' and so they made that possible."

The players will work out throughout the summer and watch film, and there's no doubt that is critical preparation for the upcoming season, but there's something that comes along with that training that Matukewicz believes is also significant to the team's improvement.

LEFT: Incoming freshman quarterback Anthony Cooper from Kickapoo High School in Springfield, Missouri, throws during the Redhawks’ workout. (ABOVE: Southeast Missouri State first-year football coach Tom Matukewicz discusses the summer football program Tuesday.)

"There's a lot to it, but one of the most important things in my mind is that they see each other doing the things it takes to be successful," Matukewicz said. "If I've got a punter -- you're not that concerned that he benches 500 pounds, so that's not why he's here. He's here so that his teammates know that he sacrificed along with them. There's a lot of team-building, there's a lot of conditioning, strength training and all those type of things, and mental toughness and doing those things now, so when you get in the fall you can incorporate the schemes."

Matukewicz's main goal at the end of the summer will be to have a program that is led by the players -- something he's stressed since he started working with his team during spring practices -- and the team took a step in that direction Tuesday.

The players went through a warmup and then broke into smaller groups to do a rotation of specific strength and conditioning drills. Each member of Southeast's Leadership Council, which is voted on by the players, along with a couple other seniors were each put in charge of a group and helped the newcomers correctly understand the drills.

"That's us stepping up to the plate to control the young cats," said Davis, who led a group Tuesday. "It's all on us to lead them in the right direction to bring this team to a championship."

An NCAA Division I football summer access rule that was adopted in October allows Matukewicz and his coaching staff to be present for some of his team's workouts throughout the summer.

Southeast Missouri State wide receiver Paul McRoberts discusses the team's first summer workout Tuesday, June 3, 2014 at Houck Stadium. (Fred Lynch)

According to the NCAA rule, athletes can, "participate in preparations for the season during an eight-week period each summer," and eight hours each week can be required strength training and conditioning and two of those eight hours can be spent watching film.

"You know, even though I could be here or my whole staff could be here, that's the thing, like I know we'll have a chance when you don't know if we're here or not," Matukewicz said. "Like the standard is set and needs to be set by the players because they're around each other 24/7 and we're only around them during practice.

"So if I walk out to practice or I'm not at practice, it should look the same. If [head strength and conditioning coach] Ryan [Johnson] is in the weight room or not in the weight room, it should look the same. I'm really hoping that I can hand this team over to the seniors and leadership council and they run the organization so that when this summer ends, it's a player-led organization."

McRoberts believes that the biggest part of becoming a player-led program is to earn the respect of his fellow teammates.

"They know the leadership board and they know who we are," McRoberts said, "and if we earn everybody's respect and, like coach Tuke said, get everybody to buy in, then I feel like the sky's the limit, really, because we have everybody's attention, heart and desire and passion to want to win a championship. Or a game. We're taking it one day at a time, not looking past anything. Day by day, grind in, grind out."