First Southeast Missouri State football practice ends with highlight

A near-perfect morning with temperatures hovering in the high 70's ended with a perfect throw from quarterback Kyle Snyder to receiver Paul McRoberts on Friday on the lower field at the Rosengarten Athletic Complex.

Cornerback Reggie Jennings was given the coverage challenge on the talented 6-foot-3 junior as teammates took sides, with those wearing red (offense) and white (defense) jerseys rooting for their players.

McRoberts, an all-Ohio Valley Conference preseason selection, ran slowly away from the black-jerseyed Snyder, picked up steam and slanted to his left to gain a half step of separation from Jennings, who was shadowing his every move. At the precise moment, McRoberts reached high and snagged the pinpoint pass from Snyder and completed his jaunt to the end zone, where he received a heroes welcome from any teammate wearing red.

The massive celebration, which resulted in the white-clad members doing up-downs as their penance for losing, would have drawn all available flags from any NCAA officiating crew.

However, it brought a smile and praise from Tom Matukewicz, who was overseeing his first fall practice as coach of the Southeast Missouri State football program.

It was the icing on the cake ... or the PAT after the TD.

"It's something I've looked forward to my whole life to run a football program, and today we got to do that, and it was fun," Matukewicz said. "Really, to me, what stood out is the coaches, the assistant coaches, did an unbelievable job with preparing the football team for the first day. It was clean. Not a lot of balls on the ground or missed assignments. There were a couple misalignments, but for the most part I was very pleased with the mental preparation."

Crispness, enthusiasm and athleticism were on full display on the final play, a microcosm of the two-hour workout that officially started the practice clock on the Aug. 28 season opener against NAIA opponent Missouri Baptist.

"I liked the excitement at the end," McRoberts said. "Our team is way more bought in than last year. If somebody scored, we probably wouldn't have ran on the field. We'd be just like, 'Yeah,' from the sidelines, but this year there is just so much excitement and fun. I love doing this. It's a passion."

Amid music blaring throughout the workout and players' shouts of encouragement and approval throughout, it didn't have the look of a team coming off a 3-9 season -- the third three-win season in a row to boot.

"I think the coaches are doing a good job of getting us fired up to be out here. In the past, sometimes you really had to pull it out of you," said Snyder, a senior, one of two returning quarterbacks and five players in the mix for the starting job. "You don't have to do that anymore -- it seems like they're really bringing the best out of you."

Sophomore defensive end Austin Black didn't mind the fact that he had to exert himself a little extra as the victorious red-jerseyed players looked on in delight after mobbing McRoberts.

He was merely following the directions of Matukewicz and his staff.

"Just go out there and mainly have fun," Black said about the pre-practice talk. "Coach Tuke said before we came out here, the reason we started football was to have fun. And if we can come out here and have focus and run to the ball, be physical, then it's going to be a good day."

Even Jennings, a senior, was wearing a smile after despite dropping the practice-ending matchup with McRoberts, who led last year's team by in both catches (44) and receiving yards (646).

"Definitely a lot more positive vibe," Jennings said. "Everybody's attitude is they're ready to come out here and work hard, even though they may get hot and a little tired, they just keep pushing on and on through practice. I'm excited. We've got a new coaching staff and everybody has bought in. That's what we really needed."

He also had to consider the source of his late-practice humbling.

"Paul is a great player, man," Jennings said. "We've been going at it all practice. I needed that, that way come game time I'll go against some other elite receivers and I'll be game ready, so I really appreciate the competition."

He had a Day One message for other defensive backs.

"The OVC better watch out for him -- a great athlete right there," Jennings said.

McRoberts, who also played for Dickey Nutt on the Southeast basketball team last season, was just as complimentary, displaying the spirit of camaraderie that has been forged since Matukewicz took over the program Dec. 18 and fostered since, including through a five-week spring practice session and eight-week summer workout period.

"Reggie is a great corner," McRoberts said. "Throughout the day I didn't have the best of luck against him. He was kicking my butt up and down the field all day. I told him, 'I've got to get you back before the day is over.'

"I'm just thankful he's making me better and I'm making him better everyday."

Players were broken into groups by position near the beginning of practice, and incrementally and precisely moved into drills that involved more and more players.

Matukewicz often used his megaphone to rise above the backdrop of music as he directed his players.

"We're all rhythmic people, and these kids grow up listening to music all day," Matukewicz said about the rollicking ambiance. "It's actually easier to focus when there is a little chaos around for these kids. When it's dead quiet, it's easy for them to drift, and so that's why we use music in our practices."

He wrapped up the energetic workout with the Jennings vs. McRoberts showdown.

"When you're a competitor, you love a spotlight," Matukewicz said. "That's something we do after every practice. It's called a 'team finisher.' I believe in enthusiasm, and that's something extremely important to us. We try to walk out here as high as we've been all day and get the juice level raised and let some of our guys compete against each other. I've done everything from a dance off to an egg toss to a goal-line scrimmage and everything in between, and the kids love it."

As well as the coaches.

New offensive coordinator Sherard Poteete wore a broad smile as he talked about a more balanced attack this year that will feature McRoberts.

"It was a good way to finish practice off," Poteete said. "We just went one-one-one, a defensive back versus a receiver. The quarterback gave him a route, and for me, being on the offensive side of the ball, hey, the offense won -- so we'll take the win."