Spread offense designed to help Redhawks share ball

Southeast Missouri State offensive coordinator Sherard Poteete considers the Redhawks "lucky" on the offensive side of the ball as they enter the first season under coach Tom Matukewicz.

Lucky in the sense that he'll have several go-to players in a spread offense that will be tailored around getting those playmakers the ball.

"I think it's going to be fun," Poteete said on media day. "I think it's going to be a challenge [to figure out] how many balls we can share around with these guys, but that's the fun part. You know, it's better than saying, 'Oh, I've got one guy.' I would much rather have it this way instead of, 'This guy's going to get 40 balls a game.' Now I've got five or six guys who I can spread it around with."

Poteete had said earlier in fall camp that he was trying to figure out who the five playmakers would be, but he, Matukewicz and senior starting quarterback Kyle Snyder all agreed that there are more than five guys that can make plays.

There's preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference receiver Paul McRoberts, who led the Redhawks with 646 yards receiving and nine touchdowns on 44 catches.

Or there's the option of wide receiver and punt returner Spencer Davis, who had 35 receptions for 302 yards and three touchdowns as well as six carries for 36 yards and a touchdown and 950 yards returning.

Last season's leading rusher, DeMichael Jackson, is the top running back and had 977 yards and four touchdowns on 170 carries a year ago. Running back Lennies McFerren ran for 84 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries, Lewis Washington ran for 375 yards and a touchdown on 44 carries, while Ron Coleman, listed as the No. 1 tight end on the depth chart, had six rushing touchdowns on 275 yards and 85 carries as well as 35 yards on five receptions.

Receiver Darrius Darden-Box had 13 yards receiving on two catches, and receiver Peter Lloyd caught two touchdown passes and had 233 yards receiving on 20 catches as a sophomore.

Each were noted as playmakers by Poteete or Matukewicz. A number of options will be critical for the offense, especially with teams expected to try to reduce the number of touches by McRoberts.

"Just like in the situations we've been running over [in practice], teams are going to try to double me so we have to have other people that can step up and be able to make plays besides me," McRoberts said. "I think my offense has been doing a terrific job, and I'm not alone. They tell me every day that they've got my back. I'm really proud of those guys and I want them to keep working hard. ... We're looking great."

"We have balance," Matukewicz said. "If you don't have any balance, man, you're going to come up on somebody that's going to make you play left-handed if you're a right-handed guy. People are going to make us pass it or make us run it at times, so we've got to be able to have balance. I think we have good running backs and receivers and a good quarterback, so we should be able to keep people on their toes."

The versatility of the spread offense the Redhawks will run under the first-year coaching staff will be a departure from last season. Southeast primarily ran the ball, compiling 2,436 yards on the season, an average of 203 yards a game, which was third-highest in the OVC.

Southeast only attempted 281 passes, the fewest in the conference, for 1,666 yards or about 139 per game.

"Last year we were more of just run, run, run, but this year we're keeping teams guessing," Jackson said. "You know, that's the thing, you can't just think about what [one thing] we're doing because we're doing so many different things."

Snyder, who earned the starting job over junior transfer Alex Niznak, likes that the offense gives him the chance to use his running ability by spreading the field out with the pass. Snyder was named the starter at the beginning of last season but split time with Scott Lathrop, who is now playing at Missouri Southern State University.

Snyder played in seven games in the Redhawks' 3-9 season last year. He completed 49 of 105 passes for 617 yards and six touchdowns and was picked off four times. He had 127 yards rushing on 49 carries and two touchdowns.

"It fits me well -- it suits our offense as a unit really well," Snyder said, "so I'm really confident going into Week 1."

That confidence has has been evident to coaches and teammates, who all agree Snyder's become much more of a leader since the new coaching staff arrived.

"When he got here he couldn't spell leader -- he was that far off -- but I don't think anybody ever asked him to be either," Matukewicz said. "... He's done a great job in the classroom, our players are starting to buy into him and he's being a little more vocal. That's something that he's still got to work on, but I think everybody appreciates how he prepares himself for each and every day."

His top offensive target has noticed a change in the senior, too.

"Kyle's not one to really say too much," McRoberts said. "He's just like, 'OK. Let's go do it.'

"But now it's like, 'Hey, guys, we can do this. Let's do this,'" McRoberts said. "He's directing us to make great plays, being that leader, and last year it wasn't like that. ... He'd just call a play and tell us to go do it. He's got more confidence, and I'm really proud of him for doing that."

Snyder and company will look for help from the offensive line, which has numerous returners although several have changed position.

"It helps us better communicate with each other," said senior offensive lineman Corey Porter about the experience of the line. "You know, when you've played beside a guy for a year, two years, you have a better feeling for how they play and what their tendencies are in regards of blocking schemes, so just that relationship that you build with the guys beside you really helps the team."

Porter has taken over at left tackle after playing center, while Jake McCandless moved from right tackle to center. Garret Baker, who returns from a broken leg suffered in the first game of last season, is expected to start at left guard. Traven Mable will remain at right guard, and Kyle Finney moves from left guard to right tackle.

"The thing about an offensive line unit is if you can get them all to be on the same page, and if they give you a lot of effort and they can get that attitude and confidence that they can't be stopped, those things are huge, " offensive line coach Jon Wiemers said. "We'll see what happens."

Southeast's season kicks off at 6 p.m. Thursday against NAIA Missouri Baptist. It will be the inaugural game for the Spartans football program.

"We're ready to go," Poteete said of the offense. "The guys, they understand what we've got. I know you go back and look through the spring practices and there was just busts with misalignments and not lining up correctly, and they've got it now. It's down. The guys have really done a good job of spending time learning what they needed to do this summer in fall camp, and I tell you what, we're ready to go. We're ready to get Missouri Baptist here. We're ready to see somebody else that's in a different colored jersey than our own guys."

SPECIAL TEAMS

Southeast's special teams, which Matukewicz called "embarrassing" for a Division I program last year, was an area that needed a lot of work under the new regime.

Sophomore Ryan McCrum gets the nod as the Redhawks' kicker, while sophomore Alex Knight will take care of punting duties.

McCrum and Knight combined to make just 5 of 13 field goal attempts last year. The Redhawks were 25 of 34 on PATs.

Senior Wade Wright will serve as the long snapper, and sophomore Tyler Manne takes over as the holder.

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Coaches perspective on offensive players

Offensive coordinator Sherard Poteete on Kyle Snyder:

Kyle Snyder, QB

When a play breaks down Kyle still has really good feet, he's got that quick twitch to him that allows him to get outside of the pocket and he's still able to hurt the defense when he gets out and uses his feet. When a play breaks down, he's able to find an open receiver. So that part of just the natural play-making ability takes over for him.

Wide receivers coach Salim Powell on Paul McRoberts:

Paul McRoberts, WR

What makes Paul so good is that he's a receiver that has size, he has length, big hands. He can catch the ball, stretch the field. Sometimes it'll really look like he's moving but he's really eating up that space because he has a long stride. He just gives you that ability to stretch the field also, go across the field, be a big target and he has a good pair of hands as you've seen him make some one-hand catches. He's kind of just a skill set with some things you just can't teach.

Wide receivers coach Salim Powell on Spencer Davis (wide receiver/returner)

Spencer Davis, WR

The thing about Spencer is he brings speed and he's also strong as well. Just because he's a smaller receiver, some people don't realize but he has enough power to break tackles, so when he carries the ball it's almost like having another running back carrying the football. But also he's good out in space, good out running routes. He's another type of guy you can throw the ball to on a screen, he can go deep, he can run past people, so really just working on him just kind of mastering it all.

Tight ends coach Joe Uhls on Ron Coleman:

Ron Coleman, TE

Ron's a good football player. He's a three-year starter for us with the old staff and that experience is a big thing for him. He knows what college football is all about. His strength and his quickness and speed -- his athleticism -- is a big plus for him. That's why kind of making this transition's been so easy for him since he's such a good athlete.

Running backs coach Matt Martin on DeMichael Jackson

DeMichael Jackson, RB

DeMichael's had a really good camp, really good practices here these last few days getting prepared and putting the final touches in for Missouri Baptist. The thing he brings is he's experienced. He's played in this league and knows what it's all about. Had a great last few games last year, and I think he's focused in on what we want from him. We're asking him to do a lot in the spread offense -- line up in different places -- and we're going to play a few different running backs and look for all of those guys to play well, but DeMichael's really had a good camp so far.

Special teams coach Matt Martin on Ryan McCrum

Ryan McCrum, K

He's been very consistent the last few days, which is what we ask of our kickers, you know, making sure that they're always ready to go because they might not play for 59 ½ minutes and come in in the last 30 seconds and have to win the game for us. Ryan's done a good job the last few days of being focused.

Special teams coach Matt Martin on Alex Knight

Alex Knight, P

Alex Knight's been very good every practice. He's done a great job, he's consistent, knows what we want him to do. You know, really looking for him to have a big year this year. He's got a big leg and we just want him to put us in good field position all the time.

Wide receivers coach Salim Powell on Darrius Darden-Box:

Darrius Darden-Box, WR

He's a returner who's coming back. He was in the receiving corps last year, got a little time. He's a quick guy, more like a slot guy, similar to a Spencer (Davis), obviously he hasn't played as long, but he has a skill set similar to his. Quick, catch the ball kind of on some screens and stuff and run with a little bit. He's definitely a smaller, athletic guy.

Wide receivers coach Salim Powell on Peter Lloyd:

Peter Lloyd, WR

Peter Lloyd's another one of our quick slot guys that can really move. He's probably the quickest receiver that I have. As far as his athleticism, he has good body control and has been really improving on catching the football. He makes some short catches, does some acrobatic-type things. He's just kind of another versatile player that we have that can run with the football as well as catch.

Fullbacks coach Joe Uhls on Logan Larson:

Logan Larson, FB

Logan came to us from Bowling Green. He's done a great job transferring in and learning the offense. He's been real fired up about it and he's done a great job and I'm excited to see what he can do for us.

Offensive line coach Jon Wiemers on Corey Porter:

Corey Porter, OL

Definitely experience with Corey. He's playing in a new position but Corey's an intelligent kid -- a big kid that's very mobile.

Offensive line coach Jon Wiemers on Garret Baker:

Garret Baker, OL

This'll be Garret's kind of first year starting. He's kind of had the injury bug, but he's had an awesome offseason. Very strong kid, again, very mobile, very intelligent, and should have a really good year for us.

Offensive line coach Jon Wiemers on Jake McCandless:

Jake McCandless, OL

He's got to be the quarterback for our offensive line, so to speak. He kind of sets a lot of our calls for us up front, and he's smart enough to do it or I wouldn't have him there. But Jake's really progressed since spring. He had a little bit of experience with center but over the last four months he's gotten a lot better.

Offensive line coach Jon Wiemers on Traven Mable:

Traven Mable, OL

Traven's really progressed. I can kind of say the same thing about all of them. I think they're a really intelligent group. They play together well. And in Traven's case, again, he's another mobile guard for us who has really kind of done the things to put himself in that position that maybe he wasn't in last spring.

Offensive line coach Jon Wiemers on Kyle Finney:

Kyle Finney, OL

Kyle's quickness for us at tackle is a strength for him. He's really good in space. And again I could say the same thing with all of them, but they're all pretty smart kids. They pick up on things really well. But definitely Kyle's strength is his mobility.