INDIANS SEE DEPTH AT RECEIVER TESTED WITH EARLY INJURY

First-year Southeast Missouri State University football coach Tim Billings considers wide receiver to be one of the Indians' deepest positions -- and that depth should come in handy now.

That's because Tarik Simpson, a Marshall transfer who is being counted on for big things catching the ball this season, suffered a partially separated shoulder during Thursday's practice. He is expected to be out from three to six weeks, putting his status for the Aug. 31 season opener at Marshall in jeopardy.

Simpson was injured when he dove trying to catch a pass and landed awkwardly during what was basically a non-contact drill.

"We'll miss Tarik, but I feel like we have some depth at wide receiver," said Billings.

Billings said that Simpson, listed first on the depth chart at one of Southeast's three wide receiver positions, has been anxious to face his former team and there is still a chance he could be ready for the opener.

"Tarik has been waiting for a year to play Marshall. If anybody can make it back, he can," Billings said.

Simpson, a sophomore in eligibility at Southeast, spent last season as a redshirt at Marshall.

Even without Simpson, Southeast quarterbacks figure to have plenty of receivers to throw to during practice. The Indians returned four of their top five pass-catchers from a year ago, including Leslie Weaver, who led last season's team with 35 receptions.

Corey Chester was third last year with 22 receptions while Andy Dunaway and Jerl Huling were fourth and fifth with 17 and 15, respectively.

In addition, Southeast signed several talented receivers in addition to Simpson who figure to push the returning wideouts for playing time.

* The Indians will practice for the first time in full gear today after spending the first three days of full-squad workouts in basically shorts and helmets, as per NCAA guidelines.

Billings is not a big believer in too much all-out scrimmaging, but he said putting on the pads will allow the Indians to work on many more things than they had been able to previously.

"It really gives us the opportunity for some good offensive and defensive line work, plus it gives us an opportunity to do a little more team stuff," he said. "We'll do a little hitting, but my philosophy is not to beat em up. I want to have our players ready to go (for the season).

"We'll scrimmage some, but we don't want to kill each other. We'll work at a high rate of speed, but we won't full scrimmage very often. A lot of times, you can get hurt more in scrimmages than games."

* Overall, Billings said he has been pleased with the way the first three days of two-a-day practices have gone. For the most part, the players reported in good shape, which always makes it easier to get things accomplished, particularly considering the heat this week.

"I've been real pleased," Billings said. "The retention from the spring has been great. The kids are working hard, doing everything we're asking of them. They came in overall in great shape, which has been important with this weather."

Billings said that several players had to be sent to the hospital to receive intravenous fluids when they became dehydrated during the extreme heat Wednesday and Thursday.

"We had about three each day, but really, that's not too many considering the weather," he said, then added with a smile, "Maybe we're not working them hard enough."

* Southeast will finally have its full squad in to camp this weekend when safety Corey Mathis and tight end Kollie Moore report.

The pair, both junior-college transfers, had been finishing up some summer class work.

"They're going to help us," said Billings.

* Adam Kineman, a native of Sikeston, Mo., who had been listed No. 2 on the depth chart at one of the offensive tackle spots coming out of spring practice, is academically ineligible.