SE FOOTBALL ROOKIES GET HEAD START

Indian veterans will report back to camp today.

By Marty Mishow

About 30 newcomers got a head start over the weekend on becoming acclimated to the Southeast Missouri State University football program.

Today, those rookies -- who include freshmen, junior-college transfers and transfers from four-year programs -- will have to start taking something a back seat to the Indians' more experienced players.

Approximately 60 veterans are scheduled to report back to the Southeast camp today. After two day days of conditioning and strength testing, full-squad practices begin Wednesday.

"We're looking forward to getting everybody in here," said Southeast head coach John Mumford.

The Southeast newcomers who reported Friday hit the practice field in earnest Sunday.

Mumford has indicated that the Indians' will be counting on at least a few of the rookie players to make an immediate impact during their first season at Southeast.

"We'll be counting on quite a few of our younger guys," said Mumford, meaning not only first-year Indians but also players who were in the program last season.

* Southeast was ranked 196th out of the nation's 237 Division I-A and Division I-AA football teams in the Sagarin Ratings that were recently released.

Curiously, Western Kentucky is the Ohio Valley Conference's highest-rated squad in the Sagarin poll, coming in at 135th, even though the Hilltoppers were picked only fifth in the official OVC preseason rankings voted on by the league's head football coaches and sports information directors.

Defending OVC champion Tennessee State, a near-unanimous pick to win a second straight conference title, is only the fifth-highest league squad in the Sagarin ratings, coming in at 159th.

Other OVC teams' rankings according to Sagarin are Eastern Kentucky 139, Murray State 144, Eastern Illinois 151, Tennessee Tech 188 and Tennessee-Martin 211.

Florida State is ranked first in the Sagarin poll in addition to being the nation's top-ranked team in many other major national polls.