SE FOOTBALL TO PIT RED AGAINST WHITE

Southeast Missouri State University football coach John Mumford likes the effort his players have put in during spring workouts and he says they deserve to have some fun.

That fun will come today (2 p.m.) when Southeast's spring drills conclude with the annual Red vs. White scrimmage at Houck Stadium.

"These kids have worked awfully hard," said Mumford. "They deserve to have a little fun so we'll let them go after it for a while.

"We've divided the team up and hopefully we'll have a competitive game. We've made progress this spring in a very structured practice system. We want to see the players have some fun and see how they compete in a game-type situation."

Mumford said he has basically liked what he's seen this spring.

"Overall, both sides have had success but both sides need to continue to grow in consistency," he said. "The effort has been excellent, the attitude is very good.

"We're a better team than we were in the fall but we still have some guys that need to step their game up in the fall. But we have shown improvement in the spring. We just need to continue to work hard in the offseason."

Last year's team was marked by an influx of talented Division I-A transfers. Mumford said at the time he had no doubt the Indians were one of the most physically talented Southeast team he had coached.

But that increased talent did not translate into success on the field as the Indians went 4-7 overall and finished seventh in the eight-team Ohio Valley Conference with a 1-6 record.

Mumford acknowledges that the 1998 Indians might not be blessed with many marquee players, but he likes the intangibles the group possesses.

"We just don't have a bunch of stars, but we have to realize that if we play together as a team we can get some things done," he said. "We've got better chemistry than we had last fall. If they'll continue to pull together and stay on course, we may not go out and out-talent a lot of people, but we sure can go out and out-execute them."

Redshirt freshman quarterback Bobby Brune will direct the White team today, with returning running backs K.D. Koleosho, Corey Williams and Broderick Benson joining him in the backfield. Heading up the White receivers will be seniors Dante Bryant, last year's leading receiver, and Mitch Fryer at tight end.

Defensively, the White squad will be led by returning senior tackle Troy Baglio and all-OVC defensive back Fred Hambrick.

The Red team will be quarterbacked by senior Jeff Shaw, who moved into the starting lineup late last season. His running backs will include Ricki Smith while top receivers will include Leslie Weaver, Marcus McKinley and tight end Bryan Walker.

Leading the Red defense will be several returning players, including end Marcus McClellan, linebacker Gabe Jenkins and defensive backs Brian Hinton, John Smith and Isaac Powell.

Offensive line coach Ron Hudson will be the offensive coordinator for the Red team while secondary coach Dave Dumars will serve as defensive coordinator.

Offensive backfield coach Roscoe Echols will be offensive coordinator for the White squad, with defensive line coach Jay Thomas serving as defensive coordinator.

Mumford said the quarterback position will feature a four-way battle in the fall between Shaw, Brune, junior-college transfer Kevin Seto and redshirt freshman Mike Gross.

"I think we'll have an interesting battle between those four," said the coach.

Seto has missed virtually all of spring practice with a shoulder injury that required surgery.

Southeast suffered one other major injury during the spring as fullback Britt Mirgaux suffered a knee injury that required surgery. Mirgaux was the Indians' leading rusher the past two seasons.

Mumford said that both Seto and Mirgaux should be ready to go when fall practice begins in August.