NOTEBOOK: Southeast Missouri State football names Santacaterina starting QB for opener, Robinson showcases speed

FRED LYNCH ~ flynch@semissourian.com Southeast Missouri State quarterback Daniel Santacaterina looks to pass during the last preseason scrimmage Saturday, Aug. 18, 2018 at Houck Field.

Fred Lynch

With the season opener two weeks away, the Southeast Missouri State football team ended the quarterback battle Saturday and announced Daniel Santacaterina as the starter less than an hour after fall camp concluded with a scrimmage.

Santacaterina impressed in the intrasquad tune-up at Houck Field, unofficially completing 9 of 17 passes for 138 yards and a touchdown and working around a couple of drops by his receiving corps.

The Redhawks planned to finalize the rest of the two-deep roster Sunday and, based on the personnel, will tweak the game plan for the opener at Football Bowl Subdivision opponent Arkansas State on Sept. 1. But the highest-profile position battle is over. Santacaterina, a Northern Illinois transfer, succeeds two-year starter Jesse Hosket under center.

FRED LYNCH ~ flynch@semissourian.com Southeast Missouri State running back Mark Robinson carries the ball during the last preseason scrimmage Saturday, Aug. 18, 2018 at Houck Field.

Fred Lynch

“Daniel is way more athletic than maybe people give him credit for,” SEMO first-year offensive coordinator Jeromy McDowell said in a news release. “He’s extremely smart, does a lot of checking at the line, has a strong arm and is very accurate. Daniel commands the offense well and is a great leader with the ability to attack the whole field.”

Near the end of the scrimmage, Santacaterina led an 88-yard touchdown drive in less than two minutes, going 3 of 7 for 49 yards and then finding Kristian Wilkerson for the two-point conversion.

Santacaterina’s unit “won” the scrimmage in overtime as Marquis Terry scored on a 15-yard TD run.

The scrimmage then concluded with a light-hearted moment, with the offensive players spraying the defense with water guns.

Santacaterina made four starts for NIU last year and led the Huskies to a 21-17 win over Nebraska. He completed 62 of 97 passes for 712 yards and seven touchdowns. While he missed spring practice while recovering from rotator cuff surgery, he did enough to impress the coaches in the two weeks of fall camp.

“Daniel has overcome a lot of adversity, came to a new football team and gained everybody’s respect,” coach Tom Matukewicz said in a news release. “The way he creates, doesn’t get in trouble and doesn’t take a bad sack is impressive.”

In an interview after the scrimmage, Matukewicz said he was pleased that Santacaterina — and fifth-year senior Anthony Cooper — had no turnovers Saturday, despite a couple bad snaps.

FRED LYNCH ~ flynch@semissourian.com Southeast Missouri State wide receiver Zack Smith pauses after catching a touchdown pass during the last preseason scrimmage Saturday, Aug. 18, 2018 at Houck Field.

Fred Lynch

Cooper will likely back up Santcaterina. He was 2 of 6 for 58 yards and a TD Saturday, but his biggest asset, his running ability, was hard to gauge with quarterbacks wearing black non-contact jerseys.

“It’s pretty difficult,” Cooper said. “It adds to some frustration on my part, but you have to play the situation. If they blow the whistle, they blow the whistle.”

Junior college transfer Joe Pyle, who has battled injury problems this fall, didn’t take any reps and instead passed on signals from the sideline alongside Kennett graduate Patrick Maddox. True freshman Jacob Buie played one series and was 4 for 6 for 60 yards.

‘A beast’

After rushing for 1,076 yards as a junior and being named the Preseason Ohio Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Year, Terry will be a key cog in the Redhawks’ offense.

Last year, SEMO had someone who could provide a breather for Terry in Cam Sanders. He averaged 8.3 yards per carry, but transferred away from the program over the offseason.

The Redhawks are looking to fill that role, and might have found a replacement in sophomore transfer Mark Robinson. As a freshman at Presbyterian College last year, the Georgia native rushed for 332 yards and five TDs on 75 carries.

At 6-feet, 210-pounds, he will likely be used in short-yardage situations.

“If you saw the man, he’s a beast,” Matukewicz said. “He’s a big, physical guy, looks like a linebacker.”

Robinson also showcased his speed Saturday, running through a couple of arm tackles near the line of scrimmage and then breaking away for a 56-yard TD run.

“For him to be able to finish off a run like that is really nice,” Matukewicz said. “Obviously, he’s going to be able to get those tough yards and come in and spell [Terry], so for him to show that kind of speed was really nice to see.”

Freshmen Zion Custis and Geno Hess also got a few carries.

Depth at WR

SEMO’s quarterbacks spread the ball around, completing 15 passes to nine different receivers. While the nature of a scrimmage lends itself to numerous players getting chances, Matukewicz believes that depth will also be on display when the season starts Sept. 1.

“The strength of our receiving core is the depth,” Matukewicz said. “We’ve got several guys that can make plays.”

Zack Smith led the way with 3 receptions for 65 yards and a touchdown. Newcomer Jerrick Orr also had three catches for 25 yards, and returning starter Kristian Wilkerson added two receptions for 36 yards. Midway through the scrimmage, sophomore Taylen Waller got behind the defense and connected with Cooper for a 48-yard touchdown pass.

“He’s running a corner route, and I saw the safety bite up underneath him,” Cooper said. “He was trying to come get me. I’m assuming he was thinking I was going to take off running already, but I’ve seen my man late and I had to get him the ball.

“That’s one of my favorite targets.”

There’s still things to work on for the group, which had three drops.

New-look defense

SEMO lost several high-impact players from last year’s defense, including three players still with NFL teams.

But defensive coordinator Bryce Saia believes this year’s unit has a chance to be deeper, just with less top-end talent.

“We found out a lot today as far as where our young kids are at,” Saia said. “But I do like our depth. We lost some high-end impact players that are still in NFL camps right now, but I think what’s different about last year compared to this year is we’re not just counting on four guys. We’re counting on the two-deep defense.”

Chad Meredith and Mike Ford are still with the Detroit Lions, and Kendall Donnerson, who was drafted in the seventh round, is playing for the Green Bay Packers.

Secondary starters Omar Pierre-Louis and Rico McWilliams, who was at the Washington Redskins’ rookie minicamp this spring, are also gone. That leaves the secondary with just one returning stater — Ford played corner — in safety Bydarrius Knighten. Cape Girardeau Central graduate Al Young is expected to slide into one of those starting cornerback spots.

Saia said the Redhawks’ three-man line will go nine deep, and Preseason All-OVC pick Zach Hall leads the linebackers.