The appeal of SEMO football has been a journey

Southeast Missouri State players huddle around football coach Tom Matukewicz at the end of practice Thursday at Rosengarten Athletic Complex.

Ben Matthews ~ Southeast Missourian

It’s still relatively early in the recruiting process for the Class of 2020 for most FCS football programs and Southeast Missouri State isn’t different from most in that regard.

The Redhawks have received four verbal commitments and have several other offers on tables awaiting decisions by prospects.

The following athletes have committed to the Redhawks:

• Jalen Benson (DB, Harlem High School, Machesney Park, IL)

• Vincent Hamer (WR, Goodpasture High School, Madison, TN)

• Khalyl Warren (Simeon High School, Chicago)

• Justin Prushko (TE, Dundee-Crown High School, Carpentrsville, IL)

“The number one thing is the people that we have within our program,” veteran Redhawk assistant coach Joe Uhls said of his sales pitch to recruits. “We have top-notch people in our players, our coaches and our support staff. We have a team that truly cares about each other and that doesn’t happen very much these days.”

Uhls has perspective on the entire scope of recruiting in this region, as well as with the Southeast program, like no one else.

He has been part of the Redhawk coaching staff for a decade and also holds two degrees (a Bachelor’s and Master’s) from Southeast. Oh, and by the way, he has lived in Cape Girardeau since he was five years old.

“I can definitely use (my experience) as a tool,” Uhls said. “This is my home. My parents still live here. My wife’s parents still live here. It is really good for us with that connection to the community.”

Southeast Missouri State tight ends coach Joe Uhls

It may not be easy to sell a recruit on signing with the Redhawks. All recruiting takes diligence on every one involved and it is a cut-throat business. However, compared to when Uhls first started his career with the program? The Southeast program has come light years in its appeal to prospects –and its coaches.

“I wasn’t smart enough to realize what I got into,” sixth-year coach Tom Matukewicz said of accepting the job at Southeast.

Matukewicz came to Cape Girardeau and interviewed at midnight in order not to be seen by any one. The dark of night could only cover up so much.

“When I saw the weight room in the light,” Matukewicz recalled, “I almost had a physical reaction. I thought ‘What have I done?’”

The Southeast Missouri State football team goes through a weight training session this summer at the Holcomb Success Center.
Southeast Missourian file

Matukewicz walked into what would eventually become his office and the chair behind his desk was completely torn.

That chair was symbolic of the Redhawk program and Matukewicz began to realize that.

“What have I done,” Matukewicz repeated.

Through the first four seasons Matukewicz and his staff sold a number of things to recruits. They sold hope of a turnaround, they sold a coaching staff that had a history of winning, and they sold immediate playing time.

“We were hanging on,” Matukewicz said of the early years and building depth. “And injuries were a problem because of the combination of the strength and conditioning and the bodies that we were recruiting, and you’re playing them a lot, you’re going to break down.

“It was just this snowball.”

Those issues were remedied – eventually.

The Rosengarten Athletic Complex was renovated in 2011 (the chair aside) and continues to be touched up annually, while the Holcomb Success Center (weight facility and more) received $500,000 in improvements in 2016. The strength program has had very strong guidance for several years and that shows on the scoreboard.

The fact that the Redhawks were competitive on the field, even if they didn’t win much, helped to a degree, as well. That enabled the staff to talk about being close to success if they could just land the right players.

“I wanted to do this,” Matukewicz said of leading Southeast. “I believed that this is where (my family) needed to be. And so all the facts of the real issues … I wanted to do this.”

Today, that conviction is actually supported with logic rather than emotion, which carries more significance on the recruiting circuit.