Southeast Missouri State football signee: Arsante' Conners

Arsante' Conners

The Basics

Name: Arsante' Conners

High School: Oakville (Mo.) High School

Position: Linebacker

Measurables: 6-foot-2, 190 pounds

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Profile

Throughout his high school career in the south St. Louis suburb of Oakville, Arsante' Conners was the kind of do-it-all player any coach would want on their roster.

The 6-foot-2, 190-pound senior, who signed with Southeast Missouri State on Wednesday as an outside linebacker, has what it takes to bring those skills to the next level, according to his coach and father Arlee Conners.

"Arsante' was a very versatile player for us here at Oakville," Conners said. "He played receiver, tight end, played some outside linebacker, middle linebacker and some defensive end. The kid pretty much stayed on the field the whole game. The only time he left the field was during the kickoff return. He's a guy that can go out and they can find some different places where he can play and be productive for them."

Conners said the Redhawks were always interested in his son as a linebacker and added that Arsante' has demonstrated that his skills as a linebacker are his best.

"At SEMO he's been recruited as an outside linebacker, which I think is his natural position," Conners said. "I mean he's an outstanding receiver, but I think with his body size and the things that he can do, he can be a big-time threat at the outside linebacker position."

Arsante' Conners also received a scholarship offer from Indiana State and interest from Missouri, Auburn, Illinois, Army, Austin Peay and Eastern Illinois. However, he chose Southeast, which showed interest in him from the very beginning of the recruiting process.

"SEMO was interested before the season even started, and the coaching staff is really what did it," Conners said. "Most of the big schools brought him in during the summer. We traveled all around just to get him some looks, just so we could test all the markets and see what was going on. SEMO was a school that was there the whole time and they showed very strong interest from the beginning. They never left and when it came down to it he realized that was the program he felt was genuinely interested in him the most."

Conners added that its a lifelong dream come true to see his son follow in his own footstpes.

"It's very exciting. It's one of the things that I had hoped for from the very beginning," said Conners, who was a running back at Purdue in the 1990s. "I had hoped that he would be good enough to qualify for a full scholarship on any level. That was my hope and it was good to see that he was able to get to a good school like SEMO and continue his education and playing career."