Southeast Missouri State football coach Tom Matukewicz sees front seven lining up nicely

Southeast Missouri State inside linebackers Roper Garrett, left and Terrance Hill, center, work with defensive coordinator Bryca Saia during practice Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2016 at the Rosengarten Athletic Complex.

Trent Singer

It took a little bit of fine-tuning, but Southeast Missouri State football coach Tom Matukewicz likes what he’s seen so far from his front seven on defense.

The Redhawks had eight players combine for 11 tackles for loss in last week’s 17-16 win over Murray State, as seven of those players were either linebackers or defensive linemen.

Southeast picked up its first win of the season, improving to 1-3 overall and 1-0 in the Ohio Valley Conference, and will face another tough task at 6 p.m. Saturday against 13th-ranked Eastern Illinois at Houck Stadium.

Matukewicz said he’s had to tinker with the depth chart in order to get the right pieces in place on the defensive line, but the defense’s most recent success has been jumpstarted by a talented linebacking corps, led by a team-high 32 tackles from senior inside linebacker Roper Garrett.

“We run a 3-4, so it’s really important that we have good linebackers. And I think we do,” Matukewicz said after Tuesday’s practice at the Rosengarten Athletic Complex. “Those guys are playing physical. They’re playing fast because they’re not doing a lot of thinking. We don’t have any first-year starters in there. They’re all guys that have been in the program and have played football for us, so I think that’s the biggest thing.”

The Southeast Missouri State defense runs a drill during practice Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2016 at the Rosengarten Athletic Complex.

Trent Singer

Perhaps the biggest surprise on defense has been the emergence of outside linebacker Kendall Donnerson. The 6-foot-2, 238-pound junior has 21 tackles on the year and leads the Redhawks with three sacks and 6 1/2 TFLs. In the OVC, he’s tied for third and fourth in those respective categories.

“He’s just so disruptive,” Matukewicz said. “Once he gets in the backfield, they don’t know what’s going to happen because we don’t know what’s going to happen. He’s so elusive. He’s fast. He’s got a long wingspan. No one knows what he’s going to do.”

A native of Maumelle, Arkansas, Donnerson has seen action in every game since joining the program in 2014. His breakout performance came last season against Southern Illinois, during which he racked up eight tackles — two for loss — a sack and a forced fumble. He finished his sophomore season with 32 tackles, including 18 solo stops.

Donnerson opened eyes two weeks ago after piling up big numbers in a 27-24 loss at home against Indiana State, finishing the game with nine tackles, including three for loss, and a strip sack.

“When he first came in, we had to play him because we were short,” Garrett said. “It took him a while to learn the plays, but he’s such a freak athlete. ... If he just gets in the backfield, he’s going to make a play.”

At the other OLB position, Donnerson is joined by junior Chad Meredith, whose 6-5 frame has proven to be a mismatch for opposing offensive linemen. Meredith is second on the team with 24 tackles, including a pair of sacks.

Senior Terrance Hill, who has 21 tackles on the season, rounds out the linebacking corps in the Redhawks’ 3-4 base defense. Hill and Garrett each have an interception this season.

Through four games, Southeast is giving up 101.8 yards rushing, which ranks fourth in the league. That clip improved after allowing only 11 yards on 26 rushes last week against the Racers.

Southeast Missouri State outside linebackers Chad Meredith and Kendall Donnerson run a drill during practice Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2016 at the Rosengarten Athletic Complex.

Trent Singer

“I just think we come up with a good plan each week, and those guys are playing fast and physical because they’ve done it before,” Matukewicz said. “If you’re kind of guessing and thinking out there, it’s hard to play physical, so I think that’s been the biggest thing.”

Matukewicz is hopeful his team’s trend against the run will continue versus an EIU rushing offense that’s ranked third in the OVC, averaging 177.5 yards per game.

“I think it’ll be the best running team we’ve faced, and we’ve faced some good teams,” Matukewicz said. “I think, as a program, they’re committed to running the ball. They’re physical, and their O-line is big. Everything you need to run the ball, they have, so we’ve got to be able to stop it.”

The Redhawks’ defensive line possesses tremendous size, anchored by 337-pound senior Marlon Hampton at nose tackle. Defensive end Fernando Whigham, a senior, and junior defensive tackle Joshua Wilson round out the defensive line, which averages 313 pounds as a unit.

“They’ve really done a great job since we’ve been here, and they’ve been able to stay healthy,” Matukewicz said about the defensive line. “... Coach [Ricky] Coon’s doing a great job with them, and it’s paying off.”

One area the Redhawks’ front seven would like to help improve is a pass defense that’s ranked eighth in the league and is giving up an average of 300.8 yards per game. Through the first four weeks, Southeast has 11 sacks, nine quarterback hurries and five forced turnovers.

“I know it might look like our passing defense hasn’t looked the best, but I see that as both on the front seven and on the back seven because the best pass coverage is a pass rush,” Garrett said. “We’ve just got to step it up in both parts to stop the explosive plays in the back end. ... Last year we had a lot more turnovers at this point in the season. We’ve got to force a lot more of those.”

Early-down woes

Southeast Missouri State assistant coach Ben Blake works with the offensive line during practice Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2016 at the Rosengarten Athletic Complex.

Trent Singer

Much of what plagued the Redhawks’ sluggish offense against the Racers was the result of a lack of production on first down.

Southeast racked up 132 yards of offense on 36 first-down plays. Five of those plays went for negative yardage, while eight were incompletions. The split was 15 pass plays compared to 21 run plays.

A lack of execution on early downs resulted in 17 third-and-longs for the Redhawks, much of which contributed to five sacks on junior QB Jesse Hosket. Only six of Southeast’s third-down situations were of the short and middle varieties.

“I think it’s a learning experience, and I felt like a lot of these improvements that we’ve made over the last three weeks, we kind of took a little bit of a step backwards,” offensive coordinator Jon Wiemers said. “A lot of it just boils down to the fact that we don’t want to be a team that’s in third-and-long — nobody wants to be a team in third-and-long that much. A lot of times it just comes down to the first-down situations.”

While blitz pickup was an issue for Southeast early in the game, Wiemers said the offensive line was able to adjust that pressure as the game progressed.

“When a team really tries to haymaker you in the blitz game, a lot of the times it’s feast or famine,” Wiemers said. “We had some moments where we did feast on it, too, and had some explosive plays. ... We got a little bit adjusted to it towards the end, but we need to be able to see it a little bit faster.”

The Redhawks finished with 13 plays that are considered by the coaching staff as explosive. Those are defined as 16-plus yards on pass plays and 12-plus yards on run plays, according to Wiemers. The per-game goal for those plays is eight.

Wiemers said he wants to see his linemen hold up better in long-yardage situations.

“We need to play better at offensive tackle in those situations,” Wiemers said. “I think three or four times, it came down to just missed technique more by those guys. They’re talented enough to do it. I think they just got in that situation, and sometimes if you press as an offensive tackle, you lose your technique.”

Of the 122 teams in the Football Championship Subdivision, only two have faced more third downs than Southeast. The Redhawks are 29 of 74 (39 percent) on third-down conversions, which ranks seventh in the OVC.

“I think we’re pretty high as far as the amount of first downs we get, but they’re coming off of stressful moments,” Wiemers said. “We’re having to make explosive plays when we don’t want to have to, and that’s part of trying to control it and being consistent. We’re not consistent. You make an emphasis on those third-and-long situations. And we’ve gotten better at them, but we’re in more of them.

“We’ve kind of got to get back to basics. First-and-10, it’s about throwing and catching. You may take your shots here and there, but a lot of times, it’s about throwing and catching. Or it’s about, when you’re handing the ball off, not getting zero on first down. You’ve got to get positive, and it makes everything better when you do that. We were getting better in that respect. I think we started out pretty bad, and it was progressively getting better. And then that game it got worse.”

As for issues in pass protection, Wiemers said he’s confident his offensive line will be able to bounce back from last week’s struggles and use the experience as a teaching lesson.

“They’re better than what they played, and I know that they will get better. I’ve got a ton of confidence in them,” Wiemers said. “They know it. They’re mature, and I think sometimes everyone has a bad day. And they had a bad day. I don’t think it’ll happen again.”

Injury update

Sophomore Dante Vandeven took a spill during Tuesday’s practice while running a drill as a wide receiver. The sophomore QB, who’s listed No. 2 on the depth chart, didn’t appear to be in too much pain and was carted off the field as a precaution.

Hampton (doubtful) didn’t participate in practice, while Meredith (probable) was a limited participant.