Redhawks FB 'feeling the heat' early in training camp

Veteran Southeast Missouri State football coach Tom Matukewicz speaks to his team following its first practice of training camp on Wednesday at Cape Central High School.

Tony Capobianco ~ Tcapobianco@semoball.com

At 3 a.m. on Wednesday, Tom Matukewicz was wide awake, and his mind was racing.

“It’s amazing,” Matukewicz said. “It’s my 30th year (of coaching football) and I still woke up at 3 in the morning and I sat there and thought about the first day of practice.

“I’m thankful that I have a profession that wakes me up and gets me excited.”

Matukewicz is entering his 10th season of leading the Southeast Missouri State football program and he has a lot to be “excited” about.

The Redhawks are ranked as high as ninth in the 2023 Preseason FCS polls and were recently voted as the favorite to win the inaugural season of the Big South-OVC Football Association title this year.

On Wednesday, SEMO conducted its initial training camp practice, and aside from some inclement weather, which forced the team to move its work to the field turf of Cape Central High School, all was pretty good about the nearly two hours of work.

“They worked,” Matukewicz said of the practice. “We stayed pretty healthy, and the ball wasn’t on the ground. There weren’t a lot of mistakes or penalties.”

Matukewicz is expecting to see growth from his team daily, and that was the message that he sent to the team in his post-practice talk at midfield.

“I’m really interested to see what they do from now until the next practice,” Matukewicz said. “We worked them pretty hard. Will they do the little things like hydrating, sleeping, and eating (well)? All of the things that it takes to get your body to recover for the next day.”

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The Redhawks practiced in the heat of the afternoon, which may seem unusual from other teams, many of which train earlier in the day during cooler temperatures.

The heat index for today’s practice is projected to be 107 degrees.

“Work is comparative,” Matukewicz said. “There is not a football team that doesn’t work hard. But you have to ask yourself: How are you working compared to Kansas State?”

SEMO will open the 2023 regular season at Kansas State on Sept. 2 at 6 p.m. (ESPN +).

“How are you working compared to (Southern Illinois) or Lindenwood and all of these other teams? We are picking the hottest part of the day.

“The other thing is the confidence that you get knowing that you did something really hard.”

With every prognosticator praising the potential of SEMO football this fall, Matukewicz has been studying his student-athletes to see if they are showing any sign of complacency, and he hasn’t seen any yet.

“We’ve got great leadership,” Matukewicz said. “They will know what to do. It is just do you have the willpower, the courage, and the discipline to do it every day?

“Anybody can have a good day or a good week, but can you have a good fall camp? Or a good off-season? So far, I feel good about that.”