Southeast Missouri State Redhawks 2026 Season Preview

Matukewicz Chasing Consistency

Tom Matukewicz's Redhawks finished 4-8 and 3-5 in league play in 2025, a middling stretch that lines up with a No. 73 power rating rather than any real outlier. The record shows a program stuck in the middle of the Big South-OVC picture, not one trending sharply in either direction. Nothing in these results points to a breakout or a collapse for 2026, just a team that needs to turn close conference games into wins.

Weber's Air Show Returns

Johnny Weber comes back after throwing for 1,110 yards, 8 touchdowns and 5 interceptions, and the passing game is the real strength here, with SEMO ranking 16th nationally in passing yards per game a year ago. The problem sits on the ground, where a 122nd-ranked rushing attack gave defenses no reason to respect anything but the pass, and until that changes Weber will keep operating without a second threat. Turnover margin at minus-6 says the margin for error stays thin, so Weber's decision-making with the ball in his hands will decide whether this offense actually climbs instead of just airing it out.

Johnny Weber takes over an offense that could sling it (263 yards a game through the air, 16th nationally) but couldn't finish drives or run the ball, ranking 122nd in rushing yards per game and 101st in success rate. Weber's 1110 yards, 8 touchdowns and 5 interceptions came in relief of Jax Leatherwood, whose 1969 yards and 12 scores now walk out the door as the top target for what Weber needs to replace. The explosiveness is already there, Southeast Missouri State ranked 9th nationally in yards per successful play, so Weber's job is turning that big-play passing attack into an offense that doesn't stall on third down, where the Redhawks sat 70th at 38.1%.

Brandon Epton Jr. and his 535 yards and 6 touchdowns are gone, and that's a real problem for a ground game that managed just 85 rushing yards per game (122nd nationally) a year ago. Tymere Burton arrives via transfer to take a crack at the job, and given how lopsided this offense was, run production simply has to climb for Tom Matukewicz's team. Southeast Missouri State piled up 263 passing yards per game (16th) while the run barely moved the needle, so Burton does not need to be spectacular, just enough of a threat to keep defenses honest and unlock the explosive play-calling this staff already trusts through the air.

Kalvin Gilbert's 46 catches for 653 yards and 7 touchdowns become the backbone of this passing attack now that Cam Pedro's 65-catch, 814-yard season is gone. That passing game ranked 16th nationally in yards per game a year ago, and Gilbert alone cannot replicate the target share Pedro commanded, but Jobe Bryant's 18 grabs give Tom Matukewicz a second option who already has run in this offense. The explosiveness here was a real weapon, 9th nationally in value per successful play, and it now rides on Gilbert stretching defenses without the complementary big-play threat Pedro provided.

Andrew Civey is the one proven piece here, coming off 10 catches for 86 yards and 2 touchdowns in a passing attack that ranked 16th nationally in yards per game. Jamauri Chislom and Nolan Reed, who combined for their own share of catches and yards last fall, are both gone, leaving Civey as the clear top target alongside Wesley Dabbs and CJ Uhl, neither of whom has logged a catch yet. With Southeast Missouri State still leaning on the pass to offset a rushing attack that ranked 122nd, Civey's ability to build on his touchdown production matters more than any name added behind him.

The numbers already tell the imbalance here: Southeast Missouri State threw for 263 yards a game (16th nationally) while running for just 85 (122nd), and that gap traces straight to a line that could not consistently move anyone. Tom Matukewicz now has to rebuild that front with five contributors gone in Jacob Cox, Trey Gibbs, Jalen Nettles, Rashad Turner and Kobe Williams, part of six departures up front. Fixing the ground game, not just protecting the passer, is what defines whether this offense climbs out of the bottom third nationally in yards per play.

Southeast Missouri State surrendered 168 rushing yards a game last season, a soft number that had little to do with production lost up front, since none of Sam Keeper, Steven Lewis, Nasim Cairo, Caleb Webb or Jehchys Brown put up much on the stat sheet in 2025. That means the pass rush problem, a 6.11 yards per play mark and 107th-ranked pass defense, was already a scheme and personnel issue before this offseason's turnover hit. Tom Matukewicz brings in Tymere Burton to reshape the interior, and the bar he needs to clear is low given how easily opponents were moving the ball through the air a year ago.

Southeast Missouri State's defense gave up 248 passing yards a game last fall, 107th nationally, and now the linebacker corps that watched it happen is essentially starting over, with Jared Pedraza, Slade Dollar, Jeremy Walton, Latrevion Thompson and McCoy Casey all gone among six departures. Tymere Burton, a transfer from Utah State who posted 8 tackles and half a sack there in 2025, arrives to help stabilize a front that let opponents stay on schedule at just a 37.2% clip, actually a respectable 17th nationally, even as yards per play allowed sat at 6.11. Tom Matukewicz needs that discipline to hold while new faces settle in behind a line that was gashed more through the air than on the ground.

Amare Townsend's 6 tackles were the high mark in a secondary that let opponents complete throws at will, a unit that finished 107th in defense passing yards allowed per game. Every meaningful tackle producer behind him returns, from Cyler Christmas and Angel Muñoz to DJ Delmore and corners David Jones and Khalik Boothe, but continuity alone did not stop teams from moving the ball through the air last year. Tom Matukewicz needs that back end to force more incompletions, because the pass defense, not the run front that held up at 76th against the rush, is what decided close games in 2025.

Jeremiah Cunningham takes over the punting job with no prior stats on file to lean on, replacing Ryan Kingston's 72 punts and 41-yard average. The bigger hole is at placekicker, where Justin Keller's 13-of-17 kicking and 72 points, along with Malik Orsan, are both gone, and both long snappers, Judd Cunningham and Jackson Marx, left too. Tom Matukewicz is filling four specialist spots at once with almost nothing statistically proven behind Jeremiah Cunningham.

Johnny Weber

Johnny Weber threw for 1110 yards with 8 touchdowns against 5 interceptions in relief snaps last fall, and now he inherits the full-time job Jax Leatherwood left behind after a 1969-yard, 12-touchdown season. The interception rate is the swing variable, with Kalvin Gilbert back after a 46-catch, 653-yard, 7-touchdown year, Weber has a proven downfield target, but tightening his decision-making is what separates a competitive Big South-OVC season from another one buried by turnovers.

Matukewicz's Home Cover Problem

Southeast Missouri State's betting market has split cleanly by zip code under Tom Matukewicz. On the road, the Redhawks covered at a 50% clip overall and a sharp 75% as underdogs, feasting on lower expectations away from Cape Girardeau. At home, though, bettors have been burned repeatedly, with just a 17% cover rate and a 25% mark as favorites, and once this team loses a game, backing it again the following week has been a losing proposition at 14%.