When Marthasville native Matt Scheible committed to play college football in the spring of 2008, he was joining a program that wasn't accustomed to winning. Southeast Missouri State had posted just two winning seasons since becoming a Division I school in 1991 and had not won more than eight games in a season during that 17-year span. But something about the recruiting process reassured Scheible that SEMO was the right choice. "Going in, the program historically had not been that winning for the past 20 season years," acknowledged Scheible. "I knew it was going to be a struggle at first, but I really like the fit though, because it made me feel like I was in Washington again." SEMO coach Tony Samuel says he knew was sold on Scheible the moment they met. "Matt's a great kid," said Samuel. "I've liked him from the first day I recruited him in the principal's office at his high school." Three years after landing in Cape Girardeau he finds himself leading the Redhawks through uncharted territory. Last season SEMO won its first-ever Ohio Valley Conference crown and finished with a school-best 9-3 record. "It made all the work we'd put in worth it," recalled Scheible. "It was unbelievable the amount of support we got around Cape Girardeau. It was awesome to see the community cheering us on." It wasn't a struggle-free process, though. SEMO went 6-17 during Scheible's first two seasons, and he was forced to adapt quickly. He hadn't even come to SEMO expecting to play as a freshman, but fate intervened. "I went into camp as the fourth quarterback on the depth chart," said Scheible. "You don't get many reps as a freshman in camp, so I tried to take advantage of every rep. I moved up because of injuries (to others) and won the back up job." He vividly remembers the first time he took the field as a college quarterback, replacing veteran Houston Lilliard against then No. 6 Mizzou under the lights at Faurot Field. It was a larger-than-life debut for a small-town kid. "Houston tweaked his knee and began making mental mistakes," said Scheible. "By the end of the season, his knee had taken a turn for the worse." Scheible made his first career start on Nov. 8 of his freshman year against Murray State. Two Saturdays later he was named OVC Newcomer of the Week after throwing three touchdowns against Austin Peay. Scheible began to accept the overwhelming fact that he, as just a freshman, was already the full-time commander of SEMO's offense. "Going toward the end of that season, I kind of understood the next three years were mine to lose," said Scheible. "I knew I really had to embrace the position and put all the work in to keep it." He entered his sophomore campaign as the starter, and the coaching staff decided to build the gameplan around their quarterback's strengths. "We tried some new stuff on offense, because I was a little more mobile than Houston," explained Scheible. It didn't necessarily pay off, as the Redhawks went 2-9 in a season of full close contests. Scheible says losing six straight games by two touchdowns or less was a grueling test of character. "My sophomore season was a rough one," Scheible recalled. "Without that year I don't know that we do well (last season). Going through a 2-9 season, it takes a special person to keep their pride up." Last year SEMO achieved feats that had seen unimaginable when Scheible came on board after graduating from Washington High School. As he prepares to enter his senior season, aspirations of a national title no longer seem far-fetched. "We knew we had the talent," said Scheible of last year's turnaround. "We just had to put it together. Some of our guys really stepped up." After losing the season opener to Ball State, SEMO rattled off nine straight victories and found itself reaching the second round of the FCS playoffs. The Redhawks season came to an end during a road trip defeat to eventual champion Eastern Washington. "After that third game when we beat SIU who was ranked fifth, we realized we could play with the best of them," said Scheible, of when the team realized it was going to be a special season. "That gave us a little more confidence." Scheible's junior campaign was not without personal accomplishment either, as he earned OVC Player of the Week honors in Mid-September and was named an OVC first-team all-conference selection. He completed 109 of 182 passing attempts for 1,246 yards and eight touchdowns in 2010, throwing three interceptions. Scheible was the second-leading rusher on the team with 887 yards and seven touchdowns on 169 carries. "We wanted to be really efficient on third down and in the passing game," explained Scheible. "We had a check-off board in the locker room, and we always wanted to hit 60 percent of our passing plays and be over 50 percent on third down." The 6-foot-1 signal caller has developed into one of the most effective dual threat quarterbacks in the OVC, amassing 3,422 career passing yards. As a sophomore, Scheible connected on 141 of 284 throws for 1,596 yards. "I feel like I'm a smart player," said Scheible. "I'm not the quickest but I make the right reads on the option. My greatest asset is probably my mental game." Samuel agrees with that assessment. "He's a great leader," said Samuel. "He really understands the game and is a player-coach type of guy. He knows the blocking schemes and the receiving routes." Entering his senior senior season, Scheible says SEMO isn't willing to settle for the critics prediction, although they are more favorable than in most years. "We got picked to finish fourth (in the OVC), but our goal is to win it again," asserted Scheible. "We want to make the playoffs again and advance this time." Scheible is putting the finishing touches on his accounting degree but says he would also like to possibly coach someday. "It's a bittersweet feeling," said Scheible, about the thought entering his final year of football. "I love playing the game but all things must come to an end. Hopefully the tradition that carries over is one of us being successful."