Over the past two seasons, numerous players on the Lions’ football team have contributed to the success the program has had, which includes two consecutive conference titles.

Senior linebacker and Defensive Player of the Year Drew Seers is one of those players and key factors to the team’s success that put his heart and soul into the program and the sport that he loved. 

After a successful season, Seers was named D2Football.com Defensive Player of the Year. He was also named first-team AP All-American, GLVC Defensive Player of the Year, and first-team all-region for the second year in-a-row. 

Now that his college career has concluded, Seers is spending his time in Miami, Florida, training for his pro day which will be held at the University of Missouri, Columbia, in March. 

Q: How does it feel to win the DPOY?

A: “It’s cool, I enjoy it. I tell a lot of people this, that I don’t really put much emphasis on the awards, or I don’t really strive out to go get a bunch of awards before the season happens. When they come, I enjoy them. It feels good to be acknowledge for my hard work, but I really don’t pride myself on them. They’re cool in the moment, but those don’t mean too much to me when I get them.” 

Q: What were your overall thoughts from this past season?

A: “Season was good. It was exciting. In conference play, we knew we had a target on our back, and to go win the conference again was going to be a struggle just because it was our first year in there, and we won the whole thing. So people were going to be coming for our heads and giving us their best game. I thought we responded in a way that we should’ve. We’ve grown a lot from the 2019 season to this past year. I think we dominated a lot more in the conference this year, we had a lot of close games last year barely sneaking by. But this year, I felt like we dominated some more. I feel like our out of conference schedule play made us grow. We played some really good teams, a D1 team (South Dakota State). Obviously the playoffs didn’t really pan out the way it wanted to, but I think we grew a lot from 2019-2021.” 

Q: What were some of your best moments throughout your career? 

A: “I think one of the best memories I’ve had was the last game in MIAA. So my sophomore year, we went to go play Missouri Western. We were 3-7. Nobody expected us to beat MO West. People were talking about it on Twitter, saying ‘Send them off with an L for their last game in the MIAA.’ I remember specifically, it was like 23-6 with five minutes left in the game. We were losing, and we just went on a roll. Defense got a turnover, offense went down and scored, we got another stop, offense scored again, then we kicked the onside, got it, and scored. They threw a hook-and-ladder at the last second, and the last play of the game we tackled them at the three yard line to win it. And just to leave the MIAA with that memory of going out on a win was probably my favorite because it was such a crazy comeback.”

Q: What was your favorite memory from this season? 

A: “It’s weird because we lost the game, but it was the first game against Angelo State. It was actually at the first quarter or two where, defensively I think we were playing some of the best ball we played all season. We were sending a lot of pressure, they really couldn’t get a lot going on offense. We were playing with so much energy and passion, and just like having fun being out there. That was the most packed that I’ve seen Hunter Stadium at the time that I’ve been there. That place was jumping and going crazy. Just the whole atmosphere and the energy we had at the beginning of the game is something that I will always remember.” 

Q: Throughout your career, what motivates you to get where you are today?

A: “I’ve always had the dream of wanting to go play in the NFL. I wanted to go to a big D1 school coming out of high school. After praying about that for a while and trying to make a decision, I realized that the best decision was to go to Lindenwood. If I have to go through Lindenwood for my path to the NFL, then so be it. I don’t need to go to a big D1 school. If it was made to happen then I’ll make it through Lindenwood.”  

Q: What was a major change from freshman year to now?

A: “I’ve matured a lot. I struggled with the balance between football and trying to live a normal college life. I realized that if I wanted to achieve my goals in college football then I can’t partake like a normal student in college, and kind of understanding that, and then making different decisions about who I surrounded myself with, or what I did on the weekends, and what I put into my body. The older I got, the more mature I got, the smarter I was about it. If I want to go do what I said I wanted to do, then my decisions have to replicate that.”

Q: How’s the training for the pro day going so far? What have you been doing to get ready?

A: “It’s good. I had knee surgery on Dec. 15. So when I got to Florida on Jan. 3, for the first two weeks, they’ve been rehabbing my knee, making sure I’m good for the load that’s about to come. So this week, was really my first week going hard, doing all the 40-yard stuff and the agility, and doing the whole thing, because I was held back for a little bit. But I feel good right now. I’m excited. I’m so focused. I’ve never been on this level where all your meals are planned out for you at the same schedule, so you know when to go to sleep and when to wake up. It’s like living in a bubble where my body has no choice but to adapt to what I’m doing to it. So I think whatever numbers I put up on my pro day is going to be the best version of me, because I’m disciplined as I’ve ever been right now. I think that I’m going to put some good numbers up.” 

Q: Which drill are you looking forward to? 

A: “I wouldn’t say I’m more excited about any drill or the other. Obviously the most emphasis is placed on the 40, like ‘what is he going to run?’ is the first question any scout asks when talking about somebody. I think for my skillset, what I’m best at is side-to-side movement. The most value and emphasis is on the 40, so I need to run a decent one. My pro agility would probably be one of my better measurements. So if I’d have to pick one, then it’d probably be pro agility, because I’m good at side-to-side speed. That’s really a linebacker’s main thing and what they do is go side-to-side.”

Q: Which team would you want to play on when you enter the 2022 NFL Draft? 

A: “It does not matter to me at all as far as when the draft comes, and whoever I go to, or if I go to somebody. We’ll see what happens. I have no ego or entitlement in that area. If I wanted to pick somewhere, it’d be somewhere with warmer weather. It really doesn’t matter to me.”

Q: Which player in the NFL do you look up to?

A: “In the league right now, obviously my favorite linebacker is Devin White. I watched his career at LSU for a little bit. Then obviously having great success in the league. I just like the way he plays the game. Dude is a freak of nature. He’s definitely a linebacker I love to watch in the league.”

Q: Any advice to players that are in college right now and are trying to get into the league? 

A: “My advice, if you’re going into college or in college right now, I would say know what you want. What I mean by that is if you have goals that you want to play at the next level or you want to do certain things at the college level, get around people that will help you get there. Because whoever you surround yourself with is what you’re going to end up doing. So if you say you want to go to the league and want to be All-American, but you’re hanging around a group that likes to party, likes to go out, and likes to do everything that’s not going to help you reach your goal, then you are going down the wrong path. So I’d say the biggest thing is to surround yourself with like-minded people that have ambitions themselves and that want to help you reach your goal. The more time you spend with them, the closer you’re going to get there and the faster you’re going to get there.”