NEBRASKA CITY- Nebraska City High School senior Braden Thompson took advantage of the early signing period, signing with Southeast Missouri State for football. 

Thompson chose Southeast Missouri over Austin Peay and liked what he heard from the coaches during the recruiting process.

"It's just a great place honestly," Thompson said. "The culture surrounding the team is amazing. Coach has really built them up and they're on the rise really."

Thompson comes to the Redhawks program as a tight end and an offensive philosophy change was a major factor in securing his commitment.

"That was their main point of recruiting for me," Thompson said. "They wanna develop their offense into more of an air style and try to air the ball out more"

Thompson is eager to get to campus to meet his new teammates and learn how a college program operates.

"I just wanna develop with the team, learn how they work, the style of offense they play and get used to it as good as I can." Thompson said.

Thompson later thanked his coaches and the Nebraska City community for its support over the years.