COLUMN: SEMO’s Hess looks to be among the best

With the career Southeast Missouri State running back Geno Hess has had over his six seasons, one would think he would be a locked-in pick for the NFL Draft.

Had he worn a more prolific uniform.

Hess finished his Redhawk career with 5,111 rushing yards and 63 touchdowns. In 2022, he rushed for 1,691 yards and 21 scores to be voted 2023 OVC Male Athlete of the Year.

If he was playing for Missouri instead of Southeast Missouri, he would be the top running back on everybody’s draft board. And I’m not alone in believing that.

“I feel like Geno could compete with anybody in the mix with some of the people that went to Ohio State and Alabama,” said SEMO receiver Ryan Flournoy, who was recently on the same field as those blue bloods during the Senior Bowl and NFL Scouting Combine. “He's probably one of the best running backs I’ve played with and him being under-recruited by the NFL, like not having a bowl game or invitation to the combine is like a chip on his shoulder. I feel like he’s gonna shock some people.”

Any other FCS running back with a modicum of success will likely transfer to the FBS ranks these days. Hess stuck around for his best two years and now leaves a legacy at the school that took a chance on him over half a decade ago.

“These last two years have just been amazing,” Hess said. “All the work we put in, the steady deposits, just everything paying off.”

With the NFL Draft more than a month away, Hess, Flournoy, Lawrence Johnson, and LaWilliam Holmes participated in the SEMO Pro Day on Friday, March 8, at Houck Field. Hess calls the fact that he gets to showcase his skills in front of pro scouts, some of whom have been watching them from the beginning, a “blessing.”

“Having fun playing the game I've been playing since I've been a kid,” Hess said, “just having the chance to live out those boyhood dreams, getting in front of NFL scouts, having a chance to be on an NFL team is just amazing. I'm just thankful for it.”

It was fitting that among the pro scouts in attendance represented the Los Angeles Rams, who last year made waves for selecting Puka Nacua in the fifth round and saw him catch 1,486 yards worth of passes as a rookie. The Rams seemed the most likely place to use a late-round pick on Hess and watch him thrive as soon as he gets a chance.

The running back position has been undervalued in the NFL as of late. Once they were seen as the engines of the offense but now are seen as an interchangeable cog in the machine. 10 of the 18 running backs taken in the 2023 NFL Draft were selected in rounds 5-7. In 2022, a running back wasn’t even taken in the first round. 18 running backs were taken again in 2021 but only half of them were selected in the final two rounds.

With those numbers in mind, there is likely little difference between Hess and whoever is considered the best among the 2024 running back class.

Hess will also go to the Mizzou Pro Day on Friday, March 22. The NFL Draft takes place April 25-27 in Detroit, and unlike previous years, there is now another league with a team in St. Louis that could always use running backs like Hess.

“If it comes by my phone, I will be glad to take the opportunity,” Hess said. “Whatever can give me a chance to get to that next level, it doesn't matter how I get there, just be thankful for it. I'm open to any and everything and just being able to play still play this game I love.”