Gridiron: Geno Hess’s success is as stunning as his running

College football fans tend to go “ga-ga” on National Signing Day each December, as the new prospects put their names to the dotted line, and fans envision instant star-dom for the teenagers. However, that isn’t usually how the stories unfold.

In the case of Southeast Missouri State graduate student running back Geno Hess, the Redhawk coaching staff dug up a diamond in the rough that they found in Peoria, Illinois, and it has emerged – methodically – into the FCS version of the Kohinoor.

“Oh my gosh,” 10th-year SEMO coach Tom Matukewicz stutters when talking about Hess, “I can’t even…it’s hard to put into words.

“It’s like a movie. You would think that it is made up.”

It’s easy to watch Hess, who received one Division I scholarship offer in high school (Southeast Missouri State), bull his way through arm tackles and out-sprint defenders today and realize how special the most

productive running back in Redhawk history actually is. However, who was en-visioning this player when he was a freshman and carried the ball just 11 times all season?

Or who believed Hess was destined for greatness a year later when he was just 18 yards away from being the third-most productive back on his own team?

“It’s just being ready when your moment is called,” Hess said at the time. “When the opportunity presents itself, do everything you can for the team. It’s not if I’m first string, second string, or third, it’s playing my role for the team.”

His “role for the team” now is to be the foundation of success for a Redhawk offense that is nothing short of prolific. Hess is coming off a 2022 season in which his achievements were mind-numbing.

He ranked first in the nation in scoring (11.5 ppg), rushing touchdowns (21), and total touchdowns (23).

Hess was a First-Team All-OVC selection and was named to the Associated Press, Stats Perform, American Football Coaches Association, The Bluebloods, and Phil Steele All-America teams, while finishing fifth in the overall voting for the Stats Perform Walter Payton Award, which was the highest finish by an OVC player in a decade.

“SEMO has the best running back in the (Ohio Valley Conference), and possibly in FCS football,” former NFL great running back Eddie George, who now coaches at Tennessee State.

Hess not only broke SEMO records in career rushing yards (4,112), single-game rushing yards (317, vs. Murray State), which was the highest total by an FCS player all season, career rushing attempts (689), career rushing touchdowns (53), single-season rushing touchdowns (21), most career 200-yard games (4), career points scored (330), single-season points scored (138), career total touchdowns (55) and single-season total touchdowns (23) during 2022, he also ran for over 100 yards in seven of his 12 starts, and went over 200 yards on three occasions.

Hess topped the OVC in rushing yards (1,691), rushing yards per game (140.9), rushing touchdowns (21), scoring, total touchdowns (23), and all-purpose yards (150.4 ypg), and was just the fourth Red-hawk student-athlete to ever receive the coveted OVC Male Athlete of the Year Award.

“I can’t believe this is reality,” Matukewicz said. “I’m just so proud of the accomplishments that he has made.

“You don’t have a Male Athlete of the Year unless you have a good program.”

Nationally, he rated third in rushing yards per carry (7.2), second in rushing yards, third in rushing yards per game, and 10th in all-purpose yards. Additionally, Hess broke the OVC single-game rushing record and the league’s career scoring record. His 138 points were the second-most in OVC single-season history.

“I just have to make sure that I do a good job of enjoying him, for what it is,” Matukewicz said of having Hess on his roster.