SEMO star WR invited to NFL Combine

It didn’t take long for veteran Southeast Missouri State football coach Tom Matukewicz to realize that Redhawk wide receiver Ryan Flournoy was unique.

Just days into his first practices in the spring of 2022, Matukewicz remarked that Flournoy “scores a touchdown every day.”

Flournoy ultimately proved that he was special on the field, as well as off it, and because of that, he once again finds himself in rare air in SEMO football lore.

Flournoy was recently invited to participate in the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine Feb. 29 through March 3 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

“(The NFL) is going to see what we’ve seen,” Matukewicz said, “which is that (Flournoy) is a legitimate athletic freak, and I mean that in a good sense.”

Flournoy traveled a circuitous route to this point in his athletic career, which Matukewicz said has only helped him become as great of a player AND person as he is.

He graduated from Homewood-Flossmoor High School in the Chicago suburbs in 2018 and spent that fall at Central Missouri as a redshirt.

In 2019, he caught 17 receptions for the Mules, before the program didn’t compete in 2020.

Flournoy transferred to Iowa Western Community College in 2021 and was second on the team with 38 receptions but led the Reivers with seven scores.

His best game came in the NJCAA National Championship game, as he caught six balls for 170 yards and scored both of his team’s touchdowns in a 31-13 loss.

Despite that success, in part due to his battling knee injuries at Iowa Western, Flournoy “had one Division I offer,” according to Matukewicz, which was from the Redhawks.

“Ryan handled adversity well, which is what young people need to do,” Matukewicz said. “There are no overnight sensations. You don’t go from high school to being drafted. Everybody is going to have to overcome something.

“Ryan has been able to handle adversity and he came out of it even better than when he went into it.”

Flournoy, who will compete in the Reese’s Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala. on February 3, finished his two seasons in Cape Girardeau with 118 receptions for 1,823 yards and 13 scores.

“The scouts are really going to love what they see (in Ryan),” Matukewicz said. “He has the size (6-foot-2, 2-5 pounds). Up top, he looks like a linebacker, and his (legs) look like a defensive back. That is how you want them.”

In 2022, Flournoy hauled in 15 receptions for 256 yards in a home loss against Eastern Kentucky, which was seven yards shy of the Redhawk record for total yards receiving in a game. It was following that game, that Flournoy made an indelible impression (if he hadn’t done so already) on Matkewicz.

“He had one of the greatest days in SEMO history,” Matukewicz said, “and after the game, he was in the locker room crying (about the loss). I’m just thankful that he cares about this team so much.”

That attitude is going to resonate with the NFL teams that assess Flournoy as much as his receiving skills, Matukewicz said.

“He is one of the most coachable guys that I have ever coached in my life,” Matukewicz said.

Matukewicz said that Flournoy will “do anything that you tell him to do.”

Flournoy becomes the third SEMO football player to receive an invite to the Scouting Combine, following defensive lineman Angel Rubio (1998) and running back Kelvin Anderson (1995).

“It is exciting,” Matukewicz said. “The point of all of this is that all of your hopes and dreams can happen from (Southeast Missouri State). Ryan is playing in one of the most prestigious senior bowls (Reese’s Senior Bowl), and made it to the NFL combine, all from Southeast Missouri State.”

Flournoy will run through drills on the field at Lucas Oil Stadium on March 2 at noon. The public is allowed to attend and can register for a pass at https://events.nfl.com/app.

The Combine is televised on the NFL Network.