Eugene Antonio "Geno" Hayes (August 10, 1987 – April 26, 2021) was an American professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
player who was a
linebacker
Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...
in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL). After playing
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
for the
Florida State Seminoles
The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivis ...
, he was selected by the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...
in the sixth round of the
2008 NFL Draft
The 2008 NFL Draft was the 73rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 26 and April 27, ...
. He also played for the
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
and
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...
in the NFL.
High school career
A native of
Greenville, Florida
Greenville is a town in Madison County, Florida, United States. The population was 746 at the 2020 census, down from 843 at the 2010 census.
Geography
Greenville is located in western Madison County at (30.467, –83.635). U.S. Route 90 passe ...
, Hayes attended
Madison County High School, where he played football and ran track. As a junior in 2003, he posted 130 tackles, 20 tackles for a loss, 19 sacks and three interceptions. Madison County finished as the Class 2A state runner up to
Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory School
Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory (CMCP) is a private Marianist school located in Hollywood, Florida, United States, on Chaminade Drive, in front of Nativity Catholic School in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami. Covering high school an ...
that year.
In his senior year, he added 124 stops with 27 for loss and 11 sacks. Madison County again finished as the Class 2A state runner up when they were upset 17–15 by
Immokalee High School
Immokalee High School is the only public high school located in Immokalee, Florida. It is a heavily cultured area encompassing ethnicities of Hispanic-decent, Haitian (and Haitian-American) descent, and African American descent. Families and stu ...
.
[ Hayes earned All-America first-team honors from '']Parade Magazine
''Parade'' was an American nationwide Sunday newspaper magazine, distributed in more than 700 newspapers in the United States until 2022. The most widely read magazine in the U.S., ''Parade'' had a circulation of 32 million and a readership of 5 ...
'', and second-team ''USA Today'' All-America honors. He also starred in track & field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...
, competing in the 110 hurdles and 300 hurdles.
Hayes was listed as a four-star recruit by ''Rivals.com
Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel.
History
Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...
'', and ranked as the No. 3 outside linebacker prospect of his class, behind only Tray Blackmon
Tray Blackmon (born October 20, 1985) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker. He played college football for the Auburn Tigers.
Early years
Although undersized for a typical national type linebacker recruit, Bl ...
and Ryan Reynolds
Ryan Rodney Reynolds (born October 23, 1976) is a Canadian-American actor. He is one of the highest-grossing film actors of all time, with a worldwide box-office gross of over billion.
He began his career starring in the Canadian teen ...
. Recruited by dozens of schools, Hayes took official visits to Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
, Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
, Clemson, and Florida State. He committed to FSU on February 2, 2005, and was the seventh-highest graded recruit of the Seminoles' 2005 recruiting class, and the second-highest linebacker behind Derek Nicholson
Derek Nicholson (born November 30, 1986) is the inside linebackers coach at Miami (FL) and a former American football linebacker. He played college football at Florida State Seminoles Football and previously coached at Southern Miss and Louisvi ...
.
College career
In his true freshman
Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...
season, Hayes played in all 13 games and was credited with 17 tackles, broke up one pass and had two quarterback hurries. While he played mostly on special teams, Hayes also saw time as a back-up for A. J. Nicholson
A.J. Nicholson (born June 25, 1983) is an American football linebacker who has played in the NFL, the Arena Football League, and the Indoor Football League. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the fifth round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He pl ...
at weakside linebacker. In a game at Clemson in November 2005, Hayes recorded a season-high three tackles and scored Florida State's only touchdown of the game, recovering a blocked punt in the endzone. He also had three tackles in the Orange Bowl
The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in th ...
loss to Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...
.
With the graduation of Nicholson in 2006, Hayes replaced him at the weakside linebacker position, starting 10 of Florida State's 13 games. He only missed three games (Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
, Boston College
Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...
, Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
) because of a knee injury suffered in the Seminoles' victory over Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...
. He ranked fifth on the team in tackles with a career-high 59 stops despite missing three full games and most of the game against Duke when he suffered two sprained ligaments in his right knee while making a tackle in the first quarter. He also ranked third on the team with a career-high 12.0 tackles for minus yardage, behind Lawrence Timmons
Lawrence Olajuwon Timmons (born May 14, 1986) is a former American football linebacker. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He would go on to win Super Bowl XLIII with the Steelers the following ...
(18.0) and Everette Brown
Everette D. Brown (born August 7, 1987) is an American football coach and former linebacker who is currently the assistant linebackers coach for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida St ...
(13.5). In the Seminoles' Emerald Bowl
The San Francisco Bowl was an annual postseason college football bowl game certified by the NCAA and played in the San Francisco Bay Area. Originally named the Diamond Walnut San Francisco Bowl during its first two editions from 2002 to 2003, it w ...
win against UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
, Hayes had a career-high of 12 tackles.
In his junior year, Hayes took over a leadership role in the Seminoles linebacker corps, after the graduation of Timmons and Buster Davis. Starting a weakside linebacker, he ranked second on the team in tackles (80) behind Derek Nicholson
Derek Nicholson (born November 30, 1986) is the inside linebackers coach at Miami (FL) and a former American football linebacker. He played college football at Florida State Seminoles Football and previously coached at Southern Miss and Louisvi ...
(99), first in tackles-for-loss (17.5), and second in quarterback sacks (5.0) behind Everette Brown (6.5). He was a first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...
pick.
Professional career
Described as a “smallish, athletic linebacker who makes plays all over the field,” Hayes was projected to be a fourth-round draft pick by ''Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...
''. He was drafted in the sixth round (175th overall) in 2008.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
In his rookie year, Hayes appeared in nine games, mostly on special teams. In 2009, he started at weakside linebacker, replacing Derrick Brooks
Derrick Dewan Brooks (born April 18, 1973) is an American former football outside linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brooks played college football at Florida State, wh ...
.
Chicago Bears
Hayes signed with the Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
to a one-year deal on April 19, 2012.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Hayes signed a two-year, $2 million contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...
on March 13, 2013.
Personal life and death
On April 22, 2021, Hayes entered hospice
Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life by ...
care at his parents' home due to chronic liver disease
Chronic liver disease in the clinical context is a disease process of the liver that involves a process of progressive destruction and regeneration of the liver parenchyma leading to fibrosis and cirrhosis. "Chronic liver disease" refers to disease ...
with which he had been diagnosed two years earlier. He died at age 33 on April 26, 2021. Hayes is survived by his wife Shevelle, his son Gemarri, and his daughter Skylar. He was buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Greenville.
References
External links
*
Florida State Seminoles bio
Tampa Bay Buccaneers bio
Chicago Bears bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, Geno
1987 births
2021 deaths
American football linebackers
Chicago Bears players
Florida State Seminoles football players
Jacksonville Jaguars players
People from Greenville, Florida
Players of American football from Florida
Tampa Bay Buccaneers players
Deaths from liver disease