Arizona Legend Named Honorary Captain
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Former defensive back turned outside linebacker Marquis Flowers will be the honorary team captain for Friday's game against Kansas State, which begins at 6 p.m. (MST)
Flowers started as a safety when he joined the program in 2011, but made the switch to linebacker in 2012 and was a menace to opposing offenses ever since.
After a monstrous 2013 as a junior, Flowers was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals with the pick in the 2014 NFL draft and played two seasons there. He was then signed by the New England Patriots and saw incredible success in that defensive scheme.
Flowers was signed to the Detroit Lions on September 3, 2018, but was released less than a month later. He was picked up by the (now) Washington Commanders on December 26, 2018 and waived on August 31, 2019.
The Dallas Renegades later selected Flowers in the open phase of the 2020 XFL draft, but he chose not to play that year.
High school phenom
Flowers was born in Missouri, but played high school football for Millennium in Goodyear, AZ as a safety. He played three 55years at the varsity level and was a two-way player as a saefty and running back.
As a sophomore, Flowers ran for 932 yards and eight touchdowns while catching six passes for 139 yards.
In his final year, Flowers rushed for 1247 yards and 16 touchdowns. On defense, He tallied 62 total tackles, 48 unassisted, two interceptions and four pass deflections.
It was his contributions on both sides of the ball that earned him a spot at the U.S Army All America game in San Antonio, TX.
College star
Flowers came out of high school as a four-star recruit and signed on to play for Arizona in 2010 as a true freshman at the safety position. Although he didn't get much playing time on defense, he contributed a lot on special teams.
In 2011, Flowers appeared in 11 games and started nine of those as a safety. He logged 68 tackles (53 solo), had three tackles for loss, three pass breakups, an interception, and a sack.
It was the 2012 season when he truly broke out as a turnover machine and a valuable piece to the defense.
He started all 13 games at the outside linebacker position and was second on the team in tackles with 100.
He also led the Wildcats in tackles for loss with 13 while having 5.5 sacks, forcing three fumbles, recovering one, breaking up three passes, and intercepting three on the way to an 8-5 season and a 49-48 win over Nevada in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl.
Flowers will always be remembered for his legendary performance against No. 10-ranked USC, when he accounted for three takeaways, two picks and a forced fumble, with seven tackles in the 39-36 upset win. His performance earned him Pac-12 defensive player of the week.
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Nathaniel Martinez and a set of shoulder pads at 7 years old. He later graduated from Pima Community College in 2023, where he began writing for the Pima Post. He is working to achieve a Bachelor’s in Mass Communication and Media Studies.