Notre Dame Signs Wide Receiver Rico Flores Jr.
Notre Dame has signed California wide receiver Rico Flores Jr., one of the best route runners in the country.
Hometown/High School: Folsom, Calif. / Folsom
Height/Weight: 6-1, 190
IB Grade: 4.0 (Top 150 caliber prospect)
Upside Grade: 4.5
Recruited By: Chansi Stuckey, Tommy Rees, Chad Bowden
Offers: Notre Dame, Ohio State, Georgia, Alabama, Texas, LSU, USC, Oregon, Nebraska, Tennessee, UCLA, Stanford, Washington, Utah, Michigan State, Pittsburgh, Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Washington State, Oregon State, California, Georgia Tech
2022 Stats: 72 catches, 1,081 yards, 8 TD
2021 Stats: 81 catches, 1,157 yards, 11 TD
Career Stats: 184 catches, 2,844 yards, 29 TD
Honors: All American Bowl selection
Player Comp: Rhema McKnight, Notre Dame
RECRUITING RANKINGS
Rivals: 4-star - No. 137 overall - No. 22 WR
ESPN: 4-star - No. 229 overall - No. 18 WR
247Sports: 4-star - No. 36 WR
On3: 4-star - No. 52 WR
Consensus: 4-star - No. 30 WR
NOTRE DAME FIT
Flores brings a unique fit into the Notre Dame offense. The Folsom standout shows a great feel for getting open. Not only is he able to use his route technique and quickness to get good separation out of breaks, Flores shows a great feel for finding soft spots in the defense when he is working against zone coverages. His ideal fit is as an X receiver, but he could fit into the boundary (W) spot as well and the way Tommy Rees runs his offense I could see Flores thriving in the slot (Z) as well. That versatility makes this an even bigger pickup for Notre Dame.
BREAKING DOWN FLORES
Ryan Roberts, Director of Recruiting: “Flores is about a clean of a route runner as you will find in the class. The nuance of the position is among the best, clearly understanding how to to attack leverage and get in and out of breaks. He showed tremendous growth as a senior, showcasing even more explosiveness. Flores has the type of floor and ability that could be hard to keep off the field early on.”
John Garcia Jr: "Tall pass-catcher with fair build and room to add mass. Balanced pressure player off the line of scrimmage with enough top-end speed to challenge defense to all three levels. Excellent vision and ball-tracking skills while pass is in flight to go along with plus body awareness and control relative to size. Has moonlighted on defense with signs of grit and aggressiveness that could help translate to ceiling as a blocker when combined with length. Productive against strong competition in northern California."
Folsom Head Coach Paul Doherty: “The film speaks volumes of course. Rico immediately jumps off the screen but what it doesn’t tell you is the maturity he brings, the work ethic. It’s a cliche but he is truly the hardest working kid on the team.He brings a different mentality and is incredibly driven. Rico will be your friend but he’s going to be your friend on the move. You can come with him if you want, but he has things to do; go to practice, go to class, go put extra work in, go to the NFL. Rico’s drive is unmatched.” - Paul Doherty
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Irish Breakdown Content
Notre Dame 2022 Roster
Notre Dame 2022 Schedule
Notre Dame 2023 Scholarship Offers
Notre Dame 2024 Scholarship Offers
Ranking The 2022 Signees - Offense
Ranking The 2022 Signees - Defense
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