Leading The Way: Ereck Flowers
By David Villavicencio
HurricaneSports.com
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Miami Hurricanes have a long tradition of homegrown talent showcasing itself on the football field.
Canes legends like Michael Irvin, Sean Taylor, Jonathan Vilma, Santana Moss and Bennie Blades are just a handful of South Florida natives who shined while donning Miami’s orange and green.
Over the course of the 2013 football season, HurricaneSports.com will honor a Hurricane football player with South Florida ties as the Milam’s Market Homegrown Athlete of the Week. This week’s player spotlight is Miami, Fla., native Ereck Flowers.
The University of Miami has produced several outstanding offensive linemen over the years.
Two-time All-American Joaquin Gonzalez and 2001 Outland Trophy winner Bryant McKinnie, as well as Rimington Trophy winner Brett Romberg and All-American Eric Winston are just some of the recent standout blockers at Miami.
Denver Broncos RT Orlando Franklin, Houston Texans center Chris Myers and Cleveland Browns tackle Rashad Butler are other linemen who shined at Miami and went on to play in the NFL.
Look into the history books and you will see Pro Football Hall of Fame center Jim Otto was a star at Miami in the 1950s. Dennis Harrah, who was a six-time Pro Bowler and seven-time All-Pro, was an All-American guard at Miami in 1974.
You will also find longtime NFL star and 1991 All-American Leon Searcy and All-Americans K.C. Jones and Richard Mercier among the standout linemen who donned Miami’s orange and green proudly.
Miami has several outstanding players blocking on the 2013 offensive line and Miami native Ereck Flowers could one day find himself in the same elite company as the aforementioned Hurricane legends.
Flowers stands at a gargantuan 6-foot-6 and weighs 315 pounds, but his immense size is only trumped by his impressive athleticism.
Watch the sophomore block and you will see a combination of strength, agility and technique that few can match. In addition to his physical gifts, Flowers possesses leadership qualities and maturity rarely found in underclassmen.
But Flowers has always been a model player on and off the field.
He was a star left tackle at Miami Norland High School, helping pave the way for Duke Johnson and the rest of the Vikings offense as they went undefeated and won the Class 5A state championship in 2011.
Flowers was a highly-rated recruit out of Norland and held scholarship offense from in-state rival Florida State, as well as West Virginia, Illinois, Purdue and a host of other talented programs.
But Flowers knew all along he wanted to be a Miami Hurricane.
After outstanding high school careers, Flowers and Johnson would continue their stellar play together for their hometown Canes.
Much like at Norland, Flowers helped lead the way for Johnson from Day 1 at Miami. The talented tackle played in all 12 games as a freshman, making four starts during the 2012 season. Flowers played a key role in blocking for a Miami attack that ranked third in the ACC in passing offense and fifth in total offense.
Flowers’ sophomore season has been even better than his debut in Coral Gables. After playing right tackle as a freshman, Flowers shifted to left tackle where he has started all 10 games this season. He anchors Miami’s immense offensive line and helped the Canes open 7-0 for the first time since 2003.
The talented lineman will look to continue his excellent performance this weekend as Miami hosts Virginia in its home finale.
