Michigan State Recruiting: Breaking down Emmanuel Flowers’ game
By Stephen Robb
Michigan State recruiting picked up a commitment from two-star safety Emmanuel Flowers on National Signing Day.
Emmanuel Flowers was a late addition to the 2017 recruiting class, and could be the elite defensive back the Spartans are desperate for.
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I coached in California for several years and one thing I can write with confidence is that players out of Chino are tough dudes and Flowers is no exception to that. Jeremy Warnemuende of 247Sports calls Flowers the “sleeper” recruit of this class and I’d agree with him.
Flowers is 6-foot-2 and lanky, but this kid can flat-out ball. In fact, MLive’s Kyle Austin wrote a story about how Flowers’ dad direct messaging Harlon Barnett. The co-defensive coordinator was skeptical because coaches get these kind of messages all the time, however, what peaked his interest were Flowers’ physical attributes.
Wide receivers are continually getting taller and bigger in the Big Ten and Flowers is the type of defensive back who can challenge those wide outs. He has excellent tackling technique and possesses elite closing speed.
Why would a player like this be available this late if he is that good?
There are many reasons, but one is that he did not go to an elite high school in California. The Sunshine State is one of the best at producing talent and if you do not go to Mission Viejo or Mater Dei then you may go unnoticed. UCLA took note of him late in the process as well.
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Flowers plays the deep ball well and is an excellent judge of timing. Bottom line, he plays like a wide receiver playing corner. There is a reason that many other MSU sites are noting him as a steal. This recruiting class is going to go down as a surprise to many pundits, because Mark Dantonio and his staff did a great job of mining for gems.