Suave
On Sunday, the commitment blitz continued for Notre Dame. California 4-Star wide receiver, Rico Flores, gave his verbal commitment to the Fighting Irish during an Instagram LIVE session.
Committed! pic.twitter.com/WP8fXyddbq
— Rico Flores Jr (@lil_reek_) July 3, 2022
The 6’1” 190 pounder from Folsom chose the Irish over his other two finalists; the Georgia Bulldogs and Ohio State Buckeyes. In truth, it was likely just down to Notre Dame and Georgia as the Bucks have already filled out their WR room for the 2023 class.
The 6-foot-1 190-pound verified athlete is built with a college ready body as we speak. He has a good muscled up and defined frame. He is able to generate good explosiveness by the way is built with a powerful lower body. He is wide up top in the shoulder and chest area. He has ample length and features a solid overall physical make-up.Flores is a player that has 2-ways snaps that feature this athletic ability, change of direction, agility, physicalness and toughness. He is sudden off the snap of the ball where he uses his quickness to create immediate separation from the defender. When he is being defended in off-coverage he is able to get the same separation with a knack for dropping his weight and getting out of his break quickly all the while being physical at the top of the route. Once the ball is in the air he does a nice job attacking the ball at its high point. Soft hands are something you see often when the ball is coming his way. While he isn’t a burner he brings a toughness and physical running style after the catch that adds some yac. He uses a change of pace release on his deep vertical routes to gain a step on the defensive back when his hand-eye coordination takes over on the deep ball and he makes those tough catches. Very comfortable going across the middle and into traffic to make the tough plays where he knows the defense is waiting to make a play.Playing both on the outside and the slot his is comfortable lining up and being productive at either spot. Even though he isn’t a burner he understands leverage, runs good routes and uses his size to shield defenders for the ball. He is also more than adequate in the run game as a blocker where he shows up. The way he plays the game and with a good overall profile he should provide instance depth and have the ability to play on special teams. Still has room to fine tune his overall game once he is in college to become a power-5 starter.
Flores is the 18th commitment of Notre Dame’s 2023 class and the second pass-catcher from the Gold Coast. His commitment helps strengthen Notre Dame’s team recruiting ranking — which is #1 according to the 247 Team Composite Rankings.
The Irish struggled last cycle to gain commitments at the wide receiver position, but as we head into July, the combination of Braylon James and Rico Flores certainly helps alleviate those failings. The promise of more to come this cycle is music to any Notre Dame fan’s ears.
FIST PUMPS UP FOR RICO!