Most underrated player
Dimitri Flowers is a Swiss army knife for the Sooners and a huge comfort to everyone who loves OU.
NORMAN — Dimitri Flowers did some sleuthing after Lincoln Riley was hired to oversee the Oklahoma offense a few years ago.
He checked East Carolina’s website to get a sense of what the coach had done at his previous school and what the Sooners might be able to expect. Truth be told, the fullback didn’t much like what he saw —or didn’t see, in this case.
“They didn’t even have a fullback listed on their roster,” Flowers said.
Soon after Riley arrived on campus, Flowers went to his office, and the coach assured him he’d have a role.
Then, Flowers made sure of it.
Now, it’s hard to imagine the Sooners going into this season without him. On the verge of another season filled with the highest hopes, this OU team also faces big questions about offensive playmakers.
Who fills the void left by Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon and Dede Westbrook? What happens if the running backs aren’t as dynamic as advertised? What happens if the wide receivers aren’t as productive as hoped?
Dimitri Flowers could be an answer to all those questions.
“He could be a running back, a fullback,” Sooner co-offensive coordinator Cale Gundy said. “He could be a wing. He could be a wide receiver.”
Sooner quarterback Baker Mayfield said, “He’s such a utility player for us because he does so many things well.”
Flowers is the Sooners’ Swiss army knife.
But he’s not a guy who you hear a ton about. He doesn’t make headlines. He doesn’t draw attention.
You can argue the Sooners have players who are more overlooked than Flowers. Center Erick Wren. Guard Dru Samia. Tight end Mark Andrews. But none of those guys do more with less than fanfare than Flowers.
Truth be told, he might be
the most underrated player in college football.
“He’s like the offensive linemen,” Mayfield said. “He doesn’t always get credit, but he does a lot of things well and he’s a huge part of our success.”
Let us count the ways. Flowers, 6-foot-2, 247 pounds, is used most consistently in the offense as a blocker. Even though the Sooners have a top-notch offensive line, they also have a quarterback who likes to move around a lot. Mayfield does that both by design and out of necessity, but last season, opponents mustered only 21 sacks.
Flowers is often Mayfield’s personal body guard.
“It’s like having a sixth offensive lineman out there,” Samia said.
Except that Flowers can catch and run.
He has 28 career catches for 422 yards and eight touchdowns. Every fourth time he catches the ball, he scores.
You could make the argument Flowers should be targeted way, way more.
Same goes for handing him the football. Flowers has only carried it 22 times in his career, and all of those runs came at Iowa State when Perine was injured and Mixon was suspended. All that Flowers did that
night in Ames was rush for 129 yards and average 5.2 yards a touch.
That average is right in line with the Sooners who played running back fulltime last season. Mixon: 6.8. Perine: 5.4.
Abdul Adams: 5.3. Flowers is athletically a freak. Mentally, too.
“To be able to be that versatile and understand the game that well, it’s really tough to do,” Andrews said. “I don’t think people really realize how mentally into it you have to be to be able to do that and play different positions on the fly.”
Running backs coach Jay Boulware said, “He can do so much. He can do even more than what you’ve seen him do so far.
“I’m curious to see what kind of year he can have. It could be a special one.”
Hard to believe now that Flowers ever questioned whether he’d have a role in the Sooner offense. But he made Riley a believer that his spot was on the field, not the sidelines.
“That first year in ‘15,” Riley said, “He just played better and better, and we started playing with him on the field more and more.”
Now, Riley considers Flowers among the offense’s most valuable
players.
How might he be used this season?
“Ithink I’m going to do a whole lot of different stuff that fullbacks don’t typically do,” he said.
Like what?
“I can’t really say what we’re going to do.”
Is this one of those-if-I-tell-you-I’ll-have-to-kill-you things?
“It’s up to Linc. I already told him that I can throw the ball about 80 yards in the air, so ... “
And he said?
“You know, he really didn’t acknowledge it.” He smiled and laughed. “I love doing my job, and whatever it takes to help this team win, I’m gonna do it,” he said. “I don’t care if I get the glory.”
Only a couple years after he wondered if he’d get on the field in Lincoln Riley’s offense, Dimitri Flowers might be on the field as much as any other Sooner this season. He might be overlooked. He might be underrated.
He definitely won’t be underutilized.