Flanagan alum ‘honored’ as school retires number

PEMBROKE PINES — Four years ago, Devin Bush Jr. was the star linebacker for the Class 8A champion Flanagan Falcons.

He returned to his former campus Thursday, with three years of Big 10 college football and a promising start to an NFL career under his belt, so he could have his high school number retired.

“It’s a great honor to come back to your hometown and your high school and for them to retire your jersey, which is really saying you’re one of the best to come through this school and wear that number,” Bush said. “They’re not going to let anybody else wear it. That just speaks volumes to me.

“I’m just so appreciative to be able to have this opportunity to come back and be here in the flesh and experience this. I’m just so happy right now. It’s hard to describe the feeling right now. I’m just very, very, very honored.”

The school honored Bush in a pregame ceremony before the Falcons’ home game against Hallandale, where the Steelers rookie was given his framed jersey.

The mayor of Pembroke Pines, Frank C. Otis, Pembroke Pines city commissioner Thomas Good and current and past Flanagan High administrators attended the ceremony. Bush also served as an honorary team captain.

“I never, not one time, [thought], ‘Oh, I’m going to get my jersey retired one day,’ ” Bush said. “This all just came, and I’m just super blessed and just so happy to be able to share this moment will all my peers that are here … as well as the younger guys coming after me. I feel like I want to be that role model; I want to be the guy that these kids can look up to.”

Bush was a dominant linebacker when he played at Flanagan. He was the Sun Sentinel Class 8A-6A Broward Defensive Player of the Year in 2015. He had 67 tackles, nine tackles for a loss and 1 sacks as a senior, including seven tackles in the state title game against Kissimmee Osceola.

Bush was ranked a fourstar prospect by 247Sports and signed with the Michigan Wolverines. While at Michigan, Bush racked up 161 tackles, 18 for a loss, 10 sacks, an interception and 11 pass deflections.

The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Bush with the No. 10 pick in the 2019 NFL draft.

Bush has 52 tackles, two interceptions and one sack so far this season. He and the Steelers play the Dolphins on Oct. 28.

Flanagan has had mixed results since Bush graduated. The year after he left, the Falcons went 9-3, but in 2017-18, Flanagan went 2-18. Entering Thursday’s game, the Falcons were 4-3.

Bush thinks coach Michael Eugene, who was the Falcons’ special teams coach when Bush played at Flanagan, can turn the program around.

Eugene said he thinks Bush can help inspire his current players.

“It inspires them a lot,” Eugene said. “They see that it can be done at Flanagan, so hopefully we’ll have kids come back to play Flanagan football.”

JOHN MCCALL/SUN SENTINEL Steelers linebacker Devin Bush’s high school jersey was retired by his alma mater, Flanagan ,on Thursday.