Quinton Flowers - Days Past, Bright Future Forward

    icon Dec 28, 2017
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The Heisman should have come to Tampa with Quinton Flower’s name on it.  His journey through his young life and his successes should have been rewarded.  Great Stats: 2017 – 198/354 Passes, 2,911 yards, 25 TD’s, 1078 Rushing.  In 3 years: 8,019 Passing yards and 3,599 Rushing Yards, (71 Passing TD’s/41 Rushing TD’s).  Numbers from the 49-42 loss to UCF were off the charts: 503 yards passing, 4 TDs, and 102 rushing.  Flowers set an all-time Florida College record (beating Tim Tebow) with a total of 112 TD’s (Rushing/Receiving combined).  His team was 22-3 in his last 2 seasons.

Quinton came out of one of the toughest neighborhoods (10 miles northeast of South Beach, near Little Haiti – been there, it is bad).  When Quinton was seven, Dad gave him money to go buy a snack.  While he was gone, his Dad was hit by a stray bullet, the unintended victim of a drive-by shooting.  Dad, a Miami garbage collector, was killed and Quinton was left fatherless.  Football standout Antonio Brown was also brought up in Quinton’s hometown (Liberty City).

Quinton was very close to his mom.  Then more pain entered his life, as mom battled cancer when he was a sophomore in High School.  She called his H.S. coach and asked him to make sure Quinton would go to college.  When mom was near death, she told Quinton, “Get your diploma and continue being yourself.”  She loved me and said, “I will be watching over you.”  The next day she passed.  Quinton’s older sister Shanay, Aunt Julie, and Uncle Nick, his cousins helped him out.

After high school, colleges came knocking.  They wanted him at different positions but he want to be a quarterback.  USF said okay and 9 games into his freshman season he took the starting job.  That very night his stepbrother Bradley Holt was shot in the head in a confrontation with a driver.  When grief comes calling, he thinks back to his Mom, who told him “You’re not going to be here forever-enjoy life.” Quinton - “Every day I just try to make the best decision because she’s seeing every move I make.”  He also gets inspiration and comfort from his one-year old daughter, Amayah.

Tragedy struck again when his Aunt Julie died from a reaction to her heart medicine just before the start of the 2017 season.  The USF program started in 1997 and has come a long way since (last two years: 11-2 and 10-2).  A 200 million dollar stadium on campus is in the works.  Playing in the huge Tampa Buc Stadium to me is really unsettling to see the empty seats.  The campus stadium is a must.

The NFL draft is going to miss a good one if they pass on Quinton.  The kid has a strong, accurate arm and 4.4 in the 40.  If not at QB, Quinton would make one great running back.  He said he wants to be a firefighter if football does not work out.  Quinton – “I want to be there to help people.”  His last college game was again special, beating Texas Tech in the last minute with a TD pass 38-34.  (311 yards passing, 4 TD’s, 106 yds rushing, 417 total yards.) 

This kid is a miracle worker and most certainly a caring & loving young man.

 

 

 

 

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