I knew he had a great game. He was in on a bunch. He will be a factor this year and coming out of JUCO, I expected it last year. Sounds like he's got it down, now.
Notice that apparently Erickson asked the kid about being out of position in the BCS champ on the FSU kick run back. Why in the hell do you ask this after the spring game? I don't ask an underclassman that anytime but especially the spring after the game. Stupid.
Joel A. Erickson | jerickson@al.com By Joel A. Erickson | jerickson@al.com
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on April 22, 2014 at 1:54 PM
AUBURN, Alabama -- Kenny Flowers arrived on campus last summer under the weight of expectation.
Brought in as a junior college transfer after only one season on the field at Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College, Flowers was expected to provide instant impact and compete for playing time at linebacker.
But picking up Ellis Johnson's 4-2-5 defense proved to be harder than Flowers realized. Unable to crack a playing rotation that featured four linebackers for two spots through most of the season, Flowers finished with just four tackles on the season.
In that situation, some players start looking for somebody to blame. Not Flowers.
"I wasn't disappointed at all," Flowers said. "I had a lot of mental issues, getting the defense down. As linebackers, we have to be the quarterbacks of the defense. ... I wasn't mentally ready."
Flowers, the son of former Clemson and Atlanta Falcons product Kenny Flowers Sr., had to make that transition before his second spring. Moved into the middle behind Cassanova McKinzy, Flowers is now responsible for making all the pre-snap calls and reads in Auburn's defense.
And the Tigers may need Flowers to be a factor this fall. With Anthony Swain's status still uncertain, Auburn went through the spring with relative unknowns at linebacker behind McKinzy and weak-side starter Kris Frost.
Even with five-star linebacker Tre' Williams arriving in the summer -- along with fellow Mobile product Deshaun Davis -- Flowers may need to be counted on if something happens to either McKinzy or Frost.
"Right now, it's Kenny Flowers, Cameron Toney and Khari Harding," Johnson said. "All of them have had pretty good springs."
Flowers looked much more comfortable in the defense on A-Day.
Playing on both sides of the ball, with both the starters and the backups, Flowers made nine tackles, 2.5 tackles-for-loss and a sack, earning A-Day Defensive MVP honors.
For a player who spent most of his time on special teams -- Flowers didn't want to talk about possibly being out of position on Florida State's fateful kickoff return for a touchdown in the national title game -- the playing time was a new experience.
"I'm not familiar with being on that field in the game experience, because last year, I wasn't a big factor," Flowers said.
Flowers is ready to change all of that as a junior. Because he redshirted his first year at Hutchinson, Flowers arrived at Auburn with three years of eligibility left, unlike most junior college transfers.
"I feel like I can be that this year," Flowers said. "I feel like I'm ready to show people my improvement, show I can be a factor."
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