Local News

H-F grad Flournoy picked by the Dallas Cowboys

The pipeline from Homewood-Flossmoor High School to the NFL will continue after Ryan Flournoy was picked by the Dallas Cowboys in the sixth round of the draft last week.

In a post-draft press conference, Cowboys Vice President of Player Personnel Will McClay said he believes Flournoy has potential. McClay described him as a “big receiver that we really like.” Flournoy was measured at 6-foot-1 and 202 pounds at the NFL draft combine in Indianapolis in March.

“Big and fast and strong and physical,” McClay said. “He really stood out and fit in at the combine and at the senior bowl to show that he belonged with NFL-type players.”

Ryan Flournoy

Flournoy posted numbers among the best of all receivers at the scouting combine, including an 11-foot broad jump, a 4.44-second 40-yard dash, a vertical jump of 39.5 inches and 19 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press. His Relative Athletic Score was 9.89 out of 10, which is in the 98th percentile of all receivers since 1987.

Advertisement

Flournoy compared himself to Cowboys great Dez Bryant in conference call with reporters after the draft. He told The Draft Show on Dallas’s 105.3 The Fan that he thinks he’s athletic enough to do anything asked of a wide receiver. 

“The Dallas Cowboys are going to get a great competitor and a great football player,” he said. 

Flournoy had a circuitous path to the NFL, dotted with adversity. 

He wasn’t a high-end recruit out of H-F and committed to Division II’s Central Missouri. He redshirted and then tore his ACL and missed most of the following season. The 2020 season was canceled during the pandemic.

Flournoy then transferred to Iowa Western Community College for a season, then to Southeast Missouri State for two years. He had 118 catches for 1,883 yards and 13 touchdowns at SEMO. He also rushed for two scores and returned a kickoff for another. 

“God put me through them obstacles to mold me into the man I am today,” he told The Fan. “I feel like I can overcome anything and everything I’ve been through is just a blessing to have. At the time, I didn’t understand why I was going through it, but God always has a plan.” 

Two other H-F graduates will have chances to compete for roster spots.

Isaiah Coe, a defensive lineman who played collegiately at Iowa Western and Oklahoma, was invited to Indianapolis Colts rookie camp. Vikings class of 2016 member Desmond Bland, an offensive lineman who was playing with the Southwest Kansas Storm of the Arena Football League, was signed by the New Orleans Saints.

Five Homewood-Flossmoor graduates have played in the NFL. New York Giants center John Michael Schmitz is the only current Vikings graduate in the league. He just finished his rookie season out of the University of Minnesota.

First decade feedback

News by email

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.
Name

Free weekly newsletter

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.
Name
Most read stories this week

Community Calendar