There are different ways to make 10. 

That was Ryan Flournoy’s message to young football players at the Homewood-Flossmoor/Flournoy football camp May 23 at the school’s stadium. 

His journey to becoming a wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys wasn’t direct. Flournoy was a sixth-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft. Before that, he attended Division II Central Missouri, then transferred to Iowa Western Community College, then to FCS Southwest Missouri State.

Last year, the H-F grad was fourth on the Cowboys with 40 catches for 475 yards and four touchdowns.

“Perseverance and adversity. There’s a lot of stuff I’ve been through,” Flournoy said. “It’s just not taking a ‘no’ as a ‘no’ but as a ‘not yet.’ I want to show (the kids) there’s different ways to get to 10. Five plus five. Seven plus three. There’s different routes and it’s always possible.” 

Over 100 youngsters drilled, got t-shirts and pictures and listened to an NFL player speak about what it takes to get where he is. Some of Flournoy’s high school teammates volunteered to help, too.

“This is where it started. This is where the Friday night lights happened for me,” he said. “To be a Viking is to always be brothers in any stage of life. We fought hard on this field together, played a bunch of games in this stadium and won a bunch of games in this stadium. H-F means a lot to me.”

The day was put together with the help of Flournoy’s cousin Shameka Leach, who was named Chicago Bears 2023 fan of the year for her community service. She reached out to a mutual friend of H-F Principal Clinton Alexander with the idea and they said the school was immediately on board.

Leach and Vikings coach Troy McAllister each said they hope to make the event an annual one.

“Our goal is dreams,” Leach said. “We’re showing these kids that he came from this community just like them. If they have a goal to be anything they want to be, it’s possible. All you’ve got to do is plan, prepare, educate.” 

The day ended with full scrimmages led by current Homewood-Flossmoor players, followed by Aurelio’s pizza. 

“It was fun. I got passed the ball a lot. I was juking people’s ankles, scoring touchdowns,” Eriyonn Smith said. 

Smith, who goes to Sauk Elementary School, was one of the smallest players on the field but said he wasn’t intimidated playing with older kids. He plays for H-F United youth football and hopes to be a high school running back like his dad, 2013 Vikings grad Taje Smith. 

“I remember being in their shoes and I kind of wish somebody had this for me at that age,” Flournoy said. “A lot of people can’t afford a lot of things nowadays. I just wanted to give back to the community, give back to the younger generation.”