2024 Notre Dame LB Target Keyshawn Flowers "Blowing Up"

Keyshawn Flowers‍ is one of the hottest names in recruiting right now.

In February alone, the 2024 Maryland linebacker added offers from Maryland, Duke, NC State, Indiana, USC, Virginia Tech, Miami, Alabama A&M, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Penn State and Kentucky.

“It's blowing up quickly for him, so it's exciting,” says Kyle Schmitt, Flower’s head coach at Archbishop Spaulding High School.

Flowers already had offers from schools like Wake Forest, Pitt, Virginia and West Virginia and Schmitt says that created a domino effect to create this surge.

As a sophomore, the 6-foot-2, 215-pound Flowers played behind a couple future college players, including current Maryland linebacker Kellan Wyatt. He also dealt with an injury that caused him to miss some time that year.

“He just didn't have a ton of like really good film,” says Schmitt. “He had some good solid stuff, but just not a rack of it. I think a lot of people were intrigued by him in the offseason, but there wasn't an early offer scenario last spring simply because there wasn't a lot of tape.”

Spaulding doesn’t try to oversell its players and prefers to let the tape speak for itself in order to earn scholarship offers which are actually committable.

“Honestly, I think there's universal respect for a Wake Forest and a Virginia, I think how thorough those schools are,” the coach says. “Then it just started to go. Maryland offered him and the local offer for Maryland is big because there's respect for them, especially within their own state and their evaluation process.

“It kind of hit caught at that point. It caught fire real quick where it began to spread to the outskirts of the Big 10 and the ACC.”

Then, he got USC and Miami on the same day.

“He became a national recruit at that moment,” Schmitt says. “I don't attribute it to anybody not doing anything right or anything like that. I have total respect for the recruiting process of all these schools at this point, but I do believe his tape, most importantly, and I think the thing we're most excited about for Keyshawn is it's really about his tape.

“He looks great in person, he's a really good kid, but his tape is what people like and that's what you want in today's recruiting. I think there's got to be that. There's a lot of look-test stuff going on, there are a lot of offers going out just to make people happy. I want this kid to have great options because he is a really good football player and I think he does right now.”

The blitz of interest from major college programs hasn’t changed Flowers.

“He just keeps coming to the weight room and coming to school and working hard,” his coach says. “I've seen nothing to show that his head's blowing up or he is getting anxiety or anything. He's got a really grounded family, a twin brother, who also plays for us, two great parents, and an older sister. He's got a really solid foundation, and he's surrounded by it at school. We have some other players that have some opportunities and some younger players that actually got attention quicker than he did.

“I think he understands it. I think it's his time now and he's really excited. He's respected by his teammates and there's no jealousy. Things haven't really changed much for him, which is encouraging. There's still a long way to go and it's probably going to pick up before it slows down. But he's handled it fine so far.”

The offers have come so quick, it’s been challenging for Flowers to digest them all.

“When you get Miami, USC, Oklahoma, and Notre Dame within about a five-day period, it's hard to evaluate them all,” says Schmitt. “I know the family's just trying to set visits up and make sure they can get to some of these campuses and really explore.”

But he does believe the Irish will get a serious look.

“Notre Dame is a national brand, we're a Catholic school and I think it's a great compliment to him, and I think it'll get strong consideration,” says Schmitt. “I would have a hard time believing it wouldn't, and academics are going to be really important to the family. I know that for a fact.

“I think it's awesome to absorb it all for him, and he's going to take his time. He's gotten himself to a point now where he is not going to have to do the camp circuit. He'll be able to make this decision hopefully on his timeline for the most part. I'll allow him and his family to kind of figure that part out. We'll guide him through it, but I definitely think Notre Dame will get really strong consideration.”

Flowers has a couple visits set for March, including one to Maryland and one to Miami and Schmitt wouldn’t be surprised to see South Bend end up on a spring itinerary.

“There's a spring break coming here in mid-April, where I'm sure the family will travel a little bit as well. If anything, it's a beautiful campus, you should just get out there and see the place. That would be my recommendation. I've been there before and obviously, there's great traditions, so I do believe that it'll be a place that they'll certainly consider.”

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