Listed measurements: 6-foot-⅛, 198 pounds.
2023-24 year, eligibility: An early-enrolled freshman, Flores has all four seasons of eligibility remaining.
Depth Chart: Notre Dame has clear starters at both boundary receiver (junior Jayden Thomas) and field receiver (sophomore Tobias Merriweather), meaning Flores will spend preseason practices competing to be a backup to one of them.
Recruiting: A consensus four-star and an All-American, Flores long pondered both Georgia and Ohio State, programs that usually beat out Notre Dame on pedigree, success and recent receiver development. The No. 23 receiver in the country, per rivals.com, Flores chose the Irish 53 weeks ago, on Independence Day weekend in 2022.
QUOTES
Flores’s listed measurements do not suggest he has noticeable size, but he already has a mature frame.
“[Size] was a priority, size and speed” Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman said in December when Flores signed his National Letter of Intent. “Production is probably the biggest thing we were looking for, making sure they were the right fit. We addressed those needs obviously with Rico. Extremely talented football player.”
On Rico Flores: "Rico is thicker, way bigger than you thought ... has a little presence about him. Good size, great route runner. Attention to detail is immaculate. It's really, really important to him. Like, you have to test sometimes if kids love football, Rico loves football."
— Pete Sampson (@PeteSampson_) April 19, 2023
WHAT WAS SAID WHEN FLORES SIGNED IN DECEMBER
“Flores’ downfield abilities should put him at field receiver in the future, giving him space to work with as he beats his cornerback and then deals with a helping safety. He is at his best catching a ball over his shoulder with ease, an underappreciated skill in high-school receivers. …
“Notre Dame expects five receivers back next season, including former walk-on Matt Salerno. That’s it. So when looking at players like Flores, it is an Irish imperative that he be ready to play by September.”
2023 OUTLOOK
In retrospect, Ohio State may have passed on Flores more than vice versa, given three of the four receivers the Buckeyes signed ended up ranked higher than the California product, all committing less than two weeks before Flores made his decision, and the exception was the first receiver to commit to their class. But Ohio State chasing Flores until it filled up on pass-catchers says plenty. The Buckeyes have not missed on many receivers in recent years.
That led this space to be a bit more effusive in Flores’s film review than it usually is as he committed to Notre Dame.
“Highlight reels are, by definition, somewhat deceiving, but Flores’s repeatedly showcases his downfield abilities. To say he is natural catching a ball over his shoulder sounds like a vague platitude, but the filmnik antonym would be ‘fighting the ball,’ hardly an exact descriptor itself.
“For not having truly blazing speed, Flores gets a step past his defender on plenty of downfield routes, and then he is able to pace his route with the pass such that the defender cannot get back around him. In that latter respect, already possessing a muscular frame only aids Flores.”
All of that remains true. If Flores was a sophomore with these same assets, there would be little worry about him contributing in 2023. It would seem a sure thing. But a freshman, even one this physically established, will hit fatigue at some point.
Thus, temper expectations for Flores. He should make a handful or two of catches. Perhaps a dozen for 100 yards and a score. That may be all for now, though that would indicate playing in every or nearly every game this season and in more than a nominal role.
ima take it heights never seen befo… pic.twitter.com/1NnVnpHdMd
— Rico Flores Jr🕴🏽 (@lil_reek_) April 3, 2023
DOWN THE ROAD
Only Salerno will be out of eligibility after this season among Irish receivers, but logic says one or two of the other eight will not return in 2024. That is simply life in college football roster management in 2023.
Pulling in four commits in the class of 2023 was finally a step in the right direction. That has been the Notre Dame mistake in receiver recruiting in recent years. Landing only one (Merriweather) in 2022 doomed this position group to being undermanned for a couple years. Even pulling in three that year as intended or as was successfully done in 2021 may be too few. Landing four receivers in each class should protect against attrition well enough to keep at least 10 or 11 receivers on the roster at all times, the preferred number.
Anyway, Flores should not be one of those departures after this season. His skill set is too promising, and appeasing that a touch may be part of why he plays most weeks this fall.
The question will then be, who leaves? Flores should be within the two-deep in 2024 and probably starting in 2025, a linear path familiar to Notre Dame (Chase Claypool, Miles Boykin both come to mind) though also a quicker version of it than has been seen in recent years.
Notre Dame early enrollee WR Rico Flores Jr. pic.twitter.com/1SPkONdKuy
— Matt Freeman (@mattfreemanISD) March 22, 2023
NOTRE DAME 99-TO-0
The summer countdown begins anew, Rylie Mills to Deion Colzie
No. 99 Rylie Mills, senior defensive tackle, moving back inside from end
No. 98 Devan Houstan, early-enrolled four-star defensive tackle
No. 97 Gabriel Rubio, junior defensive tackle, one of three Irish DTs with notable experience
No. 95 Tyson Ford, sophomore defensive tackle, up 30 pounds from a year ago
No. 93 Armel Mukam, incoming freshman defensive end, former Stanford commit
No. 92 Aidan Keanaaina, a senior defensive tackle now ‘fully healthy’ after a 2022 torn ACL
No. 91 Aiden Gobaira, sophomore defensive end, former four-star recruit
No. 88 Mitchell Evans, the next starter at ‘TE U
No. 87 Cooper Flanagan, incoming freshman tight end, four-star recruit
No. 84 Kevin Bauman, senior tight end coming off a torn ACL
No. 83 Jayden Thomas, junior receiver, probable No. 1 target in 2023
No. 79 Tosh Baker, senior tackle, again a backup but next year ...
No. 78 Pat Coogan, junior interior offensive lineman
No. 77 Ty Chan, sophomore offensive tackle, former four-star recruit
No. 76 Joe Alt, first-team All-American left tackle
No. 75 Sullivan Absher, incoming freshman offensive lineman
No. 74 Billy Schrauth, sophomore left guard, likely starter
No. 73 Andrew Kristofic, fifth-year right guard, likely starter
No. 72 Sam Pendelton, early-enrolled freshman offensive lineman
No. 70 Ashton Craig, sophomore interior offensive lineman
No. 68 Michael Carmody, senior offensive lineman
No. 65 Michael Vinson, sixth-year long snapper, four-year starter
No. 64 Joe Otting, incoming freshman offensive lineman, four-star recruit
No. 59 Aamil Wagner, sophomore offensive tackle
No. 56 Charles Jagusah, incoming freshman offensive lineman, four-star recruit
No. 56 Howard Cross, fifth-year defensive tackle, multi-year starter
No. 55 Chris Terek, incoming freshman offensive lineman, four-star recruit
No. 54 Blake Fisher, junior right tackle, second-year starter
No. 52 Zeke Correll, fifth-year center, third-year starter
No. 51 Boubacar Traore, incoming freshman defensive end, four-star recruit
No. 50 Rocco Spindler, junior offensive guard
No. 47 Jason Onye, junior defensive tackle on the verge of playing time
No. 44 Junior Tuihalamaka, sophomore defensive end, former linebacker
No. 42 Nolan Ziegler, sophomore linebacker, Irish legacy
No. 41 Donovan Hinish, sophomore defensive tackle following in his brother’s footsteps
No. 40 Joshua Burnham, sophomore linebacker-turned-Vyper end
No. 38 Davis Sherwood, junior fullback/H-back, former walk-on
No. 34 Drayk Bowen, early-enrolled freshman linebacker, baseball infielder
No. 32 Spencer Shrader, South Florida transfer kicker
No. 31 Nana Osafo-Mensah, fifth-year defensive end
No. 29 Christian Gray, early-enrolled freshman cornerback coming off a knee injury
No. 29 Matt Salerno, sixth-year receiver, former walk-on
No. 27 JD Bertrand, fifth-year linebacker, third-year starter, possible captain
No. 25 Preston Zinter, early-enrolled freshman linebacker, subtle recruiting win
No. 24 Jack Kiser, fifth-year linebacker, third-year starter, most efficient defender
No. 24 Jadarian Price, sophomore RB, reportedly recovered from an Achilles injury
No. 23 Jaiden Ausberry, early-enrolled freshman linebacker, four-star recruit
No. 22 Ben Minich, early-enrolled freshman safety, four-star recruit
No. 22 Jeremiyah Love, incoming freshman running back, four-star recruit
No. 21 Adon Shuler, early-enrolled freshman safety coming off shoulder surgery
No. 20 Benjamin Morrison, sophomore cornerback, preseason All-American
No. 19 Jaden Greathouse, early-enrolled freshman receiver, Blue-Gold Game star
No. 18 Steve Angeli, sophomore quarterback, competing for the backup role
No. 18 Chance Tucker, junior cornerback
No. 17 Brenan Vernon, incoming freshman defensive end, four-star recruit
No. 13 Holden Staes, sophomore tight end, up 20 pounds in a year
No. 12 Penn State RB transfer Devyn Ford gives Notre Dame newly-needed backfield depth, experience
No. 4 Rhode Island transfer safety Antonio Carter gives Notre Dame desperately needed backline depth
