NSU University’s Zay Flowers set records at Boston College. Now he’s a first-round pick.
Zay Flowers graduated from NSU University in Fort Lauderdale without much hype. He was overshadowed in South Florida — and even at his own school — by blue-chip athletes and his 5-foot-9 frame meant the highest-profile programs across the country mostly ignored the wide receiver.
Four years later, he’s a first-round pick, heading to the Ravens with the No. 22 overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft on Thursday after making history for four years with the Boston College Eagles.
He’s the first Boston College receiver to ever be picked in Round 1 and only the third player to graduate from his high school to be taken in the NFL Draft. He’s also the first player from Broward County to be picked in this Draft and the second from South Florida, following former Northwestern defensive tackle Calijah Kancey, who went three picks earlier to the Buccaneers at No. 19.
In Baltimore, Flowers will team up with superstar quarterback Lamar Jackson, a fellow Broward native.
Dolphins 2023 NFL mock draft: Addressing a position of need with the No. 51 overall pick
Even though he wasn’t even a top 1,000 recruit in the 247Sports composite rankings for the Class of 2019, Flowers wasn’t underrated in his hometown. As a senior with the Sharks, Flowers earned first-team All-Broward County honors from the Miami Herald after piling up 652 receiving yards and eight touchdowns, and also nabbing two interceptions on defense. He also was won two state champion in boys’ basketball at NSU University, playing with Jazz center Vernon Carey Jr. and Raptors forward Scottie Barnes.
In four years with the Eagles, Flowers set program records with 200 catches, 3,056 receiving yards and 29 touchdown catches, and also had 57 carries for 345 yards and two more touchdowns. He logged at least 300 receiving yards in all four seasons in Massachusetts and became only Boston College’s third 1,000-yard receiver in 2022 when caught 78 passes for 1,077 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Although higher-profile programs tried to pluck him away from the Eagles after his third season in Chestnut Hill, Flowers decided to stay at Boston College and earn his degree, without it affecting his Draft prospects in the slightest. Only a junior last year because of the COVID-19 year, Flowers left for the NFL with one year of eligibility remaining.
Flowers is one of 14 children — the fourth youngest — and it helped fuel his competitiveness.
“Every day, we fought to be better at everything,” Flowers told Andscape in 2021, when it was still The Undefeated. “When I was 4, I would be in the front yard with full football pads on playing with my brothers. We would try to run each other over and juke each other out all the time.”
It’s part of how he went from unheralded in high school to highly coveted out of college — an unlikely crown jewel from one of the most talent rich regions in the country.
He likely won’t even be the only former Shark drafted this week. Running back Kenny McIntosh, also from NSU University’s 2019 class, is expected to go on Day 2 or Day 3 of the Draft later this weekend after starring at Georgia.
