2023 Standout Receiver Rico Flores Jr. Was "In Shock" By Notre Dame Offer

2023 standout wide receiver Rico Flores Jr. talks about his offer from Notre Dame

Eric Rutter | May 6, 2021

Notre Dame doled out a new offer in the 2023 class by extending a scholarship to Folsom (Calif.) wide receiver Rico Flores Jr., a player who has been ascending on the recruiting trail. Just in the past week, Flores has picked up offers from Stanford, Utah and now Notre Dame, so the word is out on a talented 6-2, 190-pound pass catcher from the West coast.

On the gridiron, Flores is a downfield playmaker that logged 31 catches for 606 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns in only six games last season. In that time, Flores made it known that he could be relied upon to bring down tough contested catches, which is part of why he was so successful during his sophomore campaign.

Flores' dominant performance has made him a known commodity across the college football landscape already. With Stanford, Utah and Notre Dame interested, the four-star athlete also sports offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Cal, Colorado, Oregon State, Pittsburgh and UNLV, so he has a multitude of programs to consider at this early juncture.

In terms of his relationship with the Fighting Irish, Flores mentioned that Notre Dame wide receivers coach Del Alexander was the gentleman who relayed the positive news of his offer on Thursday.

“It was surprising,” Flores told Irish Breakdown. “I was in shock, I'm going to tell you. Notre Dame -- that's so big. I got a Stanford offer last week then Utah yesterday and Notre Dame today. That's huge. [Recruiting] is starting to roll.”

During his conversation with Coach Alexander, Flores heard a few general points to consider about the Notre Dame program now that they're going to be in the mix of his recruitment. It was a short conversation, but it was a positive one that gave the 2023 prospect a few things to think about.

“He just said that a lot of colleges you have football, but at Notre Dame you're going to have football and life after football,” Flores said. “You're going to have a future.”

Although California is by no means close to Notre Dame's South Bend campus, the Fighting Irish program transcends distance as he is already well-versed in the tradition and track record of the football team.

“I know that they all want to succeed,”Flores added. “I want to succeed too, so that's a good fit.”

Overall, Flores said that his recruitment has been going well and that he's received a plethora of follows on Twitter recently from various college coaches across the country. With his profile rising, Flores confirmed that he is excited for the dead period to be over soon but that he's more excited for the Sept. 1 contact period to finally arrive for his class.

In the meantime, Flores is considering which schools he'd like to go visit, but he still needs to go over his schedule some more and find both locations and times that would be a good fit.

As for his on-field progress, Flores is currently waking up at four in the morning each day to get his first workout in the books. This type of work ethic helps explain why the Notre Dame target is hearing from more schools on a regular basis, and it also creates a sense of realism for his junior season goals of 20-plus touchdowns and over 1,000 receiving yards for his high school team.

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Notre Dame 2022 Class Big Board

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Published May 6, 2021

ERIC RUTTER