Trey Flowers: Meet the Humble, Hard-Working Arkansas Draft Prospect

I sat down with 2015 NFL Draft prospect Trey Flowers to detail his family-oriented past and time at Arkansas. Read about his journey to the Senior Bowl and NFL Draft below.

A difference-making family

Trey Flowers is different. He isn’t a diva, he isn’t flashy, and the word gloat isn’t in his vocabulary.

With the negative, cloudy film currently plastered over the NFL and the reputation of its players, the Arkansas standout is on a mission to bring his humility and class to the league.

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Interestingly enough, Flowers’ journey started in his youth at a construction company in Huntsville, Alabama. His father, Robert Flowers Jr., owned the family business in their small town, assembling the only crew he needed to get the job done: Trey and his nine brothers and sisters.

With the boys (Jamal, Josh, Rod, Ced, and lil Joshua) working as the “crew”, the girls (Jacqueise, Jazzmine, Summer, Shanequa, and mother Jacqueline) of the family would help with anything they could to help their father manage a successful business.

The team of brothers and sisters spent countless hours helping not only their father, but fellow siblings reach their daily goals. Everybody wanted each other to succeed.

Trey noted that he looks back to these moments often through the tough times.

“I’ve asked myself [what motivates me] a lot recently,” he said. “I asked myself ‘what makes me work hard?’ and I really just came to the conclusion that I kind of just want my family to be proud of me. As far as working and my motivation, it’s just a matter of wanting them to be proud of me … You can look on their Twitter, Instagram and they’re always displaying my accolades and things, so just being able to make them proud of their little brother, that’s what continues to drive me.”

Robert, the dad that takes pride in his children daily, doesn’t just have their love for each other to brag about, Flowers says. Every one of his nine siblings is also heavily involved in athletics — two of them former collegiate players.

“Being in a big family, it’s very hard for one to get spoiled. Everything you want you have to go work for it.”

His brother Rod played basketball under legendary coach Bob Huggins at Cincinnati, while other brother Jamal was an offensive lineman for Middle Tennessee state.

When asked about what his siblings thought about having a brother go into the NFL, Trey wouldn’t spotlight on himself. Instead, putting his entire situation in perspective and giving thanks to the ones that he believes got him there.

Nov 22, 2014; Fayetteville, AR, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks defensive end Trey Flowers (86) talks to CBS reporter Allie LaForce after the game against the Ole Miss Rebels at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Arkansas defeated Mississippi 30-0. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports

Whether giving advice on major life decisions, or simply being by his side as he went through the process of picking an agent and deciding his future, Flowers can’t do anything but call himself blessed.

“I want to do anything I can do for them to just say they’re proud of their little brother … I just give thanks to them because without them, I wouldn’t be the man I am today. For them to just continue to support me after everything I’ve done, it means a lot.”

If it was indeed Trey’s family that helped him along the journey in a big way, it sure seems that the Flowers’ group molded not only a humble heart off the field, but an electric playmaker on it.

The Huntsville, Alabama product registered 17 sacks during his time at Arkansas, picking up 185 total tackles in the process. Despite just missing the honor in 2014, he was named to the Coaches All-SEC team in his junior season.

In the classroom, he was named to the SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll in 2012.

Adversity overcome, head held high

The journey wasn’t always a sweet one. In fact, more often than not, the look of adversity stared Flowers and his Razorback teammates head-on.

With three different coaches and four different defensive coordinators during his time in Fayetteville, Flowers learned to flip negatives into positives very quickly. He figured if he could stay the course and prove that he could compete and thrive in many different schemes, he’d be looked at as more versatile than most.

“[I learned] to just overcome adversity and to remain consistent through the many changes. I just realized how I’m able to play with a variety of different schemes and be able to be coachable going to those different schemes,” Flowers said, adding that the overall experience required him to lean on what got him to his peak in the first place: faith and a hard-working attitude.

Just like his days working with his father as a youngster, Trey fought daily to continue to stay true to who he was — a diligent worker … A member of the Flowers family.

“Being in a big family, it’s very hard for one to get spoiled. Everything you want you have to go work for it.”

Nov 22, 2014; Fayetteville, AR, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks defensive end Trey Flowers (86) leads the defense back not he field in the second half against the Ole Miss Rebels at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Arkansas defeated Mississippi 30-0. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports

The next step in the process

Flowers admits he can’t and doesn’t take a look at the mock drafts circulating the web. While it’s tempting, he doesn’t want his focus to waver.

“To be quite frank, I’ve been underrated my whole life, in high school, pre-season, all of that,” he said. “I don’t look into them. I know my talents and my skills. I just see myself as a hard worker and someone who goes to grind, and at night I pray. I have to continue to be me and do my best.”

After attending the Senior Bowl this week, the 6’4″ defensive end will head back home to begin training for the 2015 NFL Scouting Combine.

From there, he’ll likely spend his time leading up to the draft the only way he knows how: with family.

Flowers doesn’t have the stories that jump out on paper, or the wild off-field issues that make interesting headlines. His journey is a simple one — one that he hopes can end with smiles on the faces of everyone in his small circle.

At the end of the day, that’s all this NFL Draft prospect wants.

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