With the number of Virginia Tech football players drafted into the pro ranks growing legion, more and more Hokie alums are kicking off their careers with success from the get-go.
With the number of Virginia Tech football players drafted into the pro ranks growing legion, more and more Hokie alums are kicking off their careers with success from the get-go.
Eddie Royal, a wide receiver for the Denver Broncos, has garnered the largest chunk of national spotlight. However, there are two other Hokies making their mark over the first half of the 2008 NFL season.
Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Brandon Flowers and San Francisco 49ers wide out Josh Morgan have also seen early gains with their respective teams.
Flowers has started seven out of eight games for the Chiefs, recording 37 total tackles, eight passes defended, two interceptions, one touchdown and a fumble recovery.
On Oct. 26, Flowers recorded his first career interception against future Hall-of-Famer Brett Favre. Later in the contest, he intercepted Favre again and returned the ball for a touchdown.
The decision to come out of college early was not an easy one, but he had the support of Tech defensive backs coach Torrian Gray.
"I felt after Brandon's sophomore year that if he could do the same things junior year, I would be supportive of him leaving a year early," Gray said. "He felt that he was ready, and I had no objections."
After being drafted in the third round of the 2008 NFL draft, Flowers had a good enough preseason to start opposite his cousin, Patrick Surtain. Since he was a young kid, Surtain has helped Flowers learn football.
"He's (Surtain) definitely taken me under his wing here," Flowers said in an interview with Chiefs TV. "The last few years he told me I could come up to Kansas City and learn some new techniques if I wanted to."
Everything Flowers has done has been to prepare for the NFL, but under that intense determination lies a modest person.
"I'm a humble guy," Flowers said. "My coach told me while looking at film that I have great instincts and great feet. After he kept telling me over and over, it sunk in that I can play in the NFL."
Flowers had more than just great feet and a good football mind. He had the intangibles necessary to be successful at the pro level.
"Brandon's greatest talent was that he was a fierce competitor," Gray said. "He was also very fundamentally sound and coachable. When you put those three together, that's what has made him so successful."
Even though Flowers has since left the confines of Lane Stadium, his impact on the program has helped in Tech's recruiting process.
"When we go out and recruit defensive backs, Brandon Flowers is the first thing that comes out of the recruits' mouths," Gray said. "We tell them that Brandon was coached and did the things he was supposed to, and look at his success."
Gray learned from Flowers as well, including the fact that his former cornerback can teach new players.
"When you have a guy that is as good as Brandon, he will do something unconventional, and you will ask him why," Gray said. "He'll say, 'Well coach, I thought...' and I'll say 'Yeah, maybe I will teach it like that.'"
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