Bothell, Wash., offensive lineman Sam Flor has always wondered what it would be like to be recruited by some of the top colleges in the nation. All of last year, when he was helping to lead O’Dea High School to a 10-2 record, he couldn't help but think of what might be and whether he'd get a chance to play football on a Division-I level, and perhaps with the school he had grown up to cherish his whole life.
“When Notre Dame came up to visit me, I was very excited about that,” said the O’Dea star. “I've been a Notre Dame football fan all my life and it has been my dream to go there. My grandpa played football there in the Class of 1960 (Ollie Flor) and I’ve had other relatives go there also, so it's always been my dream to go there.”
The realization that the Irish were really at his school hit the talented junior and left him a bit stunned and shocked because he wasn’t sure if he was even on their radar.
“I ran into offensive line coach Ed Warinner for a few seconds and he handed me a brochure and invited me to their Rising Stars camp this month,” claimed Washington standout. “I'm definitely going to be up there for that because I’ve gone to all their normal camps every year since I was in sixth grade. I always saved up money to pay for it, but this'll be the first camp that's recruit-specific that I've been invited to.”
Besides the interest by the Irish, the 6-foot-4, 280-pound tackle has also been getting a lot of West Coast love.
“I've yet to receive an offer, but I've been receiving a ton of attention,” said Flor. “In the month of May, recruiting really picked up and a lot of schools have been coming by to check on me. I've been able to talk to a lot of coaches recently and I think I'm pretty close to getting some offers.
“Most of the Pac-12 schools have stopped in to see me along with Notre Dame. Washington State, Washington, Stanford, California, Oregon and Oregon State have all come through.”
With a number of the top collegiate teams focusing on other targets, Flor understands he must be patient and wait for those offers to come to him.
“Basically, I'm not a flashy guy on the football field,” said the talented lineman. “I'm the type of guy that brings his lunch pail every day and work my butt off and get the job done. You tell me to do something once and I'll get it down and get you results. My job’s to make big holes for the running backs.”
The glitz-and-glamour he may lack on the football field is definitely made up in the classroom where he excels, and that aspect is what the Washington prospect will base his collegiate decision on.
“When I get ready to start narrowing down schools two things will stand out, academics and football,” said Flor. “Not meaning any disrespect, but I would rather go to school with strong academics over a school that doesn't. I think schools like Notre Dame or Stanford would be a better fit for me academically. I have a cumulative 3.8 GPA right now and I've taken the SAT twice and gotten a 1,910 on one and in 1,920 on the other.”
Now that the Irish have made the first step by inviting him to camp, Flor knows it's up to him to show them he’s worthy of their consideration and he's happy he'll have that opportunity on June 23rd. Just right now everything seems surreal to him.
“With a team like Notre Dame showing up it makes you want to work that much harder,” claimed the O’Dea junior. “Honestly, I wasn't sure whether I was going to come to Notre Dame's camp this year like I have in the past because last year there didn't seem to be a whole lot of hope or interaction with coaches. At that point, I wasn't sure exactly where my relationship with Notre Dame was going recruiting-wise, but with Coach Warinner coming out here and showing me that they're still interested really means a lot to me.
“You could say I was pleasantly surprised.”
