XFL Tampa Bay Vipers quarterback Quinton Flowers. (Credit: XFL.com)
Quinton Flowers is half running back, half quarterback. A two-headed monster, literally a monster.
Flowers’ XFL trading card is pretty unique, it reads quarterback/running back as his position. It is not very often that a duel position is listed on the trading card.
In his college days on the gridiron, Flowers was the starting quarterback at the University of South Florida for three seasons.
As a true freshman, he saw action in five games. His numbers weren’t the best this small sample size. Flowers threw 20 passes, completed eight, and threw two interceptions. The following three years he looked like a completely different player.
The next season as a sophomore he was promoted to the starting quarterback role. Flowers showed the talent he had possessed both in the air and on the ground. He threw 276 passes and completed 163 of those attempts for a 58.9% completion rate. He was a pretty accurate passer as the stats tell the tale, and so does the scoring. Flowers threw 22 touchdowns and only 8 interceptions in 13 games played. On the ground he rushed almost to the century mark, capping out at 991 yards, along with 12 more touchdowns.
Flowers got even better as a junior, as you can see the pattern by now that he strives for greatness. These numbers are indubitably crazy, they are Madden-like numbers. Flowers passed the ball 331 times and completed 207 of those attempts for a 62.5% success rate. Now to add more to those, he threw 2,812 yards, and 24 touchdowns with just 7 picks. Flowers literally ‘one-upped’ himself to last year in the air. On the ground he was inhuman, rushing for 1,530 yards for 18 touchdowns. Those numbers earned himself the American Athletic Conference Player of the Year honors.
Walking into his senior year, or more like running, Flowers continued the positive upwards trend. The Bulls signal-caller tossed 25 touchdowns with just 6 picks. He threw the ball more than ever with 354 attempts with 188 completions. Flowers still showed his scary duel threat abilities too. On the ground, he ran for 1,078 yards for 11 touchdowns.
The Combine
Those numbers earned Flowers an NFL Combine invite where he showed off the wheels for his running back abilities. Flowers put up a 4.63, 40-yard dash which is pretty good.
At the combine, he measured 5’10 and 214 lbs. Those are good metrics for a running back, but the NFL seems to like the big and tall 6’5″ prototype.
Nowadays the small quarterbacks are showing they are just as good with the like of Baker Mayfield, Russell Wilson, and Kyler Murray. Height shouldn’t matter, it should be your ability to play the quarterback position, which Flowers is very good at.
Making it to the NFL Level
Flowers was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent. He made the practice squad for the entire year, until December, 28, he was promoted to the active roster. He stayed in Cincinnati until the final roster cuts of the next season.
A day after being cut by the Bengals, Flowers had a six-day stint with the Indianapolis Colts.
Slithering Back Home
Flowers was drafted by the Tampa Bay Vipers in the fifth round of the XFL Draft in phase one. He was initially drafted as a running back, but head coach Marc Trestman looked at Flowers is a dual position player. Trestman hinted at potentially giving Flowers some time at quarterback.
Because of his playing time at the University of South Florida, Flowers brought the hometown kid persona to the Vipers.
Flowers appeared in four of five games for the Vipers. As advertised, he received some time at both positions, quarterback and running back.
He ended the year throwing 15 passes, completing 8 of those for 106 yards with one interception and no touchdown in the air. If the team would’ve started Flowers over Murray from the beginning, that likely would’ve helped both the team and Flowers.
One of those passes was an absolute dime that landed the Vipers inside the five-yard line in the game against the Guardians. That pass went for 37 yards to wide receiver Daniel Williams. The New York Guardians’ home crowd sounded stunned with Flowers slung the ball in there.
On the ground, he looked like a juggernaut as prescribed. He ran for 78 yards over 15 attempts for one touchdown. That adds up to 4.9 yards per carry, which stands out no matter how you look at it.
His rushing touchdown was as a quarterback which he ran the ball in, but on the way, he absolutely broke a defenders ankles.
What’s next?
Well, again it seems to be the right place at the wrong time scenario. If the full season would have played he could’ve easily gotten some NFL looks, he is almost a dream-like player, efficient in the air, and on the ground.
A team that is practically a hometown team that uses the same stadium as the Vipers could really benefit from Flowers. That team is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Sure, they have Tom Brady and he is still very good but they do not have a solid back up, Blaine Gabbert and Ryan Griffin are not speedy and the arm is a bit iffy on both of them.
Flowers could also play behind Leonard Fournette and LeSean McCoy at running back. Ronald Jones III is still young in his career, but Flowers learning from at their prime two of the best to play the game, his ceiling is wide open.
All the tools are sitting in his college hometown. If Tampa hands Flowers the contract, his football career has no ceiling, so many greats will surround him at both positions. With Brady, McCoy and Fournette surrounding him, his talent will blossom like a ‘flower’.
Staying Ready for the Opportunity
It looks like he’s staying in his shape at both of his positions. Flowers is always active and staying in shape for the next pro football call. It appears he is always getting stronger, and training to be the best.
