The USC coaching staff held a Junior Day for some of the top talent on the west coast Saturday and it turned out to be a huge success. One of the big stories coming out of Heritage Hall was the commitment of Birmingham HS(CA) wide receiver Devon Flournoy.
“I went on a Junior Day and they showed us around campus,” Flournoy said. “We talked to all the coaches and watched a highlight film on USC. I talked to coach and got an offer.”
Flournoy said he was stunned by the offer, but after thinking it over for a few minutes decided he wanted to commit, the only problem was he didn’t know how to make his commitment.
“I thought about it for like five minutes and then the funny thing is I didn’t know how to commit,” Flournoy said while laughing. “Do I just say 'yes'? The coaches were practically laughing at me. I went to Sarkisian and asked how do I commit? He told me you just have to go to Coach Carroll and tell him ‘I’m a Trojan.’ I didn’t know it was that simple.”
Flournoy helped lead Birmingham to the City Championship in 2007 and is widely regarded as one of the top junior wide receivers in the state of California.
"I think it’s a combination of my speed and hands because I only dropped two balls last year and the speed from running track,” Flournoy said when asked about his strengths as receiver. “I’m a big play receiver, but also have the skills to be a possession receiver as well, because I do not like to drop balls. I love to go for the long ball but I can also take a slant to the house.”
The thought of catching passes from Matt Barkley, the top recruit in the 2009 class, is something that really helped USC land the talented receiver.
“It’s so funny before I went up there I really wanted to meet him because I am a big fan and when I got to meet him I shook his hand and said ‘I’m a big fan of yours I would love to play with you,” Flournoy said of Matt Barkley. “Then after I got my offer and committed I gave him a handshake and told him that I was in. I told him I was a Trojan and he gave me a big hug. We are really excited to get to play together.”
While catching passes from Matt Barkley helped Flournoy makes his decision, he said the main reason he jumped on the offer from USC was to get a chance to play for Pete Carroll and compete for championships.
“I have been up there for the skills camp and the aura and the way the coaches make you feel is great,” Flournoy explained. “They are there to win.”
“They were talking about Pete Carroll and said that in his seven years up there he has six championships under his belt already. That kind of took me back to my high school career at Birmingham and playing as a sophomore and Ed Croson winning four championships in six years,” said Flournoy. “I swear when I was up there they said championship about fifty times and I just love the word.”