Notre Dame added a much-anticipated second receiver in the 2023 class when four star prospect Rico Flores announced for the Irish. The 6’1”, 190 pound Californian set this as his announcement date a long time ago to honor his late uncle, as IrishSportsDaily recently recounted. The when was always clear, but the who was a bit murkier until recently. Flores set a top three of Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Georgia recently, with particular interest in the Buckeyes.

Whether their flood of elite receiver commits left no chairs when the music stopped or whether Rico wasn’t even looking for a chair at that point, we don’t know. What we do know is that after his June 10th official to Notre Dame, during which he connected with now-fellow commit Braylon James in a big way, he canceled scheduled officials to Athens and Columbus. Flores provides depth and polish that the class desperately needs at the position, so however the sausage was made we don’t really care.

Recruiting Service Rankings

247Sports Composite — 4 star (.9246 rating), #187 overall, #27 WR, #12 in CA

On3 Consensus — 4 star (91.22 rating), #171 overall, #28 WR, #12 in CA

The 247 Composite and On3 Consensus both combine 247, On3, Rivals, and ESPN rankings.

247Sports — 4 star (90 rating), #246 overall, #28 WR, #18 in CA

On3 — 4 star (90 rating), #266 overall, #38 WR, #18 in CA

Rivals — 4 star (5.9 rating), #106 overall, #17 WR, #9 in CA

ESPN — 4 star (82 rating), #217 overall, #17 WR, #18 in CA

Friend of the Stripes Jamie Uyeyama does the recruit evaluations for ISD, and we trust his evals as much as anyone’s. So while the 247 Composite and the On3 Consensus don’t factor in ISD evals, we put a lot of weight on them ourselves.

Irish Sports Daily — 4 star (90 rating)

Cohort

In addition to Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Georgia, Flores holds offers from Alabama, BYU, LSU, Michigan State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Stanford, Texas, UCLA, USC, Washington, and Yale, among others.

Highlights

Some Irish fans have mentioned Miles Boykin as a potential comparison for Flores, with the assumption that he’s limited to being a big-frame outside receiver. I don’t see that – I think a better Irish comparison is TJ Jones, as Flores possesses a similar build and similar smoothness. He’s far more polished as a route runner than most high school kids, and it shows here as he loses guys repeatedly before the pass. I think he also has a great feel for when to pull a move and how hard to sell it. His speed is good, not great, but good enough that if you fall asleep in coverage or bring a sloppy tackle effort he can make you pay with a house call.

And boy, does he love to block… I love that there was such an extended series of blocking plays on this reel too. He blocks with ferocity and persistence, which speaks not only to his ability in that area but also to how willing he is to do the unglamorous parts of his job. He is, as a certain former coach-turned-broadcaster-turned-coach-turned-just-a-guy was wont to say, a FOOTBAWL PLAYER.

Impact

Does Rico have a pulse? He’ll have a chance to play early! In all seriousness though, the 2023 receiver depth chart is going to be pretty thin and opportunity will definitely be there. Current sophomores Lorenzo Styles, Jayden Thomas, and Deion Colzie and current freshman Tobias Merriweather are the only ones guaranteed to be there (assuming health, etc etc). Flores, James, and the other ‘23 receivers will get a chance to make an impact right away – which is why it’s so important that Flores has quite a bit of polish to his game. He has a shot at making the rotation  immediately.

Welcome to the Irish family, Rico!