Irmo running back ready to make his mark with Wake Forest football program

Kendrell Flowers’ senior season might not have gone as planned, but that wasn’t on his mind Wednesday.

The Irmo High running back was focused on the future as he signed his National. Letter of Intent to play college football at Wake Forest.

“My senior year, it was great even though I had some ups and downs. I feel if I played the whole year our season might have turned out better,” Flowers said. “But I am excited to go play Division I football and get a degree from Wake Forest. Wake is one of the hardest schools to get in. If I can graduate from there, I can do anything.”

247Sports ranks Flowers as the ninth-best prospect in South Carolina for the Class of 2019. This year he rushed for 777 yards and nine touchdowns to lead the Yellow Jackets.

Flowers committed to Wake Forest in April and shut down his recruiting after that despite offers from Tennessee and Penn State. He cited proximity to home, Wake Forest making him a priority and the upward progress of the program as some of the reasons for his choice.

The Demon Deacons are headed to their third straight bowl game for only the second time in school history.

Wake Forest has had good luck lately with running backs from the Midlands. Former Dutch Fork standout Matt Colburn has been a key contributor for the Demon Deacons and someone Flowers talked with during the recruiting process.

Flowers, who will report to school in June, said he and Colburn plan to work out together during Christmas break and they talk frequently.

“Just to see what he did during his four years got me excited to want to go there,” Flowers said of Colburn. “I know there is going to be some bumps in the road but I’ve got to keep my head on, keep moving straight. And as far as playing time, I control my own destiny. If I can go down there, put in the work. I can see me making an impact early.”

Flowers played receiver during his sophomore season just to get on the field because of a logjam at running back. He established himself as Irmo’s go-to back the past two seasons.

Irmo coach Reggie Kennedy said Flowers started showing flashes of his potential during his ninth grade year and thinks he is a well-rounded back, especially with his pass catching ability.

Flowers said he needs to improve on his pass blocking and hopes to make an immediate impact at Wake.

“I still go back to Kendrell’s ninth-grade year, him playing running back for us on our B team,” Irmo Kennedy said. “He was hard to bring down and we felt like if he continued to grow in our program this could happen.

“We knew he was going to be special and I am just so happy for him that he is reaping the benefits of that.”

This story was originally published December 19, 2018 at 10:57 AM.