SAN ANTONIO — Braeden Flowers embraced the football pedigree attached to his last name.
“It’s motivated me a lot,” said Braeden, who’s verbally committed to Southern Methodist University. “I know there are expectations going around and hopefully I can live up to them.”
The Central Catholic senior is the latest star-in-waiting in the Flowers family — a family which has set a high bar on the football field.
Braden's father, Erik Flowers, played defensive line at Arizona State and was the Buffalo Bills' first-round draft pick in 2000.
“You can tell when he’s thinking about it, because he’ll start asking me questions, and forces me to reminisce,” Erik Flowers said.
Braeden’s older brother Dimitri was a running back at Oklahoma from 2014 to 2017. His cousin Tre was on the other side of the Bedlam rivalry at Oklahoma State and is now a defensive back with the Cincinnati Bengals.
“I think I can be the best one out of the family,” Braeden Flowers said. “I have three great role models ahead of me, and all of them can help me with what I need to work on.”
The advice was largely about motivation and less about Xs and Os until this season. That’s when Erik joined the Central Catholic coaching staff as a defensive line coach.
“He’s played at the highest level, so he sees different things from his standpoint than what I will see,” Braeden said. “Where your hands need to be, where you have to look, tendencies that the offensive line has, tendencies that the quarterback has.”
Firsthand work with Braeden on the D-line when he’s not catching passes at tight end.
“If there're deeper conversations we need to have, we have them at home,” Erik Flowers said. “You have the talent. You have a possibility of being great at it if you choose to put it into work. I’m proud of him for that. He’s taken on the challenge and has done very well.”
Upholding a last name that’s become synonymous with success in San Antonio and beyond.
“Don’t worry about what your brother did, or what I did, or what your cousin’s doing,” Erik Flowers said. “Just go be Braeden Flowers.”
And hopefully make his own name in the process.
“Just believe in yourself,” Braeden said. “That was the biggest thing he’s told us. If you can’t believe in yourself, then it’s gonna be really hard to do what you want to do.”