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2018 Mountain West Football Top 50 Players: #50, UNLV CB Jericho Flowers
UNLV’s top defender got back to his natural position last year and found his way onto our list of the Mountain West’s best football players.
Contact/Follow @MattK_FS
He’ll be integral to the Rebels’ hunt for a bowl bid this fall.
This year’s list of Mountain West football’s 50 best players begins with UNLV cornerback Jericho Flowers, who made the most of a position switch last fall and became a key contributor for the Rebels defense.
Flowers was recruited as a defensive back in Tony Sanchez’s 2015 class, but spent much of 2016 as a receiver when injuries depleted the established ranks (you might remember the key role he played in UNLV’s epic win over Wyoming that year). When he was able to move back to his original position last fall, he became one of the conference’s top corners, racking up five tackles for loss, two interceptions and two forced fumbles.
With a lot of young talent brought in over the past couple years, Flowers will be counted upon to help the Rebels secondary take their next step forward: UNLV’s defensive backs did finish 7th in the Mountain West in opponents’ passer rating and 6th in yards per attempt allowed, but they ranked 10th in the conference in opponents’ completion percentage and 122nd nationally in Havoc Rate (percentage of plays with TFL, pass defended, or forced fumble).
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