FRISCO, Texas — Ryan Flournoy hasn't taken a single snap since the Dallas Cowboys completed their preseason takedown of the Los Angeles Chargers on Aug. 24, a contest in which he had three catches, 30 yards and a touchdown on three targets.
He finished the preseason with a total of seven catches, 53 yards and two touchdowns over the course of the final two preseason games alone, and that was more than enough, in conjunction with a very impressive training camp in Oxnard, to secure his seat on the 53-man roster.
But then came his next challenge: making his NFL debut.
Flournoy has been relegated to the inactives list in all four games to start the season, but an infection in the right knee of Brandin Cooks all but assures the rookie sixth-round pick will finally see action when the Cowboys take the field in Week 5 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He won't officially know that's the case until Sunday, but he's champing at the bit, to say the least.
"I am excited to show y'all," said Flournoy of his looming debut. "It's in here... *taps heart*. It's in here. Y'all will see."
That jives perfectly with his previous declaration that "passion is my superpower".
For his part, head coach Mike McCarthy believes the first-year receiver is primed.
"Flo' is definitely ready," he said ahead of Wednesday's practice. "He's been competing each week to be up. He'll definitely have more opportunities."
Hoping to invoke the teachings he's been receiving from Cooks to help propel him forward, and in short order, for the Cowboys in October, Flournoy described some of the lessons absorbed from the veteran.
"Just respecting the game, the game of football," he said. "You win, you lose but the next play, you respect it again by going out and playing your hardest. Brandin Cooks is an amazing football player, and an even more amazing person. What he's taught me over the past few months that I've been here, man, I feel like I could play 11 years in the league just as he [is]."
That would perfectly blend with Flournoy's goals entering the league.
As one of the biggest fans of Jerry Rice, something he disclosed following his selection to Dallas in April, and largely due to Rice's humble beginnings at a small collegiate program before taking the NFL by storm and becoming arguably the best receiver to ever do it, Flournoy still feels the imprint of Rice on everything he does on the field.
It even shows itself in the rookie's jersey number.
"Oh yeah," he said when asked about the Hall of Fame wideout. "Speaking of Jerry Rice, I'm 80, and he was number 80. And that's a big shoes to fill, but Jerry Rice is so dominant as a player and as a Hall of Famer, man, I want to do that. And he came from a small school just like I did."
Rice hails from Mississippi Valley State University, and Flournoy landed with the Cowboys by way of Southeast Missouri State — climbing to those ranks from Central Missouri and through Iowa Western Community College.
"I want to inspire the people that come from small schools [to show] you can do it too," said Flournoy of being a testimony for others. "So being the next Jerry Rice, or being the only Ryan Flournoy is my goal — being a Hall of Famer and being 15, 20 years plus, and just respecting the game, man. So yes sir."
His ability and freakish athleticism has led him to this point, and will likely take him much further, but only if he can also continue to channel his nerves in the correct way.
The preseason opener featured a critical drop and a fumble caused by those nerves and, to his own admission, striving to do too much because he's from a small school.
"I learned from the first preseason game, as y'all could see," said the 24-year-old. "I dropped a pass and fumbled and that was because my emotions were high; and I wanted to prove and not [simply] play. I was trying to prove [too much] like, 'I'm a small school guy, I got a lot to prove.'
"But Brandin Cooks and Dak [Prescott] told me after that game to just go out there and play football, and y'all could see the next two games. I felt like I balled, and I wasn't out there just doing stuff. I was out there playing football, and playing freely."
And after five weeks of inactivity, the management of those nerves will again be tested in his NFL debut, as will his ability against one of the most capable defenses in the NFL.
Flournoy has been incessantly picking the brain of Cooks, CeeDee Lamb, Jalen Tolbert and Jalen Brooks — really every other receiver in the room — after each rep to try and continue his ascension to not only where he now finds himself but, more importantly, where he wants to be when his career is all said-and-done.
"After every route, I ask CeeDee, 'What would you have done right there?'... I asked Brandin, 'What's your daily routine?' He'll help me. They'll help me. Everybody's just been giving me nuggets, and I'm glad to be in this receiver room."
There's a more than solid chance that the Cowboys will soon be rewarded for adding him to it.
At this point, just go with the Flo'.
