Sometimes when you put Oregon Ducks linebacker Justin Flowe in front of a microphone, he seems to have a hard time standing still. There’s a lot of energy there, and just minutes after walking off the football field, you can tell that he is still amped up and ready to hit someone.
On Wednesday afternoon, Flowe met with media members to discuss fall practice up to this point and detail the progress made so far. He was passionate as always, and continuously smacking his hands together to mimic the joy he feels when the pads are cracking on the field.
As his extremities were constantly in motion, I noticed something I hadn’t seen before — the NFL logo was tattooed on the back of his right hand. Is he just a fan of the league, ala Rob Lowe? Or rather is there some significant meaning behind it? I had to ask.
“I got this right before fall camp,” Flowe told me. “I really want to just have it as motivation because after having a big season-ending injury, it’s so easy to stop and not keep going. So I just got to make me realize that this is the mission and I got to keep going.”
For some players to put an NFL symbol on their body in permanent ink may feel like a bit of a stretch. For Flowe, a player who is the second-highest-rated commit to sign with the Oregon Ducks, and a likely candidate to earn All-American honors this season, it feels appropriate.
If he can stay healthy and perform to the level that we know he’s capable of, there should almost certainly be an NFL team that is willing to shuttle him millions of dollars to play at the next level. If looking at that logo every day helps him realize his dream and keep his nose to the grindstone, then, by all means, have at it.
For many college athletes, getting through to the professional ranks is a dream that is often unrealized. For Flowe, it almost feels like a foregone conclusion. It’s even written in ink.
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