Senior Signing Spotlight: Michael Flood

This is No. 8 in a month-long series of profiles of Arizona high school seniors that signed with four-year colleges. Here's the full list (currently totaling 273) of players from within the state moving on to the next level.

SPOTLIGHT: 2/15/20

UTEP has always done most of its recruiting in Texas and California. This year, the Miners had success in a new hotbed - Arizona.

Three players from the state signed with the University of Texas at El Paso, including offensive tackle Michael Flood.

One of the state's largest linemen at 6-6 and 305 pounds, the senior at Maricopa committed to UTEP the last week of January and made it official on National Signing Day.

It could be the start to a pipleline at MHS as Jacob Cowing had a breakout season at WR as a freshman for the Miners with 550 yards and three touchdowns.

Originally committed to Northern Arizona, Flood chose UTEP over offers from UC Davis, Georgetown, and Idaho. He also had Mountain West recruiting interest from a few schools.

"I chose UTEP because of the great coaches that have experience and the level of competition," Flood said in an e-mail interview. "(Head) Coach (Dana) Dimel brought some coaches with him from Kansas State, where they had previously turned around the program and made it successful."

Offensive line coach Mike Simmonds played in the NFL with Tampa Bay and San Diego in the late 1980s. This will be his second year at UTEP and 26th overall in coaching.

As far as assessing his play, Flood said his knowledge of the game is his biggest strength.

"Being able to recognize what the man in front of you is doing and how to eliminate his chances at beating you is huge," Flood said. "I gained this knowledge from (head) Coach (Brandon) Harris. Coach Harris here at MHS really emphasized being in a program that mimicked the next level. This allowed for the team and me to take brand new schemes from the board to the field immediately."

Here's a look at what the grind during the offseason and training camp turned into for the Rams' first game of the season against McClintock.

Many college coaches will tell you the importance of playing multiple sports. Flood agrees with this philosophy. In addition to competing in the throwing events during track and field season, he wrestled back in his freshman year. Both activities are beneficial to improving yourself on Friday nights in the fall.

"Throwing discus and shot is great for explosiveness, which is a key component to being a great lineman and definitely translates to the field," Flood said. "Wrestling is great for offensive linemen because it teaches you to keep your feet active subconsciously while keeping your focus on the man in front of you and counteracting the moves he makes with your hips and hands. For young athletes, I believe it's important to play multiple sports so they are staying active and getting better during the offseason."

During the season, Flood made his presence known with the head coaches in the 5A San Tan Region as he was named an All-Region First Team performer at year's end. The region was among the best in the state in this past two-year block. The six schools combined for a non-league record of 45-15 in that time and had several players either go on, or will be going on, to play college football.

So, who was the toughest defender for Flood to block last season?

"The most difficult defensive lineman I went against this year was Ian Shewell from Williams Field," Flood said. "His explosiveness, long arms, and strength set him apart from the rest of the defensive linemen in the region."

Shewell will be playing his Division I football one state over at the University of New Mexico.

UTEP announced a two-game football series with Nebraska. The games will be played in Lincoln in 2024 and 2028. As for this year's non-conference slate, the Miners will host Texas Tech in the Sun Bowl to kick off the season on Sept. 5. Two weeks later, UTEP travels to Austin to face Texas. There's nowhere to go but up for the Miners as they are coming off back-to-back 1-11 seasons. The school is a member of Conference USA.

Flood has yet to declare a major at UTEP. Possibilities after his football days could be in the criminal justice field or in education. Regardless of the path he chooses, his days in high school have prepared him for his college life both on the field and off of it.

"Maricopa High School helped me prepare as an athlete and a student," Flood said. "I can't thank my family, Coach Harris, my teammates, and the staff at MHS enough for being such a great support system. There is a lot of good to come from Maricopa High here in the near future."