Senior quarterback Matt Flynn’s collegiate body of work includes four complete seasons, one start, one postseason victory and one extremely long wait toward finally being the “quarterback of the present.”
The man who will lead LSU into possibly its most-hyped season ever has not taken a meaningful snap in 20 months. But that lack of competitive action does not seem to bother Flynn as he prepares for his first career regular-season start Thursday against Mississippi State.
“Since I’ve been here, I feel like every year expectations grow,” Flynn said. “You learn to deal with that. You learn how to play with it. As a team, you have to get together and come up with goals for yourself.”
As he fielded questions from a plethora of reporters at LSU Media Day on Aug. 12, Flynn’s game inexperience was undetectable. His demeanor was that of a quarterback who had several conference titles and bowl victories under his belt, while in reality Flynn has not started a regular season game since his 2002 senior year at Robert E. Lee High School in Tyler, Texas.
Flynn said the wait for the starting job has improved his patience, and the chance to lead the nation’s preseason No. 2 team excites him more than anything he can remember.
“As a competitor, I’ve been wanting to play,” Flynn said. “But I can’t sit here and say I should have been playing over the No. 1 pick in the [NFL] Draft.”
Flynn filled in for that No. 1 pick, former LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell, in the 2005 Chick-Fil-a Peach Bowl, completing 13-of-22 passes for 196 yards on his way to offensive MVP honors in a 40-3 victory against Miami.
The impressive performance, coupled with Russell’s lingering shoulder injury in the 2006 offseason, sparked debate as to whether Flynn should become this past season’s starting quarterback.
That did not happen, and Flynn rarely saw time on the field, passing for only 133 yards and rushing for another 86.
But those days of scarce playing time disappeared a long time ago, in January to be exact. A mere three weeks after LSU’s 41-14 victory against Notre Dame in the Allstate Sugar Bowl, LSU coach Les Miles introduced Flynn to the Board of Supervisors as the man who “very comfortably appears to be our next quarterback.” Miles quelled any discussions of another quarterback controversy between Flynn and high-profile 2005 recruit Ryan Perilloux before board members had the chance to comment.
No matter what Flynn’s role with the Tigers has been – capable backup or senior starter – his hometown support has never wavered.
“There’s not a day that goes by that we don’t run into somebody wanting to know how he’s doing and is he ready [for the season],” said Flynn’s father, Alvin Flynn. “I think a lot of people have been following him since he left to go to LSU. So now, everybody’s excited.”
Matt Flynn said he does not feel nervous about the upcoming season yet, and he thinks his core support group has felt more emotions than he has about this season.
“[Family and friends] call me all the time excited and thrilled that I’m finally getting an opportunity,” he said. “It’s going to be nice to go out there and let my friends and family watch.”
Flynn’s rise to recognition has also had a small effect on some people back home. Those who knew Flynn before he became the captain of the Tigers’ offense have been bombarded with questions about Flynn and his handling of the preseason hype.
“It’s a little bit overwhelming because the amount of publicity has been a lot more than I would have expected,” the elder Flynn said. “His mother and I talk about it a lot. As a parent, you just say ‘Gosh, I hope everything works out.'”
Matt Flynn’s high Ã…school coach, Mike Owens, said he is asked daily about the quarterback, but rarely has the answers most people are seeking.
“I tell them ‘Yeah [I’ve talked to him], but he’s got more important things to do than call me,'” Owens said.
Owens said this is not the first time Flynn has been embroiled in a quarterback controversy. He said Flynn and another snap-taker on the Lee High football squad were involved in a heated competition for the starting job during Flynn’s junior year.
Owens said after the first week of fall practice, it was clear the job was Flynn’s.
“He kind of had to go through the same thing here,” Owens said. “He’s a great leader. He’ll be able to handle any pressure.”
Speculation about handling extra pressure and learning a new offense are just a few of the things Flynn has had to deal with this preseason.
Add to that questions about who will fill in for departed receivers Dwayne Bowe and Craig Davis and who will emerge as the No. 1 running back and Flynn has had more than enough inquiries hovering around him this offseason.
But Flynn said those are not things he will have to adjust to once the season kicks off. He said he is confident about the team around him and the biggest adjustment he will have to make week-to-week during the season will be a personal one.
“Getting hit every week,” he said. “When I started the one game I did, I got hit, and I didn’t have to come back the next week and play. The adjustment of taking the soreness will be the main, big difference.”
—–Contact Tyler Batiste at [email protected]