Ravens WR Zay Flowers needs touches to remain untouchable
With so many weapons on offense, including a dual-threat rushing attack in quarterback Lamar Jackson and running back Derrick Henry, it will be vital to draw a line of demarcation early on. Probabilities and the opponent's strategy, of course, will play a part in how Monken can distribute the football. However, Flowers, having sadly missed the 2025 NFL Playoffs with a knee injury, still finished the season with a 14.3 yards per catch average. Proving himself to be a key element in Jackson's incredible total passing yard totals last season.
Big plays of 20-plus yards, including those as a result of yards after catch, have allowed Flowers to pose as a serious threat to opponents. Ravens' opponents know that they must account for the run, so Monken needs to commit to the run while keeping Flowers targeted in moderation. Ultimately, Monken needs to shy away from four-wide receiver sets and prioritize by allowing Flowers to operate as both a slot and sole Z (boundary side) wide receiver, where he can operate in space. Flowers needs his touches, and Monken must make his targets in the offensive attack meaningful.
This article originally appeared on Ravens Wire: Ravens WR Zay Flowers needs touches to remain untouchable

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Achraf Hakimi: PSG makes a tough decision
Achraf Hakimi and Luis Enrique After enduring a grueling season with PSG, Achraf Hakimi will not have a backup this summer. That is the decision made by the French capital club. After a remarkable campaign that included lifting the Champions League trophy, PSG has no intention of overhauling its squad. Only a few adjustments are expected. The main uncertainty revolves around the future of Gigio Donnarumma, and possibly the arrival of Lucas Chevalier. Moroccan international Achraf Hakimi has no plans to leave, as he is under contract until 2029. With 55 matches played (11 goals, 16 assists), the Moroccan is one of the most heavily relied-upon players in the squad—and for good reason. He has no natural replacement. Luis Campos, the club's sporting director, had planned to find him a player who could give him a breather, but according to Le Parisien, Luis Enrique refused. With Warren Zaïre-Emery and Joao Neves both able to fill in at right-back, the Spanish manager feels satisfied with his options.
Yahoo
5 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Alabama football 2025 season preview, predictions: Fatutoa Henry
When it comes to potential instant-impact players in the Alabama Crimson Tide's 2025 recruiting class, defensive lineman Fatutoa Henry is certainly a name to know. Coming to Alabama via junior college, Henry is an experienced player at the collegiate level, but much of that didn't come in the FBS. However, Henry did originally begin his collegiate career with a team that is currently in the SEC, and now looks to breakout at the Division-I level after returning to the FBS this past offseason in Alabama's recruiting class. Here is everything you need to know about Alabama defensive lineman Fatutoa Henry entering the 2025 season. Fatutoa Henry player information Position: Defensive Line Jersey Number: No. 14 Height: 6'4 Weight: 268 Class: Redshirt Junior Hometown: Lawndale, California High School: Leuzinger Fatutoa Henry career stats While new to Alabama this season, Henry is a familiar face to college football who originally began his career back in 2022 at Oklahoma prior to spending the last two seasons at Cerritos College in California. Redshirting at Oklahoma, Henry appeared in 16 games across the 2023-24 seasons where he posted a combined 63 tackles, 13.5 TFL, 5.5 sacks, and one fumble recovery. Fatutoa Henry 2024 stats Henry's 2024 season was spent at Cerritos College in California, his second with the program. Across six games last season, Henry had 20 tackles, six TFL, two sacks, and a fumble recovery. Fatutoa Henry recruiting ranking Coming out of high school, Henry was considered as the nation's No. 401 overall player in the 2022 recruiting class, per the 247Sports Composite rankings, prior to attending Oklahoma for a season. Rated a four-star prospect, Henry was also considered the No. 33 overall edge rusher in the class, as well as the No. 29 player in the state of California where he attended Leuzinger High School. Prior to Alabama, Henry was ranked as the nation's No. 2 overall JUCO prospect in the 2025 class, per 247Sports, as well as the No. 2 JUCO defensive lineman. A four-star prospect who committed to Alabama in Oct. 2024 where he flipped his commitment from Mississippi State, Henry was also considered the No. 1 JUCO prospect in California where he attended Cerritos College. Fatutoa Henry 2025 season outlook Similar to teammate Steve Bolo Mboumoua, could Henry make an immediate impact as a junior college addition for Alabama this season? When looking at Henry's potential impact in 2025, the redshirt junior could potentially line up at multiple spots along Alabama's defensive front, most notably at bandit. However, Henry is not currently expected to start with returning starter LT Overton back in 2025, meaning that the JUCO addition is likely a depth option to begin the season. However, Henry should still see some action in 2025, and could potentially emerge into a larger role as the season goes along. Fatutoa Henry 2025 season prediction 2025 Prediction: 10 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1 sack Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. This article originally appeared on Roll Tide Wire: Alabama football 2025 preview, predictions: Fatutoa Henry
Yahoo
5 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Louisville, Kentucky basketball already recruiting future transfers. Hear me out.
NORTH AUGUSTA, SC — It's never been easier for college basketball coaches to rebuild to win now thanks to immediate eligibility in the transfer portal. Louisville and Kentucky basketball fans had front-row seats to how Pat Kelsey and Mark Pope respectively flipped entire rosters and had breakthrough debuts. But recruiting high school players has never lasted so long. Coaches aren't just trying to establish a rapport out of high school; they're trying to keep it going in case of transfer. It's been said since name, image and likeness became legal that relationships no longer matter, or at least don't factor into the decision to commit as heavily as they once did. Money matters, and the highest amounts packaged together from NIL and the revenue-sharing created by the House v. NCAA settlement can be life-changing for some recruits and their families. The financial package is generally going to sway where a recruit goes. Coaches know and accept that part. The challenge has come not only identifying which of the few players will get offers from power conference schools but also in trying to anticipate two and three moves down the line. Coaches are not only recruiting for now, they are setting up for the future. The relationship that didn't matter when another school bid higher? Well, they matter as soon as that same player finished their season and entered the transfer portal. Travis Perry initially chose to stay in-state and play for the Wildcats. He stayed true to that commitment even when John Calipari left to take the Arkansas job and Pope was hired. But guess where Perry took an official visit the month before he committed to UK? Ole Miss and coach Chris Beard welcomed Perry to Oxford and was one of several other schools he considered. So it was no surprise when Perry announced he was entering the transfer portal in April that he ended up committing to Ole Miss. Coaches are careful to leave a good impression on guys they miss out on and those that they pursued — but didn't make a strong offer. Scanning through the crowd of coaches at Nike's Elite Youth Basketball League Peach Jam seemed more like watching a networking event than watching coaches scout their next prospects. Players have become hip to the process as well. That's why virtually the entire top 100 in the Class of 2026 has yet to make a commitment. They're playing the long game, too. It used to be only the elite recruits would wait for the spring to announce. Currently, only three of the top 25 in the 247Sports Top 150 have committed and a combined 11 of the top 100. Some recruits are no longer trying to hold out for a Power Five offer. They're deferring attending their dream school for now so that maybe they can get an offer a year or two later. The plan is to get experience on a lower level and in the best-case scenario create some bargaining leverage when they hit the transfer portal. It may seem unfair to smaller schools to be used effectively as a minor-league franchise. But those same lower-tier schools are now having a chance to recruit players who might not have gone there in years past, and it's really no different than the way up-and-coming coaches have used Murray State or Western Kentucky to establish and advance their careers by going to a bigger school. It worked out for Reece Potter, who didn't get much of a sniff from UK when he graduated from Lexington Catholic in 2023. But the 7-foot-2 center found himself on the opposite end of a Pope recruiting pitch when he entered the transfer portal after two seasons at Miami (Ohio) to come back home in the spring. Connections have always mattered in recruiting, it's just now, it makes more sense to connect the dots for the second and third recruitment that comes with the transfer portal. Reach sports columnist C.L. Brown at clbrown1@ follow him on X at @CLBrownHoops and subscribe to his newsletter at to make sure you never miss one of his columns. This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Pat Kelsey, Mark Pope recruiting transfers they missed on initially