Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles got it backwards.
Last year, when he was supposed to be dominating the high school football scene in Arizona, he was a spectator, separated from his craft.
And now this year, when he’s supposed to be redshirting as a true freshman at the UA, safety Flannigan-Fowles will be dressed and ready to play Thursday when the Wildcats take the field for the opening game of the season, against UTSA.
Call it the curious case of Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles.
“I think everything that’s happened over the last year or so has helped me grow up and learn some things,” Flannigan-Fowles said. “You have to stay strong and focused, and that’s what I tried to do.”
The details are well- known by now.
After transferring from Tucson High to Mountain View, Flannigan-Fowles was deemed ineligible by the Arizona Interscholastic Association last season.
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Already verbally committed to Arizona, Flannigan-Fowles practiced with Mountain View everyday during the season, but never got to suit up for the games.
When football season — and the first semester of his senior year — ended, his hope was that the drama would be ending, too.
The Wildcats still honored their scholarship offer, and Flannigan-Fowles was itching to move on.
But instead, when the UA announced its 2015 recruiting class, Flannigan-Fowles wasn’t a part of it. He hadn’t yet been cleared academically by the NCAA, and there was a chance he was going to be ineligible for a second straight season.
He went from one up-in-the-air situation directly to another.
“It was mind-boggling,” Flannigan-Fowles said. “It was always messing with my mind. I was always thinking about the situation. I just got to the point where I realized God had a plan and wherever he puts me, I’m just going to keep looking forward.”
Finally, in late June, Flannigan-Fowles got a call from the UA: He was cleared to attend the university and the Wildcats still had a spot for him.
Two days later, he was on campus to start summer school and workouts with his future teammates. Had he not been cleared, he was planning on grayshirting this season and working out on his own before hopefully joining the Wildcats in January.
He’s glad he didn’t have to do all that.
“It was just a great moment,” Flannigan-Fowles said of learning he could play. “I was smiling big. My whole family was happy. We were just grateful for my new journey and hopeful that there are many more things like that feeling coming in the future.”
The rangy safety, listed at 6 feet, 2 inches and 182 pounds, made an instant impression on his teammates. Some of the veterans in the secondary — namely Jamar Allah and Will Parks — liked Flannigan-Fowles’ raw ability and also his eagerness to learn and work.
“When Demetrius got here, he was ready to work right from the start,” Allah said during training camp. “He just wanted to get better and learn as much as he could.”
He also impressed position coach David Lockwood during their limited summer class study time. By the time training camp opened in early August, Flannigan-Fowles was already a bit of a favorite.
He got second-team reps from the start and was quickly identified as a player who would likely be in the fold as a freshman.
“Everybody says when something is taken away from you, that you learn how much you love it,” Flannigan-Fowles said. “For me, I definitely think that was true. Having football taken away from me was a real humbling experience. It’s made me appreciate everything more and work harder.”
The biggest adjustment for Flannigan-Fowles has been learning to be a student of the game. He’s spending extra time in the film room with Allah, trying to pick up tips and break down his own play.
“It’s a love-hate relationship,” Flannigan-Fowles said of watching film. “You have to see yourself make mistakes, but you love to correct those mistakes and see the progression as you go on with camp.”
He will back up Allah Thursday when the Wildcats open against UTSA and could also see plenty of time on special teams. It will mark his first game action since Tucson High was eliminated from the 2013 state playoffs, 37-10, by Peoria Centennial.
“It’s going to be great to take the field and get it all started,” Flannigan-Fowles said. “I’ve been waiting a long time.”
