When it comes to NFL caliber players at the FCS level, there have been many quarterbacks that have exceeded expectations. Players like Joe Flacco of Delaware, Tony Romo and Jimmy Garoppolo of Eastern Illinois are just some recent stars from the FCS. Tom Flacco, younger brother of Denver quarterback Joe Flacco, is the next great quarterback prospect to emerge from Towson and the Colonial Athletic Association into the 2020 NFL Draft.
In my piece below, I will take a look at what separates the younger Flacco from the rest of the FCS level quarterbacks in this class, as well as the big-time college prospects like Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert. While he may not be getting the same attention his older brother once did, Tom is an excellent prospect in his own right, and I will break in this week’s prospect profile.
Tom Flacco before Towson
As I mentioned above, Flacco may not be the same 2020 NFL Draft-ready prospect that Joe Flacco was, but he may be the better overall athlete and player. Before ending up at Towson, Flacco starred in high school at both baseball and football. He threw for 25 touchdowns and rushed for twelve more as a senior on the gridiron. However, Flacco was such a great athlete in baseball that the Philadelphia Phillies took him in the 32nd round of the MLB Amateur Draft.
Flacco instead decided to attend Western Michigan to play football for his freshman season. During his first two seasons at Western Michigan, he only played in 13 games and decided to transfer to Rutgers to continue his playing career. The Flaccos are initially from Voorhees, New Jersey, so Rutgers was a homecoming of sorts for the Junior. Tom ended up redshirting the 2017 season at Rutgers and transferred again to play out his 2018 season at Towson.
Towson afforded Flacco the ability to play both football and baseball, and he has starred so far for the Tigers. Flacco started all 12 games in 2018 for the Tigers, finishing with 3,251 yards through the air and 28 passing scores. He also led the team in rushing with 742 yards. This magical season put NFL scouts on notice and made Flacco the 2018 CAA Offensive Player of the Year for the Tigers. He was starting to build some solid 2020 NFL Draft buzz following his 2018 campaign.
A special kind of athlete
Following the 2018 season, Flacco joined the baseball team at Towson and started 38 games as their primary right fielder. He finished second on the team with eleven steals and had nine multi-hit games for the Tigers. His athleticism was on full display, even during baseball season. Aside from the excellent pedigree shown by playing both sports, Flacco’s conditioning is also apparent in his seamless transition to football for the 2019 season.
Flacco is off to another excellent start for the Tigers in his senior season. The 6’1″, 205-pounder has thrown for over 1,600 yards and 14 touchdowns in seven games so far, while adding 300 yards on the ground and two more rushing scores. Flacco’s speed and playmaking ability were on full display against Villanova this season. In that game, he passed for over 300 yards and a touchdown. Flacco also added 110 rushing yards and another score. Take a look at Flacco’s breakaway speed on this 43-yard scamper in that game.
Tom Flacco has WHEELS.
#18 Villanova and #5 Towson are tied at 7 early in the first quarter. pic.twitter.com/sBwkIiVY7R
— FloFootball (@FloFootball) September 21, 2019
His decision-making has also been a great strength both as a prospect and for the Tigers football team. He’s only thrown 14 interceptions in two seasons as the starter and has the uncanny ability to make positive plays consistently with his legs when there is no time to throw. Flacco has also become the seventh Towson quarterback to surpass 5,000 yards, and he only needed 20 games to do so. He is starting to make a big name for himself in 2020 NFL Draft circles.
How he translates to the NFL level
Flacco is not the prototype for the NFL at the quarterback position in terms of size and elite arm strength. Due to those weaknesses, he does not project as a long-term star at the next level. However, I believe he has enough tools and smarts at a tremendous position of need and can excel in the right system. Teams that run a lot of RPO’s can use Flacco’s athleticism to their advantage, and that will give him a chance to flourish at the next level. This ability alone should make him a mid-round 2020 NFL Draft choice.
Flacco was mentioned previously by PFN’s Tony Pauline in his Week 5 College Football Live Blog as a player that could receive a Senior Bowl invite. That game could elevate Flacco’s standing as a prospect as he heads into the 2020 NFL Draft. For comparison’s sake, an exciting NFL player to look at would be the Saints’ Taysom Hill. New Orleans likes to use its multipurpose playmaker/backup quarterback in a variety of ways. The team will move Hill around the offense and into many formations during the course of a game. He can be rotated from the quarterback position to the slot and even into the backfield at times. Hill also possesses less than ideal size for the position, but he is still a highly productive player for the Saints.
With the way the NFL is adapting and moving players around to get them in space and advantageous positions, Flacco could excel unconventionally. If Flacco is drafted as a backup and allowed to use his athleticism to make plays at different positions and in various creative formations, he could be valuable in the short term before possibly being groomed as a full-time starting quarterback. Flacco does not project to run as fast as Hill at the combine, but a time in the low 4.6’s is certainly within reach.
Scott Gorman is a writer for PFN covering the NFL Draft. You can follow him at @sgormanPFN on Twitter.