Timothy Flanders, the all-time leading rusher and scorer for both the Southland Conference and Sam Houston State, has signed with the New Orleans Saints as an NFL free agent.
Flanders knew he would land somewhere this weekend, whether he was drafted or not, and New Orleans appeared to be the likely destination. It's the only team visit Flanders took during the scouting process and he hit it off with running backs coach Dan Roushar on April 9.
The situation works out perfectly for the all-time Southland Conference rushing and scoring leader, who idolized the Saints growing up as a fan.
“It's crazy. You don't see that happen too often,” Flanders said of signing with his childhood favorite. “At the end of the day, I just want to play. I'm happy and very excited to get down there and start working.”
As an undrafted free agent, the rookie will have to earn his spot on the 53-man roster. Flanders' best chance at seeing the field will be proving himself on special teams and mastering the offensive playbook.
New Orleans had five running backs on its roster in 2013, but only Pierre Thomas and Mark Ingram carried the ball more than 55 times. Thomas, the Saints' top running back, was also an undrafted free agent out of Illinois in 2007.
In his four seasons with the Bearkats, Flanders rushed for 5,664 yards and 66 touchdowns on 999 carries (5.7 yards per carry). Flanders had a career-high 414 receiving yards on 34 catches in 2011, when the Kats made the first of back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Game.
“It was disappointing not to get drafted but I felt like I did everything I can,” Flanders said. “I have the film. I proved it against Texas A&M and Baylor. I proved it at the East-West Shrine Game. It's just one of those things, you never know. I wanted to get drafted. I'm not going to lie and say I didn't want to. But I'm over it now and it's time to move on from it.”
Flanders said he expects to leave for New Orleans this week. Even though he was a star at Sam Houston and has goals of being one in the NFL, Flanders has already prepared himself mentally to work his way up from the bottom.
“I played special teams my first year at Sam,” he said. “I was on punt team, blocking on kick return and stuff like that. I even did some in the East-West Shrine Game. I think I'll be fine doing it. I'm going to do what I can to try to get on the 53-man roster, or at least the practice squad.
“I'm just going to go out there, gain the respect of my teammates, work my way up and try to get on the special teams.”
