Pomona High Back Carries a Heavy Load Gracefully : J. J Flannigan Takes the Acclaim in Stride as He Races Along With Opponents--and Recruiters--Chasing Him

Pomona High football Coach Jim Walker says he has seen a lot of great prep running backs in the Southland in recent years and J. J. Flannigan is the best of the bunch.

“I’ve seen Kirk Jones and Ryan Knight (former prep All-Americans), and I think he’s better than both,” Walker says.

Dick Lascola, who runs a college scouting service, also is high on Flannigan, calling him one of the six best running backs in the nation.

Why all the clamor for Flannigan, a 6-1, 185-pound senior for the Red Devils?

As a junior, he rushed for 1,965 yards and 18 touchdowns in 188 carries, an average of about 10 yards a carry.

Doing Even Better

Flannigan’s numbers have bordered on hard-to-believe this year. He has rushed for 437 yards and 4 touchdowns in 41 carries and caught 5 passes for 151 yards and 3 touchdowns.

All this in only two games.

It is easy to understand why Flannigan is being recruited by powerhouses UCLA, USC, Alabama, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Nebraska and Michigan.

“He’s what you would call a franchise player,” Lascola said. “He’s the kind of player who’s a threat to score every time he touches the ball.”

Walker said there has been noticeable improvement in Flannigan from last year.

“He’s night and day compared to last year,” Walker said. “He’s catching the ball much better and he’s blocking. Those parts have improved 100%. He’s also running through people. He’s deceiving. He’s not just a dart-and-run guy. If the hole’s not there, he’ll run through people.”

Deceiving the Defense

Adds Flannigan: “I’m more mentally into it this year. You have to learn to play with the defense. You have to make them think you’re going one way and go another.”

Flannigan, an outgoing youth, says that for the most part he likes the steady attention he has been receiving.

He said it is becoming increasingly difficult to eat or walk in Pomona without being recognized.

“I’m not a big-headed athlete or anything like that,” Flannigan says. “I talk to people and people talk to me.

“I can’t avoid it so I figure I might as well enjoy it. I went out to breakfast with Coach Walker the other week and everybody was staring at me. I guess that just comes with the territory.”

Now Defenses Are Waiting

That pales in comparison to the attention he has been receiving on the field since his big junior year.

“I think I did so well as a junior because people (opponents) didn’t know me as well. This year it’s not going to be as easy. Sometimes I can just stare at the defense and know they’re looking at me.”

Flannigan said that he felt a lot of pressure at the start of the season but that it has not affected his play. He even likes the pressure.

“I knew I would go into this season as a marked man. But when (former) Coach (Oliver) Lucas was here he told me you’re always gonna be a marked man but a great player always gets the job done.”

“I don’t mind the pressure. Without pressure, you can’t perform at the level you should. To me, pressure is like drinking orange juice in the morning. It peps you up.”

Started in 8th Grade

As a football player, Flannigan is a relative newcomer, playing only since the eighth grade when he was a wide receiver for a youth league team.

When Flannigan arrived at Pomona High, he says, “I came out for running back and saw all the people going out for that position and got scared off.”

So he started the season as a wide receiver, only to become a running back later in the year. Flannigan made the varsity as a sophomore, seeing only limited playing time returning kickoffs and punts.

He has been a fixture in the backfield since.

Flannigan gives most of the credit to teammates, coaches and family. Anybody but himself.

“I think a lot of running backs tend to get down on themselves because they have more chances to make a mistake. But my team and the coaches support me. One of the things necessary to be a successful player is having the support around me. When I come off the field the coaches don’t yell at me.”

Cheers From Family

Flannigan also has plenty of moral support from his family. His father usually can be spotted on the sidelines at Pomona games while his mother and aunt watch from the stands.

“I have my own little cheering section,” Flannigan said. “My mom has a T-shirt that says ‘J. J.’s Mom’ and my aunt has one that says ‘J. J.’s Aunt.’ Once in a while, when I get tackled, I hear my mom up there yelling, ‘Get off my baby.’ ”

Flannigan also has been successful in the classroom. He has a 3.4 grade-point average and wants to be an accountant after his playing days.

“I’m an outgoing person. I love football but I’m a schoolboy, too. I like to keep my mind on football, but an education is important, too.

“My father always says to use football to get an education because football isn’t always gonna be there. I see so many colleges turning kids down because they don’t have the grades. But that won’t be a problem. If they don’t want me because I’m not good enough, that’s another story.”

Hasn’t Selected College

That doesn’t look like a problem.

Flannigan said he has received a flood of phone calls and letters from college recruiters but is a long way away from making a decision. “Some of the letters I get are completely unnecessary, but it doesn’t really get on my nerves. It won’t bother me until after the season.

“I’ll go to the school that offers me the best education, and tradition is the next most important thing. When it comes to staying in the state or not, that doesn’t really make much difference.”

For the moment, Flannigan is concentrating on more immediate things such as undefeated (2-0) Pomona’s game Friday against Santa Fe.

“Last year, I was basically interested in getting stats, but this year I want my team to have a championship. I would like to have a gold ring on my finger.”

He also is hoping to surpass the 2,500-yard barrier in rushing, which would place him among the top single-season and career rushers in CIF Southern Section history.

“Last year I told myself I wasn’t going to make any personal goals, but I would like to get 2,500 yards. That’s something that not many people have approached.”

Flannigan is well on his way toward that figure.