Cavalier family: Andy, Wendy, Kylie, McKenna, and Camren
Seniors Camren Cavalier and Luke Flowers each signed letters of intent to their respective colleges on Wednesday, Feb. 7.
Cavalier–who was recently named Offensive MVP in class 3A for the Texas High School Coaches Association Super Elite Team—will attend Harding University and plans to major in kinesiology while playing football. He said he felt like Harding University, located in Searcy, Arkansas, was the best fit for him.
“They have a lot of great athletes,” Cavalier said. “They did just win the National Championship last year, so that’s a big one.”
Cavalier said what impressed him most about the football program at Harding is that most of the coaches all played there and the longevity of their careers there.
“It’s just been people that have really bought into the program and want to make it a good place,” he said. “A bunch of places have coaches that are just there for a year or two and want the next best job, but the staff there [Harding University] really wants the team to do really well.”
The starting quarterback for the Harding Bisons is returning next year, so Cavalier said he’ll just have to give maximum effort and hopefully beat out other prospective quarterbacks.
Flowers—who was also named to THSCA’s Super Elite Team in the offense—said he chose Colorado Mesa University because of the offer they made him as well as the campus. Flowers will major in mechanical engineering and minor in business.
“I love football, but another big factor in my decision was I just wanted to do something hard,” Flowers said. “I wanted to really challenge myself. I wanted to go through something in my life that wasn’t something I was used to. I wanted to take it to another level.”
Flowers said while he does look forward to the competition and the challenge, he is nervous about the next step in his football career. But despite his nerves and the pressure to meet higher expectations, Flowers said he will use this as motivation.
“They believe I could do it, so I should too,” he said.
Both seniors said being far away from their hometown and families will be challenging at first. Colorado Mesa is more than 600 miles away from Canadian and Harding University is more than 500 miles away. Despite the distance, both Cavalier and Flowers said they are up for the change.
“I finally get to be around new people,” Flowers said.
