By Zac Chamblee
In May, Tyler Flathau announced he would be transferring from Arkansas State to continue his football career at his hometown school, Southern Miss. Flathau, a former Sacred Heart standout, now finds himself in the mix for the Golden Eagles’ starting punting duties. I caught up with him recently to figure out what the past three months have been like for him.
How good does it feel to be back home and playing in a Southern Miss uniform?
“It’s really been a dream,” Flathau said. “I grew up right down the street. I could literally hear the games as a kid and hear the cannons going off when everybody is scoring. It’s just been a dream to play here, honestly. Being able to fulfill it and having a chance to play, it’s an unbelievable feeling.”
What was your family and friends’ reaction when they found out you were transferring to Southern Miss?
“Both my parents went here, so they were both excited,” Flathau said. “My dad, he was proud. He wanted me to come here in the beginning, but he wouldn’t push me one way or another. He let me make my decision to go up there. Stuff happened, so I just came back. It all happened for the best.”
You are the first Division I football player to come out of Sacred Heart. Do you take a lot of pride in that?
“I do,” Flathau said. “When Coach Schraeder came to my house one day and said I would only have to kick, I was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll try it out’. I ended up playing safety, receiver, kicker, punter and all that. I wouldn’t have had it any other way because it taught me how to be a man and do what people were counting on me to do. It’s teamwork. You have to be there for your brothers at all times. And we punted a lot, so that’s how I got good at that.”
From an early age, was it your dream to one day play football at Southern Miss?
“I didn’t really play football until my junior year of high school,” Flathau said. “I played soccer, and there’s no men’s soccer here. Coming to the games, I thought, ‘Yeah, I would love to play football’. I was able to make it a reality with punting. Happy about that.”
You’re currently battling for the starting punting job with Briggs Bourgeois and Zac Everett. How’s that battle going?
“It’s neck and neck,” Flathau said. “It’s pretty tough right now because with Zac, Briggs and I, every day is a constant battle. Consistency is going to win it all. We’re working at it every day. It’s fun, but it’s definitely a battle.”
Has anything surprised you in your short time here?
“Not really,” Flathau said. “I kind of expected the level of play to be up there. The real surprise was going from Sacred Heart to Gulf Coast. That was a little different. But once I got over there and got adjusted to the fast and quickness of play, I feel like they prepared me pretty well.”
Have you been keeping up with Sacred Heart football?
“Every day in the summer I go over there and punt,” Flathau said. “I’d always see Coach Schraeder and Coach Dewease over there, and I would talk to them. They would say they’re so proud of me, and I would say, ‘You guys made me who I am’. I got a lot of respect for those guys.”
Sacred Heart opens the 2017 season next week. Do you have a message for those guys?
“Keep working and keep laying that foundation they’ve been doing,” Flathau said. “No matter what, you gotta lay that stepping stone, no matter if it’s like our season, getting beat up. We laid it for them. They’ve got some good players, and I’m excited. Paul Rowell, Campbell Klein and Joseph Bishop are some ballers. And they got some new uniforms, I saw. Those helmets are sweet.”
