Sean Michael Flanagan Is Ready for Enhanced Role in 2022
STILLWATER – Oklahoma State is still working on trying to hone in its defensive unit after losing so much talent and leadership from the 2021 team, specifically the back end. The Pokes return just one start in the safety room, Jason Taylor II, while having to replace Tanner McCalister, Kolby Harvell-Peel and Tre Sterling.
The safeties learned a lot during the season opener against Central Michigan, but you could definitely see the growing pains and miscommunication at times, something that redshirt senior safety Sean Michael Flanagan mentioned during Tuesday’s player availability.
He spoke about how the communication was lacking in the second half, but that things were solid in the first half. I mean, the Pokes were up 44-15 going into the half.
But there’s going to be growing pains and miscommunications throughout the season, that’s just what happens when you lose so much experience and talent. Just going off the tackle numbers, the Pokes lost 519 total tackles from last year’s squad.
However, a guy who played in the same room as Tanner McCalister, Kolby Harvell-Peel and Tre Sterling the past four years has emerged as a vocal leader on the back end: Sean Michael Flanagan.
“I feel ready to give [leadership],” said redshirt senior Sean Michael Flanagan. “I’ve been here for five years, so I’ve gotten to watch great leaders, you know, Tre [Sterling], Kolby [Harvell-Peel], Tanner [McCalister], Jarrick [Bernard-Converse]. I’ve gotten to watch all those guys and learn how to be a decent leader. So, I’m ready to take on that role.”
Flanagan played in all 14 games this last season, mostly on special teams, but has seen action in nearly every game the Pokes have played since his redshirt freshman season in 2019. He played in 35 games the last three seasons and recorded 24 total tackles. Flanagan was solid this past week against Central Michigan as he recorded four total tackles, one of which was a solo stop, and one pass break up.
Something we’ve talked a lot about on this website and on Triple Play Sports Radio is the potential on the defense. We saw that potential quite a bit on Thursday, but as Flanagan said, the communication was lacking. There’s a lot of years on the back end with Flanagan and Thomas Harper, but not a lot of safety experience, just like with redshirt freshman Kendal Daniels as well.
But with all the years on the back end, along with Jason Taylor II, I believe we’ll start to see more and more of the potential show throughout the season. Will it all show up against Arizona State and remain throughout every game? No, probably not, but there’s also probably not going to be too many performances like we saw in the second half of the Central Michigan game.