When SMU head coach June Jones announced the SMU Mustangs’ 2011 recruiting class last week, there was an unexpected name on the list of recruits. Along with 27 scholarship athletes, the school also announced a commitment from wide receiver Caldwell Flores, of St. John’s School in Houston.

Caldwell Flores will move from running back to wide receiver at SMU (photo by Flores family).

If the name sounded unfamiliar on Signing Day, that’s understandable. Flores and the Mavericks play in the Southwest Preparatory Conference, a league of private schools in Texas and Oklahoma that doesn’t get confused with 5A or 4A football. Another reason the walk-on wideout is a somewhat anonymous addition to the SMU team: he didn’t play receiver.

“I went to some camps last summer — including SMU’s camp — as a receiver, and I guess I did pretty well,” Flores said. “But we don’t throw the ball, almost at all, because we run the veer offense.

So to get the ball in his hands, Flores was moved to running back, where he rushed 133 times for 995 yards (7.48 yards per carry and 99.5 yards per game), and got loose for a season-long run of 69 yards and ended the season by earning honorable mention All-SPC honors. He also caught two passes for 11 yards each, reaching the end zone once. A former defensive end who also played on special teams, his value to the offense convinced St. John’s head coach Steve Gleaves to play him only at running back in his senior season.

At St. John’s, Flores was more of a power back than a speed back. At 6-2 and 210 pounds, Flores admits to having “not done much speed work” in his training, but pledges to work between now and his arrival at SMU to shave a little time off his 4.68 40-yard dash time.

A dual-sport athlete who also plays lacrosse for St. John’s, Flores connected with SMU before attending the team’s camp; his sister, Olivia, is a sophomore, and has hosted her brother on visits to the campus. He then attended five football camps last summer. In addition to SMU, he hit Duke, Yale, LSU and Texas. , SMU, Duke and LSU offered him preferred walk-on status, but Flores ended up committing to play for Yale.

“Yale is obviously a great school, but I felt like I was being talked around and pushed around,” Flores said. “They kept saying, ‘we’ve got this other guy, too … let’s see how that works out.’

The versatile Flores also played lacrosse in high school (photo by Flores family).

“(Wide receivers) Coach (Jeff) Reinebold recruited me for SMU. He told me SMU didn’t want to wait around for anyone else. He said ‘we’ll take you right now.’ SMU really wanted me, and having my sister there really helped. I’ll have someone there I know.”

Flores said that he is not sure exactly how the Mustang coaches plan to use him, although he and Reinebold did discuss a role as a slot receiver.

“We talked about having me play slot receiver, but they have a lot of receiver recruits, too,” Flores said. “Coach Reinebold also talked about the tight end package they have, so maybe that’s what they’ll do with me. I’m really not sure. I know I’m not a big deep threat, but I don’t mind bodying up on linebackers. At my size, I don’t mind contact. I’m pretty good in space, and I have alright hands — although that’s something every receiver can work on — so maybe they look at me as a kind of tight end.

“I’m pretty sure I’m still growing, too. My dad is about 6-foot-1-ish, and all the guys on my mom’s side of the family are 6-4 or 6-5. I think I’ve got the perfect mix of genes, and that I’m definitely going to get taller and stronger.”

Flores also acknowledged that the distance from his family and the thought of enduring New England winters also factored into his decision to switch his commitment from Yale to SMU. When he compared the football programs at each school, Flores said there is no comparison.

“Compared to Yale, the SMU program is such a notch above,” he said. “As a player, especially as a wide receiver, there’s nowhere else you want to go if you have a chance to play for June Jones and SMU.”