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OCTOBER 2022 5 cavalier sports getting to know Graduate Student Offensive Guard John Paul Flores Flores, who transferred to UVA from Dartmouth, started at left guard in Virginia's season-opening 34-17 win over Richmond Sept. 3. (Photo by Matt Riley/courtesy UVA) J ohn Paul Flores' journey has taken him from his hometown of Arlington, Texas, to the Ivy League and now, to the Atlantic Coast Conference. Flores, a versatile offensive lineman, transferred to UVA after graduating from Dartmouth College in June. He added much-needed experience to a line that lost all of its 2021 starters. "The thing that I love about him the most is his desire to be good, and he's very conscientious," said Garett Tujague, the Cavaliers' offensive line coach. Flores, who started at left guard in Virginia's season-opening 34-17 win over Richmond Sept. 3, spent the summer in Charlottesville. That helped him in his transition from an FCS program to an FBS team. "The strength staff this summer got me right," Flores said. "The coaching here has been great. There are just more resources." When he arrived on Grounds, Flores reconnected with defensive end Paul Akere, another graduate transfer. Akere played at Columbia University, one of Dartmouth's rivals in the Ivy League. Both Akere and Flores were named second-team All-Ivy last year. Dartmouth posted a 27-3 record and won two Ivy League titles during Flores' career at the Hanover, N.H., school. Flores played in only four games as a freshman in 2018 and thus retained that year of eligibility. The COVID-19 pandemic shut down Ivy League football in 2020, and so Flores came to UVA with two seasons of eligibility remaining. "That's a win-win for the University of Virginia and J.P.," Tujague said, "be- cause I think he can fine-tune his skill set to make himself valuable for the NFL." The Ivy League historically has not allowed graduate students to compete, but it relaxed its rules this year because of the pandemic. Flores could have returned to Dartmouth for a fifth year, but "the ultimate goal is to make it to the NFL," he said, "and I think playing FBS and playing at a Power Five school will give me better film." Flores, 23, earned a bachelor's degree in religion from Dartmouth. After entering the transfer portal, he trimmed the list of schools he was considering to two: UVA and Southern Methodist University, "and, honestly, I was kind of leaning towards SMU," Flores said. That changed after a dinner he had in Hanover with three members of the UVA staff: Fralin Family Head Football Coach Tony Elliott, offensive coordina- tor Des Kitchings and Tujague. Flores said he felt a strong spiritual connec- tion with Elliott and took it as a sign that he belonged at Virginia. At Dartmouth, Flores formed relationships that will help him once his play- ing days end, and he expects to do the same at UVA. "Furthering my career on and off the football field is a huge thing for me as well," he said. Flores is from a family of athletes. His parents played football and volley- ball, respectively, at what is now Texas A&M-Kingsville. His three brothers all played (or still play) college football. The oldest, Jacob, starred at Dartmouth and then spent a year on the Green Bay Packers' practice squad. Charlie played as a graduate transfer at SMU after finishing up at Columbia (where Akere was one of his teammates in 2018), and Michael is a senior offensive lineman at Dartmouth. (Their sister, Lysette, also has an Ivy League connec- tion. She has a master's degree from Harvard.) — Jeff White