Flatt, a graduate of Cumberland High attended Austin Peay University on a Football scholarship, where he became the field general of the 1964 “rags-to-riches” Austin Peay football team, which went 8-1-1 after being only 1-9 the previous season. Flatt was named to the 1964 All-Ohio Valley Conference team as a defensive back, but was chosen by the OVC coaches as the Offensive Player of the Year.
Flatt was also named honorable mention All-American in 1963 and 1964. In 1971, Coach Flatt became the head football coach, athletic director and head of the math department at Brentwood Academy, where he became one of Tennessee’s all-time winningest high school football coaches. Coach Flatt has established Brentwood Academy as the most powerful program in TSSAA football history.