Signing a football scholarship was something Andrew Brown said he just never saw himself doing.
Basketball? Yes. It was, after all, for most of his life his favorite and best sport. But football? No. Especially considering the fact he didn’t really start playing it until seventh grade.
So, unexpected, but then again also not surprising. “Me being athletic in everything,” he said prior to signing a Letter of Intent with LaGrange College. “Football just became my love.”
And it showed, said Head Coach Ryan Crawford.
“I’ve had a chance to watch him since ninth grade,” he said. “And he’s a guy who, everything we’ve asked him to do in our program … all of the little things … and he always did a great job.
“He’s maybe not always the most vocal guy, he’s quiet, but he led by example. He led by example.”
“I knew every day, from the time he stepped on campus here and from the time right now: If I asked him to do something, he would go full speed, 100 miles per hour. And that’s how he played the game.”
A two-year starter, Brown had 29 tackles his junior year. He had 55 his senior year, which was second most on the team.
“He went up against some great players.” Many of those, Crawford said, are now playing in Division I schools. “Andrew was thrown into the fire as a junior. He played some as a sophomore but really we took him on as DB in the secondary … He could have played receiver for us … But took that DB role for us and did everything we asked of him.”
He added: “Anything we needed Andrew to do, he did it. He never came off the field in special teams. And that’s for two years. And he was really a part of what we did in the secondary. And the kind of kid I really enjoy coaching, because he does everything you ask. And plays hard. And is physical.
“I’m excited for him. I hate to lose him because have to replace great players, but he’s a great young man. His family has done a great job of raising him. I’m excited for his future.”
As far as LaGrange, Brown said when he visited, it just felt like home “when I first set my foot” on the campus.
Coaches, he said, like the fact he is versatile, that he can play DB and safety as well.
“So they’ll move me around on the defense,” he said, and because he’s versatile: “That should help me get more playing time.”
He plans to major in exercise science but said that could change. “I’m still trying to find my way through it,” he said.
Whatever it is, one thing’s for sure. Just like football, he may not ever see himself doing it, but if it’s out there, it’s definitely within reach.
