Sergio Brown article

[Rockne3d 0]

East's Brown makes name for self

BY TIM STABLEIN

STAFF WRITER

 

Picking up a program at one of the entrance gates wasn't going to be any help when it came to putting a name with the player wearing the No. 13 white road jersey last fall for the Proviso East football team.

 

The only people who were aware of the number belonging to Sergio Brown, who played both ways as a wide receiver and defensive back, were the Pirates and the coaches on the opposite sideline.

 

Brown, who wore No. 7 on his royal blue home jersey which was listed in the program, returned five interceptions for touchdowns last fall and was voted the 2004 defensive player of the year in the WSC Gold Division.

 

A tremendous season failed to generate any telephone calls or letters from college recruiters to express even lukewarm interest in the 6-foot-1, 185-pound Brown. Two possible reasons for the lack of interest after was a 2-7 record in 2004 and no head coach after Bo Flowers was dismissed two weeks after the season ended.

 

Oh yes, eventually another reason turned up which really turned college coaches off as far as recruiting Brown at either position. First-year Proviso East head coach Aaron Peppers did some detective work to answer his own curiosity over the lack of interest.

 

Peppers eventually located a website information sheet on Brown which listed his 40-yard time at 4.8 seconds - which was true three years ago. The current data of a 31-inch vertical leap, a 4.24 hand time in the 40 and a 23-foot mark in the long jump were no where to be found.

 

Peppers also worked quickly to piece together a 10-minute highlight tape on Brown and mailed copies to NIKE, Northwestern and Illinois.

 

"Myself and (assistant varsity coach) Terry Love were wondering why there were no calls (about Brown)," Peppers said. "I know Sergio was concerned about it, also. The conference coaches knew who he was. He runs like a gazelle and hits like a truck. He's the first one at weight lifting and the last one to leave, and it shows.

 

"I have a special love for Sergio Brown. If you had to pick somebody to date your daughter, this kid would be the one."

 

Once the tape arrived the telephone started ringing with scholarship offers from Illinois and Northwestern, and NIKE extended an invitation to a one-day camp at the University of Michigan (May 7).

 

Brown showed the stats were legit in Ann Arbor, including a 4.36 time in the 40.

 

"I had a good year, but nobody knew about me," said Brown, who will start his senior year in the fall. "College coaches don't come to Proviso East games unless we're playing Downers (Grove) South. They might see a Proviso East player while they're looking at the other team's players.

 

"I proved I could play at the NIKE camp and I might have opened some eyes. It's almost like I'm a celebrity now with all the attention. It was like I was getting an offer a day. It blew me away when I got a hand-written letter from Notre Dame. This is really something."

 

That isn't self promoting by Brown.

 

The proof is in the 22 scholarship offers currently on the table, including all Big 10 schools except Michigan and Ohio State, and the entire Mid-American Conference. Nebraska, New Mexico, Notre Dame, Kansas and UCLA are also in the picture.

 

"I don't really know yet (which schools are at the top of the list)," said Brown, who also had five receiving TDs a year ago and 60 tackles. "Eventually I'll sit down with my mom and coach, and go through everything. It's too early to even think about favorites. It's all happened so fast, I really haven't had a chance to think about any one school."

 

"Nebraska didn't want anybody else to even see the tape," Peppers said. "They offered on the spot. They could not understand why he was not on the radar.

 

"After the (NIKE) combine he just took off. Everybody was wondering who Sergio Brown was. He ran the 4.36 on soft turf in spikes everybody was complaining about. They noticed I was wearing a Proviso East shirt and said they would be in touch, and they weren't lying.

 

"You're talking about college football powerhouses. Right now he's wide open and listening to all offers. He'll take the five (official visits allowed by the NCAA), but that doesn't mean he will pick one of those schools. His brother (Nick) has a track scholarship to Illinois and he's been down there already on unofficial visits."

 

At this point college coaches see Brown more in the secondary rather than a receiver.

 

"At the NIKE camp I played more in the secondary," Brown said. "I like defensive back better. I like to sneak up and hit people."

 

At some point Brown may have to give up playing basketball or track at Proviso East and make a 100 percent commitment to the gridiron.

 

"I'm more focused on football right now, trying to get stronger and faster," Brown said. "I only go to basketball one or two times a week. I would like to play all three, but it might be tiresome."

 

Peppers said Brown will see most of his time on the defensive side of the football in the fall for the Pirates.

 

"I need him fresh to stop the other team," Peppers said.

[Guest Snatchy_McPants]

Man, I hope everything that people have been saying about his desire to play for the Irish is true. On a side note, did anyone else notice that on Lemming's Top 100, he was listed AHEAD of Steve Brown? That helps put Monday's proceedings behind me.

[Rockne3d 0]

On a side note, did anyone else notice that on Lemming's Top 100, he was listed AHEAD of Steve Brown? That helps put Monday's proceedings behind me.

 

couldn't help but notice that.