Friday, August 10, 2001
[ UH FOOTBALL ]
The Middle Man THE personal, physical battle of big man against big man runs through Chris Brown's blood, even more than it does for most football players. He is a relative of Chad Rowan, or Akebono, the towering sumo champion from Hawaii.
UH's Chris Brown
prepares for the move to
middle linebackerBy Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.com
Still, Brown would rather crush running backs than go hand-to-hand with offensive linemen.
Some say the essence of football is the hundreds of little wars between the giants at the line. But linebackers have more fun. When they make a hit, everyone sees it.
Not that he has a problem with the grunt work up front. Brown did it all last season at defensive end for the University of Hawaii football team, well enough to be named Western Athletic Conference honorable mention.
But the 6-foot-1, 256-pound junior from Kahaluu feels he is ready to be the man in the middle, the high-profile fulcrum of the Warriors' defense at inside linebacker.
Everyone knows Brown is strong enough and that he is a leader. But is he fast enough to track down ballcarriers and cover receivers?
"I feel quicker than ever right now," Brown says. "During the spring when we were tested for agility I was third fastest side-to-side on the team. In the shuttle run I was third. Only (receiver) Ashley Lelie and (safety) Nate Jackson beat me."
And he will get that chance. Brown has climbed his way out of the trenches. He heads into fall camp as the coaches' first choice to be the heart of a defense that often looked in need of a transplant a year ago.
He's strong enough to play anywhere, in any league; earlier this week, Brown bench-pressed 225 pounds 42 times. UH strength coach Mel deLaura said it is a team record, and more than most players do at the NFL combine.
That bodes well for Brown's future as a professional.
"It becomes a game of genetics," said Brown's father, Chris Sr. "I told him his size wouldn't be at the top of the list at defensive end, but at linebacker he could be a prototype. He can learn it this year and be polished next year."
But Brown's increasing strength could put him back on the line this fall at UH. If he gets much stronger, much bulkier, the coaches might see him as more of an asset as a pass rusher and lane clogger than run stopper.
Brown's hard work could curtail his personal goals.
"He'd better watch out. If he gets too strong he'll be back on the D-line," deLaura said, half-jokingly.
Defensive coordinator Kevin Lempa hopes Brown is up to the challenge.
"Chris has worked real hard on speed and quickness," Lempa said. "He doesn't have to get bigger, he's strong enough. He has to worry about reads and pass coverage. He's smart and that will help him."
Part of it is a numbers game.
"There are five or six guys lined up there," UH head coach June Jones said of the one inside linebacker spot.
In particular, the coaches like 5-11, 238-pound junior Donny Faaliliu. And with Lui Fuga's banged-up shoulders and Isaac Sapoaga's unavailability due to academics causing shifts on the line, Brown might be needed there.
But he will get his chance in the spotlight.
"He's a great kid. He gives you 110 percent," Jones said. "He's got to prove he can play at linebacker."
Brown has always been about proving himself.
He was originally recruited by former UH head coach Fred vonAppen.
"But I had a rough time with the SATs and coach vonAppen sent me to Leeward (Community College)," he said.
With Jones and a new staff arriving in 1999, it would have been easy for Brown to become a forgotten man. But he got his academics in order and became one of Jones' first recruits.
Brown starred at Damien Memorial High School. The controversy this summer over Damien deciding to forfeit against St. Louis rather than play it twice still bothers him, especially since the Monarchs battled the Crusaders hard before losing 49-31 during Brown's senior season.
"Personally, I wish the whole thing never happened. That game is so important for Damien," he said. "That was the game we got most pumped up for. We knew the scouts were watching. If we showed we could play with the big boys, we could get scholarships. When I was being recruited by UH, that was the game they wanted to see, and I had my best game."
He's proven worthy of the scholarship and his starting position.
Now Chris Brown wants to show he belongs in the middle of the Warrior defense, that he can be the leader, the heart, the hit man. And that he has the speed.
He did it in spring drills and in the weight room.
But the real proving begins next week.
Notes:
The first practice of the entire team is Thursday, 7:30-9:30 p.m. at Cooke Field. It is open to the public. ... Players will wear helmets and shoulder pads for next week's practices. They will be in full-gear beginning Aug. 20. ... Linebacker recruit Tyrone Brown will not play this fall. He is a partial-qualifier under NCAA rules and can regain the lost year of eligibility. ... Sports Illustrated ranks Hawaii 84th out of 117 Division IA teams. ... Montana, Hawaii's season-opening opponent Sept. 8 on Maui, is ranked No. 2 in the nation in the USA Today Division I-AA coaches' poll released yesterday. ... Defending national champion Georgia Southern, coached by former UH offensive coordinator Paul Johnson, is ranked No. 1.
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