University of North Carolina Athletics
Droschak: Jason Brown Worth Rooting For
April 20, 2005 | Football
April 20, 2005
by David Droschak, TarHeelBlue.com
CHAPEL HILL -
Need somebody to root for during ESPN's exhaustive NFL Draft coverage this weekend?I've got your guy.
Root for North Carolina center Jason Brown to go high on the first day. Root for him to get on a winning team. Root for him to find a perfect fit that will result in a long professional career.
I'll certainly be rooting for Brown on Saturday.
"If I go anywhere on the first day it's a blessing," Brown said. "I know that the first contract is not the most important contract, it's that second contract."
If I had to pick a favorite football player to talk with over the last few seasons at UNC it was Brown - hands down. He was honest, personable, forthright and just an all-around standup guy.
He also had plenty to say.
Those qualities are rare in athletes these days.
I remember like it was yesterday the opening game of the 2002 season, a stunning 27-21 loss to Miami of Ohio, a game in which Brown, playing center for the first time in his career, was involved in three fumbled exchanges with QB Darian Durant.
I remember Brown coming in to talk to the media about his miscues. I could feel the pain in every answer to every probing question. Still, Brown stood tall for 15 minutes, until every last question was hurled his way.
"You guys didn't make it any easier," Brown said. "I just wanted to work on it the next week."
You see, Brown isn't about ducking challenges; he's about tackling them head on.
His entire career at UNC turned out to be one big challenge after another.
Brown endured 3-9 and 2-10 seasons -- and the criticism and scrutiny that comes with losing -- survived a position change and showed courage during the death of his older brother in Iraq.
"My sophomore and junior years, wow those two seasons were enough to test anyone," Brown said. "But before I came to North Carolina I knew this was a great place. Come on, look at the academics, the athletics and the social life. I still met my wife when I was in college and got married at the age of 20. I suffered through two losing seasons here, but I wouldn't change it for the world.
"You learn more by your losses, more by suffering, the trials and tribulations, than if I was on a championship team four years in a row."
Brown grew up on a farm in Henderson, grew up on fatback, eggs and biscuits.
Much of Brown's tremendous lower body strength was developed by pushing a lawn mower for hours up and down hills on the 45-acre farm.
Even before Brown arrived at Carolina he proclaimed he would break every record in the weight room. For the record, he did.
There were even times the UNC coaching staff worried Brown was pushing the envelope too far and would hurt himself. That's how much he was pushing for that extra edge against defenders.
On the field, Brown became a leader, a rock on UNC's offensive line. By his senior season, he was one of the nation's best centers.
"He rarely got himself in a bad position, and if he did he recovered so quickly," said offensive line coach Hal Hunter. "And I've never seem a guy at this size stay on his feet so well. He never gets knocked down."
Brown did get knocked down when his older brother Lunsford was killed during the war. However, the 313-pound center didn't take long to pick himself up, actually playing against N.C. State the day before the funeral.
He wore his brother's dog tags during games at UNC, and will do the same in the NFL.
Talking to NFL scouts, many say Brown did as well in the interview room as he did on the field at the professional combine, a virtual meat market where teams pick, probe and prod at the physical and mental side of potential picks.
Brown approached the process last month with the same positive attitude and energy we've all grown accustomed to seeing from the hulking lineman.
"I'm a decent athlete, but there are a lot of guys who put up much better numbers than I did at the combine," Brown said. "But when I talked to those coaches one-on-one, when they talked to me about my game film, they were wowed by my football ability. That's what it comes down to: whether you can play football or not."
Brown can play football. And he's not too bad at the game of life, either.
David Droschak is the former sports editor for the North Carolina bureaus of the Associated Press, the largest news-gathering organization in the world. In 2003, Droschak was named the North Carolina Sportswriter of the Year. He currently works in public relations at Robbins & Associates International, based in Cary.
