University of North Carolina Athletics
THM: Brown One Of The Good Guys
September 25, 2007 | Football
Sept. 25, 2007
Tar Heel Monthly is the premier magazine devoted to the stories and personalities behind UNC athletics and is one of the only full-color, all-glossy college sports publications in the country. Click here for subscription details.
The following story originally ran in the October 2007 issue of the magazine.
By Anna Katherine Clemmons
Looking back, this wasn't the best summer for sports. So much negative press--Michael Vick and dog-fighting, Bonds and steroids--made the good stories hard to find. Where were the athletes who played fair, worked hard and still found ways to give back?
Former Tar Heel Jason Brown is one of those athletes. So perhaps his story deserves a little limelight, too.
Brown was first profiled in THM in 2004. You may remember his humorous story of meeting and marrying his Duke sweetheart, Tay, who's currently enrolled at UNC Dental School. Or his candid details about being raised on a rural Henderson farm, where his childhood taught him the value of hard work and integrity. Or his emotional remembrance of the night he learned that he'd lost his brother, Deucey, in the Iraq War. Brown still keeps his brother's dog tags, a daily reminder of life's fragility.
In fact, the 6-3, 320-lb. man carries all of this onto the football field. In his first two years, he worked toward a starting guard spot for the Baltimore Ravens, starting 12 games last season. Now, beginning his third year as a pro, he's entrenched as Baltimore's starting left guard.
For an NFL player, moving from the starting line to a new position is pretty much like being laid off as VP and starting in the mailroom. So does Brown pull a Terrell Owens and whine over his mandatory switch? Does he mimic Brady Quinn and no-show at camp until he gets his way? No. Because this is a man who considers each day a blessing, a man who takes nothing for granted.
"In a game of unpredictability, you always have to be grounded in something," Brown says. "You never know when you'll be hurt, or have played your last play. Faith is so important for me to be grounded." His faith is not just trusting that God has a plan for him, but believing in the coaches and teammates that have brought him this far.
"I can be called to play either center or right guard--wherever," Brown says. "A couple of games last year, they thought they might have to put me at right tackle, and that's after me not taking a snap at right tackle since my freshman year. So you've always got to be ready."
Brown's willingness to do whatever is necessary hasn't gone unnoticed by coaches or teammates. "Jason has been working since he's been here," offensive line coach Chris Foerster says. "He's done it before, and we feel very comfortable with him doing it again."
Teammate Adam Terry remembers a game last year when he first realized Brown's intense dedication. "We were playing Pittsburgh, and Jason rolled his ankle early in the game," Terry says. "But he persevered through it and came back the next play. That just shows his heart and love for football."
Which isn't to say that his on-field intensity doesn't mean Brown won't joke around with his teammates. The guy known as J'Bama at UNC says "my nickname is Jing-a-Ling." Come again? "The guys call me that because I have a short, stocky build and it's from the movie Life," Brown says. After a pause Jing-a-Ling adds, "I can't believe I just shared that with you." And he laughs.
Though the Ravens offense struggled at times last season under assistant new offensive line coach Greg Roman, they hope that some key offseason acquisitions as well as the play of veteran O-linemen Jonathan Ogden and kicker Matt Stover will bolster the team's record this season.
"As a coach, you're always looking for any kind of progression and development, and that's something Jason has done consistently," Roman says. "He's improved in every area which leads to him being very productive."
Productivity is something Brown seeks off the field as well, into the community. Baltimore houses many impoverished and low-income areas, yet Brown realizes that part of his role as a pro athlete is to help those around him. He worked extensively last year with Habitat for Humanity, United Way and spoke at numerous seminars for middle and high school students. He also travels home to Henderson, N.C. to speak with the community.
"I love being back home, near the farm," Brown says. His summers are also spent, in part, in Chapel Hill. "In the offseason, we encourage guys to come back and work out at UNC," Brown says. "Tommy Davis, Willie Parker, David Thornton--we want to give the younger guys at Carolina some encouragement and show them that even though we've made the NFL, we're still working just as hard as ever before."
So whether he's in Chapel Hill, Henderson, or Baltimore, Brown appreciates every day of his surroundings--and all that football has brought into his life. "It's still mind-boggling how many doors football's opened for me and that's why I still give this game everything I possibly have," Brown says. "It's a love-hate relationship. I don't always love football. But my respect for the game and what it's given my family lasts more than anything else."
