No longer a lost soul

[TheTodd]

Jeremy Brown was once lost but now he has been found – in the Florida secondary, competing for a job at cornerback as a freshman.

When Brown enrolled early after leading Orlando Boone to a state championship last fall, he had trouble finding his way around Florida’s huge campus as well as finding his way on the football field, where his experiences in high school were no match for the intensity of the Gators’ spring practices.

“The speed level shocked me,” Brown said. “Our first practices we were just getting used to it. Now it’s not as fast as it was for me. Things have slowed down and I’ve learned the playbook. I have been in my playbook all the time.”

Brown spent a great deal of time last semester in the cafeteria as a member of “The Breakfast Club.” The program is for underweight football players like Brown, who weighed 159 pounds when he got to campus in January.

“Oh, man, they were feeding us a lot. We know all the lunch ladies now! They know me pretty well for sure!” said Brown, who headed in fall two-a-days weighing 178 pounds. Florida coach Urban Meyer is now singing his praises.

“Jeremy Brown and Janoris Jenkins will be very hard to keep off the field,” said Meyer of his two freshman contributors. “The two corners are going to be hard to keep off the field.”

Those are words Brown knows he wouldn’t have heard if he wasn’t on campus in January. His responsibilities in high school were much simpler. Brown would line up on one side of the field and be in charge of making sure no passes were completed. It seems like a high level of expectation for a single player, but Brown did well shutting down opposing wide receivers.

The defensive talent he is surrounded with in Gainesville makes Brown’s job easier. The defensive schemes are all new, so Brown, who is an excellent student in the classroom and on the field, has found his nose in more books that he expected.

“The different plays and coverages have been tough to get used to,” Brown said. “They throw a lot at us. For us to stay humble and calm so that we don’t panic in certain situations is the key. It’s all coming to us.”

The cornerback position, a big concern last fall because of a shortage of bodies, is now a strength. New position coach Vance Bedford is grateful for what Brown and Jenkins have brought to the secondary, but he wants to make sure the hype around them isn’t higher than it should be.

“They’re getting better with technique, but they’re still freshmen,” Bedford said. “I tell all our young guys it’s like when they’re in ninth grade. If they expect to come in here and be a starter, it’s no different than being in ninth grade and thinking that. If you come in and compete, who knows what might happen?”

Competing isn’t an issue for Brown. He saw a Florida secondary which needed playmakers and decided to be a Gator. Now the accolades he gets from the coaching staff do nothing but fuel him.

“That’s definitely what I expected coming in,” Brown said. “I’ve always had that mentality. I love to work hard and compete. When I heard coach Meyer say that (I would be tough to keep off the field), I just knew that I had to keep working hard. I want to find a spot on the field.”

That swagger comes to mind with Brown. He is humble and not overly arrogant about his abilities, but he knows that he can make plays and will do so when given the chance.

“He has done a tremendous job,” Bedford said. “He’s an extremely hard working guy with the opportunity to come in and compete for playing time. I think he’s ultimately made the older guys better because of how he works. He’s a confident man who believes in his abilities.”

Defensive coordinator Charlie Strong isn’t afraid to play a freshman if he is the best player. “This is what I tell our upperclassmen,” Strong said. “‘If a freshman comes in and plays, it’s your fault.