High School football practice gets underway this Monday. Football Friday, 1st & 10-The Highlight Show and Friday Football Extra will be back and a part of our Friday nights before we know it. With that being said, I decided to talk to Andrew Brown of Jefferson Forest. Brown is listed as a top 50 prospect by Virginia Preps and will be making a decision soon about what college he will attend next year. We spoke about that upcoming decision, the upcoming season and more.
Bob Alvis: Before we get into talking about the upcoming season, let's talk a little about your future. You are a top 50 prospect for 2010 according to Virginia Preps, you are in the running for the Titan Trophy (given to Central Virginia's best rising senior). When your football career started in high school, did you ever imagine that you'd be at this point headed into your senior year?
Andrew Brown: I had no idea, people always told me when I was younger that I shouldn't take football so seriously and just have fun because I wouldn’t go to the next level. I had a dream ever since middle school ball to play college football and it looks like its finally coming true. My parents and Coach Rice told me when I was younger that if I wanted it bad enough, I could do it, I just needed to put the work into it. Ever since that day I was in the weight room and on the track working everyday trying to achieve my personal goal. I am just grateful that I’ve received all this support and my hard work has finally seemed to pay off.
BA: Talking about the recruitment process, what type of school is a good fit for you? What types of things are you looking for outside of the football program.
AB: Academics have definitely been a major issue for me. I have always taken my school work very seriously, as I was accepted and currently attend Central Virginia Regional Governor’s School. I also have been on the honor roll every year I have attended Jefferson Forest. When I first realized that I had the potential to play college football, my Dad and I made of list of great academic schools from around the area that I would visit. I am either looking to major in business or nuclear engineering.
BA: When do you plan on making your decision of where you will be attending and what schools are on that short list?
AB: I plan on making my decision as soon as possible. I have narrowed my college selection down to University of Richmond, the Naval Academy, and Liberty University. I have received full football scholarships to all three schools and I have great relationships with all three coaching staffs. I am planning to make my decision in the next week or so.
BA: Why is it important to you to commit to a school before the season begins?
AB: I have taken a lot of time to visit all three of these schools, and I believe I have enough information to make an educated decision. I would like to make the decision before the season begins so that I can focus on my senior season. Also, I don't want it to become a distraction for my teammates so that we can focus on the big goal at the end of the road.
BA: Talk about your summer. It seemed like back in the day a lot of guys just lifted during the off-season but now there are all types of camps and everything else going during the summer, what has your summer looked like?
AB: We had great numbers at weekly work outs, which was great as you could see the great improvement in our team’s size and speed at the end of the season. I have camped at about 5 different schools which included my top college choices. I thought the camps were a great tool in helping me decide where I want to play football. My summer has been busy but it’s also been a lot of fun.
BA: Practice starts on Monday for most schools in the state. Be a reporter and preview your team for me this season.
AB: Coming into this season we are going to be very strong on both sides of the ball and very deep in most positions as well. Our offense is switching from the traditional Power I to the Spread offense. Our quarterback, Hunter Hannell, is very experienced and will have the chance to throw the ball a lot more than in the past. Our wide receivers are almost all seniors and are very experienced. Our running back, Rashad Hall, is one of the fastest running backs in the state(4.3 40). Our offensive line is young, but we have incredible size and speed. Our offense should put up great numbers. Our defense is incredibly talented this year as our linebacker core is one of the best in the state. Our two outside linebackers are returning seniors in our 4-3 defensive except our middle linebacker, Tyler Rosser, who I will replace in the middle as I move from defensive end. Our defensive line is young, but very athletic and our secondary is very experienced. We are underrated coming into this season. We have the weapons this year to return to the Region finals and advance to states.
BA: Your coach Don Rice is one of my favorite coaches to interview because he is always straight forward and doesn't sugar coat things. Does he carry that quality over to the field? What type of coach is Coach Rice to play for and what do you like about the man?
AB: Coach Rice is a great coach. Being a former marine, he makes his practices like boot camp. It forces us to become brothers on the field, as we learn to respect each other and our coaches. I have a high level of respect for the whole coaching staff at Jefferson Forest and I believe that is due to Coach Rice.
BA: Full disclosure, I was a student manager at Jefferson Forest when I was in high school, there is a lot of tradition at Jefferson Forest, especially on the defensive side of the ball. How important do you think it is that the players know the tradition and how important is it to uphold it?
AB: Everyone who lives in Forest knows, if you’re a football player in the Jefferson Forest football program, you are a hard nose kid and you will never back down to anything. Saying that, I don’t think we really think about the tradition, we just live it. If our coaches believe you can start on our defense, they know you will keep the tradition alive. I personally believe due to our defensive mentality that we will always be a dominating force on defense as long as that mentality stays alive.
BA: Who is someone from your team and from around the area (maybe a guy that you have seen at camps or something) that you expect to have a big season and why do you think they will have a big season?
AB: I am excited to see how Mike Rocco (LCA Quarterback and Lousiville commitment) does this year. We keep in touch and he is a great kid from a great family over there at LCA. I am glad my defense doesn’t have to face him. Mike is a very talented quarterback who surprises people not only with his arm but his overall athleticism as he shows it off on the defensive side of the ball playing safety. I’m excited to see how well he does.
BA: Year in and year out the Seminole District is a very strong league, how important is it to win those non-district games to have a strong case for the playoffs? Especially, when there's a chance with such a strong league that everyone could have a slip in district play.
AB: Non-district games are very important and they are must wins for our football team this year. Not necessarily in a sense of playoffs, but they are very important in order to prepare us for the Seminole district this year. We are going for it all or nothing this year, and we are preparing to win every Seminole district game this year in order to prepare us for the playoffs.
BA: Final question and I look forward to communicating with you throughout the season, define a successful season for yourself, and then a successful season for the Jefferson Forest Cavaliers.
AB: I believe all-state linebacker is my personal goal. Then, as a team nothing but a state championship will define a successful season. We have the potential to be dominant this year.
We look forward to keeping up with Andrew all season long through the blog and his podcast, and we look forward to hear his college choice when he decides it.
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