North Carolina State University Athletics
TIM PEELER: Patience pays off for Brown
10/29/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 29, 2005
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH - NC State's offense was waiting for some kind of spark.
Wolfpack head coach Chuck Amato tried to give it a couple times this season, first by tinkering with his offensive backfield, then making a mid-season quarterback change.
Meanwhile, freshman Andre Brown waited.
He waited even though, like all the other running backs, he thought he could contribute. But Darrell Blackman won the starting job at the beginning of the season, and freshman Toney Baker nabbed it away from him against Eastern Kentucky. And there were other guys, like junior Reggie Davis and sophomore Bobby Washington, who wanted their chance to prove they could contribute to the offense.
And while it was frustrating to stay on the sidelines and wait, Brown took his coaches' advice.
"They kept telling me to be patient and my time would come," said Brown, the freshman from Greenville's Rose High School.
By the time Saturday's game against Southern Mississippi rolled around, Brown was getting antsy. He had only 13 attempts and 42 rushing yards in the four games in which he saw action.
The primary change Amato made for Saturday's Homecoming contest was switching from senior quarterback Jay Davis to junior Marcus Stone. In the first half, Stone struggled to make plays, hampered by poor field position, some dropped passes and a couple of nervous decisions.
By the time the first quarter was over, State had turned the ball over three times on a pair of fumbles and on a muffed punt. In the second quarter, there was another fumble that gave Brown his opportunity.
"Hold on to the ball," the coaching staff told Brown.
And he did. He also broke a few tackles, opening some eyes with a 41-yard run in the second quarter. It didn't lead to any points, but it earned Brown more time on the field.
But the offensive line, despite being down one starter (guard Kalani Heppe) and losing junior tackle Derek Morris for some time during the game, kept creating holes. They gave Stone plenty of time to throw the ball, and created holes that Brown said he "could've driven a tow-truck through."
In the second half, Brown kept running the ball well, getting an 8-yard run for a touchdown that cut Southern Misssissippi's lead in half. Then, with the Golden Eagles up 17-7, Brown broke three tackles on the line of scrimmage and broke free on a 61-yard touchdown jaunt that finally gave that long-awaited spark to the offense.
From that point forward, Stone settled down. Southern Miss had to be careful of Brown's rushing threat, which allowed Stone to connect on more of his passes. He led the team on a 52-yard drive in the fourth-quarter that culminated in a 3-yard touchdown pass to senior Brian Clark, Brown's roommate.
The defense, which held Southern Miss in check all day long, allowed only 246 yards in total offense and sacked the Golden Eagles' quarterback Dustin Almond five times. Four of those sacks were by junior Mario Williams, establishing a single-game school record.
And when the day was done, Brown had little idea what he had accomplished.
"Do you know how many yards you rushed for?" Brown was asked.
"Not really," he replied.
When told that it was 248 rushing yards, three yards away from what Ted Brown, the ACC's career rushing leader, had in 1977 against Penn State, Brown was genuinely shocked.
"I thought I barely broke 100," Brown said. "If I knew I would have only needed three yards to break the school record, I would have lunged forward a couple of times."
It was the first time in 12 games that a Wolfpack running back had topped the century mark. T.A. McLendon had 22 carries for 145 yards against Miami last season. It was the first time a Wolfpack back had topped 200 yards since Ray Robinson had 202 against Virginia in 1998.
"When I heard that he missed the school record by three yards," Amato said, "I said, that's OK, he has three more years.
"He'll have his opportunities."
Brown just has to continue to be patient.
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
