North Carolina State University Athletics
TIM PEELER: Brown Proud to be a Student-Athlete
12/20/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 20, 2005
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH -- Late last week, Andre Brown was happier than when he rushed for 248 yards earlier this year in the Southern Mississippi game.
He was happier than when he scored a 65-yard touchdown on the second play of NC State's upset over eventual ACC-champion Florida State.
The 6-0, 232-pound freshman tailback was happier than when he finally won the Wolfpack starting job, beating out stiff competition with fellow freshman Toney Baker, sophomores Darrell Blackman and Bobby Washington and junior Reggie Davis.
That's because the only substantial goal Brown set for himself coming into the season was to make Academic All-ACC. So when he got his final grades for his first semester at NC State, he jumped around as if he had scored his sixth touchdown of the season. Brown's 3.35 grade point average earned him Dean's list honors, along with junior placekicker John Deraney.
"I am very happy because I showed the work ethic I needed and went out and accomplished my academic goals," Brown said. "It shows you get rewarded in the end. "And, after sitting out for a year, it was a big reward for me."
Brown was rated as one of the top running back prospects in the nation after he rushed for a state record 3,479 yards as a senior at Greenville (NC) Rose High School in 2003. He signed with NC State in February, 2004, but did not have the necessary grades and test scores for freshman eligibility under NCAA guidelines. So he spent a year at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va., to get his academics in order.
It was an embarrassing season of sitting out for Brown.
"I am not a dumb guy," he said. "I was a little lazy in high school, that's all. I didn't want to do the work. When I went to Hargrave, I felt like I failed, because I didn't go directly to college.
"When I got here, I went out and tackled my books hard, which paid off in the end."
That concentration on his books helped take his mind off the fact that early in the season he didn't get many reps in the crowded Wolfpack backfield. He had only 13 carries for 42 yards in State's first six games.
He eventually got his big chance against Southern Mississippi, taking over for Baker early in the second quarter. He then rushed for a remarkable 248 yards - only three off the school record set by Ted Brown in 1977 against Penn State - against USM, helping the Wolfpack to the first of four wins it had in the second half of the season.
"I am kind of proud I started out slow, because it built my character," said Brown, who wound up with a team-high 616 yards on 117 rushes this season. "It made me want to work harder, and it taught me some patience. It made me want to be more of a team player.
"I was trying not to stress about football, so I applied myself elsewhere, in academics, and it paid off.
"Now I am proud to say that I am student-athlete."
Brown isn't the only one: Wolfpack coach Chuck Amato was almost as happy has his young tailback.
"That shows the kind of young man he is," Amato said. "When a young man goes to prep school like he did, right away people put a stigma on him.
"But Andre came in here and went to work. He goes to class, uses the academic support staff, and he does what he is supposed to do. He studies hard."
Now, first-semester exams are over and the Wolfpack is getting ready to play in the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte on New Year's Eve. Brown is excited about his first post-season appearance, and the chance to play in another game this year. But he also has his sights set on next semester.
"Now, I have to get a 4.0," Brown said.
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
