North Carolina State University Athletics
Senior Spotlight: WR NaQuan Brown
9/30/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
RALEIGH, N.C. - Throughout his collegiate career, senior wide receiver NaQuan Brown of the NC State football team has learned the definition of hard work. Now, Brown is reaping the benefits of his hard work in his first season with the Wolfpack.
A native of Charlotte, N.C., Brown's journey to NC State is one that required hard work and perseverance. Two attributes the receiver says he will take for the rest of his life.
"This is my first time playing college football and I went through a lot to get here," Brown said.
Brown first played high school football for Charlotte's West Mecklenburg High School during his junior season, where he was a backup quarterback for the team. Before his senior season, Brown made a position switch to wide receiver and found instant success making the All-MEGA 7 Conference Team.
After high school, Brown attended community college to get his grades up in hopes of making it to big-time Division I college football. In 2012, Brown seemed to get his big break that he had been dreaming for his entire life. He transferred to West Virginia and made the team out of fall camp, hopeful to play with current New York Jets quarterback and former West Virginia signal caller Geno Smith.
"I went to West Virginia because I felt good about it," Brown said. "I knew a lot of people there, so I thought I could contribute to the team."
However, Brown once again had to sit out for the season in order to earn his Associate's Degree.
Brown enrolled at NC State in the spring of 2013, where wide receivers coach Frisman Jackson gave him the opportunity to try out for the team. The senior impressed the coaches enough to be invited back for fall tryouts and make the final roster.
"I had to work extremely hard and try out to make the team," Brown said. "Coach Jackson gave me a chance and I was able to take advantage of the opportunity."
Earlier in the season, during the Wolfpack's first game of the 2014 season against Georgia Southern Brown's goal of playing college football at the highest level was finally realized. He was given the opportunity from the coaches to play on the special teams unit.
"I was able to get some playing time to get my feet wet and get a little bit of experience," Brown said.
Brown's opportunity to run out of the tunnel of Carter-Finley Stadium is also a dream come true. The Charlotte native says it's an indescribable feeling that you get an adrenaline rush from and is addictive.
"Every time we have a game at home, I thank God that I'm here," said Brown. "When that steam comes up and we're about to run out onto the field, I feel like a different person. I love that feeling."
Brown has continued his relentless work ethic since making the team as a player on the scout team out of fall camp. He has been able to work his way up the depth chart and onto the Wolfpack travel squad.
"I started out as a walk-on on the scout team and I had to put in the hard work and effort to be apart of the travel squad," Brown said.
This season, the wide receiver group is one of the youngest position groups on the Pack's roster, as the position is currently comprised of 10 players that are freshmen, redshirt freshmen or sophomores. Brown is one of just three seniors that plays the position for the Wolfpack.
Although the wide receiver core is young, Brown says the group as a whole has been able to develop and sharpen skills over the summer, as the depth of the position has become a strength for the NC State offense.
"Hats off to Coach Jackson," Brown said. "He's the one that's gotten us to this point, motivated us and helped us develop. It's fun to see everybody working so hard and laying it all out on the field each and every day."
Brown says that one of the reasons he chose to come to NC State is many of former Wolfpack players starring in the National Football League [NFL]. He grew up watching the likes of Philip Rivers, Mario Williams and Stephen Tulloch play at Carter-Finley Stadium on fall Saturdays and dreamed of the opportunity to one-day play football at NC State.
"I came here because of some of the guys that went on to play in the NFL, it just builds that confidence," Brown said. "That really gave me the great positive energy about State.
"NC State was the school that I always wanted to go to when I was little and have the chance to play football."
Now that Brown is at State, he's trying to soak in as much as he can about life on the football team.
"I'm going to remember everything about this," Brown said. "From everyday in practice, to the work we put in throughout the summer, to the first game that I played in. This whole experience means a lot to me."
Brown is planning to graduate in May with a degree in sports management and business with a minor in meteorology. According to Brown, he chose sports management as a major because he's interested in one day getting involved in the game as a coach on the youth level. As for his minor, Brown says his interest in the weather is the reason he chose to study meteorology.
"The biggest achievement for me would be able to graduate with a 3.0 GPA or higher," Brown said. "That's what I'm working towards and that would be special to me."
In the meantime, Brown is just trying to savor every moment he has to be apart of the 2014 Wolfpack, as he continues to put in the hard work that has gotten him this far.
"I've been able to learn a lot so far and I'm still learning," Brown said. "I'm working hard to get better each and every day."
