With less than a week remaining until National Signing Day, Florida Atlantic continues to boost its number of commitments.
Good first impression
FAU receives commitment from California linebacker who hadn't heard of the school until recently.
Originally published on
1/26/2012
by
Chuck King
Less than a month ago one of Florida Atlantic's most recent commitments hadn't ever heard of the school.
Who could blame him? FAU isn't exactly leading the news in California.
After taking a trip to Boca Raton last weekend, though, he is ready to call FAU home for the next few years.
“I looked it up on the internet. I saw the stadium and how the ocean was right behind the stadium,” Rancho Verde (Calif.) linebacker Blair Brown said.
His thoughts after the trip?
“I did a verbal (commitment),” Brown said. “I just liked the whole environment. It felt real welcoming.”
So how did Brown ever hear about the Owls? That goes back to a Carl Pelini connection.
The new head coach of FAU recruited California while serving as the defensive coordinator for Nebraska.
Current Cornhuskers Quincy Enunwa and Eric Martin both played at Rancho Verde. Brown said Pelini was looking at a different Rancho Verde player a few months ago when he caught the coach's attention. Once Pelini settled into his new job at FAU, he began calling on some of his old contacts.
A 6-foot, 218-pound linebacker, Brown was a two-year starter for a team that went 27-1 during that period, earning the California Interscholastic Federation Central Division Defensive Player of the Year award as a senior.
“He's a nasty dude on the field. He's very nice, fun loving, off the field” Rancho Verde coach Pete Duffy said. “He's a very, very physical, fast, aggressive kid.”
Several Pac-12 schools and Indiana were showing interest in Brown, but only Fresno and UTEP had standing offers prior to his trip to Florida.
During that visit, Brown found himself to be somewhat of a novelty.
“Everybody was asking about me coming all the way from California,” Brown said with a laugh. “They usually don't see California people, I guess.”
Brown said his recruitment is closed. He doesn't plan on taking another visit this weekend, opting instead to try to improve his SAT score by taking Saturday's test.
FAU does list one other Californian on its football roster. Quarterback Graham Wilbert played at Valencia.