Post by elp525 on Sept 17, 2011 3:56:50 GMT -5
September 16, 2011
By Dave Hickman
The Charleston Gazette
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Today won't be Devon Brown's first trip to Byrd Stadium. It will just be his first time here playing for West Virginia.
The fifth-year senior receiver, who transferred from Wake Forest after graduating there in four years, was here to face Maryland twice as a Demon Deacon.
The first he'd rather forget. The second, well, he doesn't remember much about it anyway.
"I've played there twice,'' Brown said. "The first was my redshirt freshman year, and then I guess if you want to consider me playing there last year you can.''
Brown's first trip to Byrd Stadium, in 2008, resulted in a 26-0 Wake Forest loss. Brown had a 10-yard run, a 1-yard run and caught a pass for a 1-yard loss.
Still, that was more productive than last year's trip. That's when he suffered a concussion on the opening kickoff and watched Wake get hammered by the Terrapins 62-14.
"Let's just say the two times I've played there they weren't the kind of experiences I would like to have had,'' Brown said. "Hopefully this will be better.''
Indeed, Brown probably has a better chance for a successful day when No. 18 West Virginia (2-0) plays Maryland (1-0) today. The noon game will be televised by ESPNU.
For starters, his new team seems better built for success than his old one, which during his four seasons on campus went from 9-4 to 8-5 to 5-7 and finally 3-9 a year ago.
Brown also seems in a far better place to succeed at his craft, which is catching passes. Through West Virginia's first two games of the season he has eight receptions (second behind Tavon Austin and Ivan McCartney with nine each) for a team-leading 151 yards.
"Oh, yeah, I'm satisfied so far,'' Brown said. "I mean, we have two victories and I feel like I contributed in both. That's the most I can ask for.''
Well, Brown also seems to have what he wanted most when he left Wake Forest and elected to use his final year of eligibility in the offense Dana Holgorsen was installing at West Virginia. And that's an opportunity to cut loose a little bit.
Suffice it to say he would not have made the move a year ago. That's when West Virginia's offense looked eerily similar to the one he had been involved with for four years at Wake. Former Wake Forest assistant Jeff Mullen was WVU's offensive coordinator and the scheme was filled with short possession passes.
"We ran an offense like the one Coach Mullen ran here, and I was like the Jock [Sanders] in that offense,'' Brown said. "We ran little bubble screens and little underneath routes and all that. I never ran many deep routes at all when I was at Wake.''
If it sounds like Brown was frustrated with his time at Wake Forest, well, that's probably true. As a redshirt freshman he caught 10 passes and averaged 13.4 yards per catch. Not a bad start.
Then as a sophomore he caught 61 passes, but his average per catch went down to 11 yards. And then as a junior last season he caught 39 passes and his average per catch fell all the way to 7.7 yards.
Shoot, he averaged more per punt return (8.2 yards) than per catch, and nearly as much on his 18 rushes (7.4 yards).
"This offense is a lot different,'' said Brown, who is averaging 18.9 yards on his catches this season. "I can use my speed and run deep routes and it frees you up. That's helped me a lot.''
He's helped West Virginia, too, joining a receiving corps that has only a few veterans.
"You can definitely tell he's been through it all before,'' said WVU quarterback Geno Smith. "He came in and he wasn't really asking questions. He'd observe and then jump right in and do what he had to do.
"He brings a tremendous amount of versatility. He's a tough guy in the slot. He's small and he can weave in and out of traffic, he can go deep, he has really good hands and he runs good routes. He's a really good player.''
He also brings some knowledge of Maryland. Despite not playing that much or particularly well against the Terrapins while at Wake, the Virginia native grew up with or played against many of the Maryland players. He says he knows most of the defensive starters and used to play catch with Terrapins quarterback Danny O'Brien, who grew up near the Wake Forest campus.
But his best asset is probably just his overall experience in the college game, which has given WVU's offense a boost.
"I just think I have a better feel for the game, playing college football for the last four years, being around it, being around good players, playing against great players,'' Brown said. "You get a better feel for the game after all that. When you're young you haven't quite adjusted to the speed of the game. But after four years I think I've adjusted well, and that's helped a lot in this offense.''
By Dave Hickman
The Charleston Gazette
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Today won't be Devon Brown's first trip to Byrd Stadium. It will just be his first time here playing for West Virginia.
The fifth-year senior receiver, who transferred from Wake Forest after graduating there in four years, was here to face Maryland twice as a Demon Deacon.
The first he'd rather forget. The second, well, he doesn't remember much about it anyway.
"I've played there twice,'' Brown said. "The first was my redshirt freshman year, and then I guess if you want to consider me playing there last year you can.''
Brown's first trip to Byrd Stadium, in 2008, resulted in a 26-0 Wake Forest loss. Brown had a 10-yard run, a 1-yard run and caught a pass for a 1-yard loss.
Still, that was more productive than last year's trip. That's when he suffered a concussion on the opening kickoff and watched Wake get hammered by the Terrapins 62-14.
"Let's just say the two times I've played there they weren't the kind of experiences I would like to have had,'' Brown said. "Hopefully this will be better.''
Indeed, Brown probably has a better chance for a successful day when No. 18 West Virginia (2-0) plays Maryland (1-0) today. The noon game will be televised by ESPNU.
For starters, his new team seems better built for success than his old one, which during his four seasons on campus went from 9-4 to 8-5 to 5-7 and finally 3-9 a year ago.
Brown also seems in a far better place to succeed at his craft, which is catching passes. Through West Virginia's first two games of the season he has eight receptions (second behind Tavon Austin and Ivan McCartney with nine each) for a team-leading 151 yards.
"Oh, yeah, I'm satisfied so far,'' Brown said. "I mean, we have two victories and I feel like I contributed in both. That's the most I can ask for.''
Well, Brown also seems to have what he wanted most when he left Wake Forest and elected to use his final year of eligibility in the offense Dana Holgorsen was installing at West Virginia. And that's an opportunity to cut loose a little bit.
Suffice it to say he would not have made the move a year ago. That's when West Virginia's offense looked eerily similar to the one he had been involved with for four years at Wake. Former Wake Forest assistant Jeff Mullen was WVU's offensive coordinator and the scheme was filled with short possession passes.
"We ran an offense like the one Coach Mullen ran here, and I was like the Jock [Sanders] in that offense,'' Brown said. "We ran little bubble screens and little underneath routes and all that. I never ran many deep routes at all when I was at Wake.''
If it sounds like Brown was frustrated with his time at Wake Forest, well, that's probably true. As a redshirt freshman he caught 10 passes and averaged 13.4 yards per catch. Not a bad start.
Then as a sophomore he caught 61 passes, but his average per catch went down to 11 yards. And then as a junior last season he caught 39 passes and his average per catch fell all the way to 7.7 yards.
Shoot, he averaged more per punt return (8.2 yards) than per catch, and nearly as much on his 18 rushes (7.4 yards).
"This offense is a lot different,'' said Brown, who is averaging 18.9 yards on his catches this season. "I can use my speed and run deep routes and it frees you up. That's helped me a lot.''
He's helped West Virginia, too, joining a receiving corps that has only a few veterans.
"You can definitely tell he's been through it all before,'' said WVU quarterback Geno Smith. "He came in and he wasn't really asking questions. He'd observe and then jump right in and do what he had to do.
"He brings a tremendous amount of versatility. He's a tough guy in the slot. He's small and he can weave in and out of traffic, he can go deep, he has really good hands and he runs good routes. He's a really good player.''
He also brings some knowledge of Maryland. Despite not playing that much or particularly well against the Terrapins while at Wake, the Virginia native grew up with or played against many of the Maryland players. He says he knows most of the defensive starters and used to play catch with Terrapins quarterback Danny O'Brien, who grew up near the Wake Forest campus.
But his best asset is probably just his overall experience in the college game, which has given WVU's offense a boost.
"I just think I have a better feel for the game, playing college football for the last four years, being around it, being around good players, playing against great players,'' Brown said. "You get a better feel for the game after all that. When you're young you haven't quite adjusted to the speed of the game. But after four years I think I've adjusted well, and that's helped a lot in this offense.''
