Ohio receiver Anthony Brown says quarterback Devin Leary throws the “tightest spiral” he has ever caught. (UK Athletics Photo)
One adjustment that has been a bit easier for Kentucky freshman receiver Anthony Brown than other new college players is the “toughness” factor because he played at Springfield (Ohio) High School for coach Maurice Douglass, a former UK defensive back.
“I come from a high school that preaches toughness,” said Brown. “That’s pretty big. My transition from high school to college from a toughness standpoint was pretty good. You are going to see bigger guys in college, but I was ready for it. Coach Douglass emphasizes working in the weight room and on and off the field. That helped me be ready for college.”
The 5-10, 170-pound Brown had 83 catches for 1,626 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2022, including six catches for 106 yards and one score in the Division I state title game. He also averaged 26.9 yards per kickoff return and 16.6 yards per punt return.
He had a lot of college options including Michigan, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Penn State and Tennessee.
“They not only recruited me but also recruited my family. As much as (recruiting coordinator) Vince (Marrow) talked to me, he also checked on my mom, step-day, siblings. He told me how crazy BBN was and he was right. I love coach Vince. He is a big role model in my life. I just love him being my coach.
His brother, Michale Brown-Stephens, is a receiver at Minnesota and helped Brown with his recruiting process. “I can always learn from his mistakes and also learn from what he is doing to add to my game,” the UK freshman said. “I kind of felt like I had an edge at an early age because I had an older brother who helped me a lot.”
Receivers Barion Brown, Dane Key and Dekel Crowdus all became mentors to the Ohio freshman on his visit to UK and continued to do that after he enrolled at Kentucky in January.
“Dane and Barion both really went off as freshmen. Those are good people to be behind and learn from and see what they can do,” Anthony Brown said. “All the receivers have been great at helping me. They all told me to get in the playbook because if you don’t know the plays, you can’t play. I want to take my opportunity and run with it like Dane and Barion did last year.
One Response
The one thing that all the recruits mention is how it feels like family at Kentucky. There are a lot of naysayers, but Stoops has something special going right now. He has the perfect formula with all the coaches that’s there. Defense will be Stout, enough talent on offense to score points, and I would think special teams will be better. I believe they can go atleast 6-1 before the break and 4-1 after. I see Stoops first 10 win regular season.
Go Cats!
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