Mario Brewer has six sacks in two games to lead NCAA Division III. (Centre College Athletics Photo)
On a good day, Centre College sophomore cornerback Mario Brewer estimates he might weigh 140 pounds.
“On an average day it is probably 130 or 132,” he said. “My weight varies but normally I am always the smallest guy on the (football) field.”
However, he’s certainly made a big impact for the Colonels in two wins to open the season. Brewer leads all of NCAA Division III in sacks with six after two games. He had three against Hanover in the opener and three more against Maryville last week.
Not only that, but he is Centre’s leading tackle with 13 tackles — all solo stops — in two games and also has three pass breakups and one forced fumble.
So how does he make such an impact being as small as he is?
“The simplest answer is speed,” Berry said.
He ran a 4.32-second 40-yard dash that was laser timed in high school and ran the 100-meter dash in 11.1 seconds last season for the Birmingham Southern track team.
“In high school I kind of played the same position. I came off the edge a few times. I am used to playing in the box like a linebacker and playing against bigger bodies,” he said. “Maryville tried to game plan against me and did a good job but we found a way to exploit what they were doing.
“Then there are some plays I just have to be an athlete and come off my assignments, which is not always the best thing to do, and make a play. So I can just go straight with speed or I can read what the running back/blocker does and fill the gap. If I get free, I am getting to the quarterback.”
He didn’t get a chance to get to the quarterback his freshman year at Birmingham Southern where he started on special teams but got “no snaps” on defense. When the college closed in May, he reached out to Centre College to see if it would have a roster spot.
“Coming out of high school I was not ready to travel five or six hours from home (in Madison, Ala.) to Centre. If Centre had been closer to three hours away, I would have gone there out of high school,” he said.
When Centre told him there was a spot, he asked if roommate Cree Ross, a receiver from Florida, could come (both will run on Centre’s track team) and now they are roommates at Centre.
“He is really good and I can’t wait for him to show his explosiveness on the field when he’s cleared to play,” Brewer said.
Centre plays at Hampden-Sydney Saturday and Brewer has high expectations for what he can still do.
“In high school, I had tackles and made plays like I did the first two games. I didn’t think I could have the same type stat line in college, but I guess I was wrong,” he said. “I am expecting to break some records while benefiting the team. I can’t get selfish and think about my stats and lose my assignments which is easy because I am not selfish. I just want to win. If they want me to play defensive tackle, I would do it.”
Brewer is sometimes surprised that teams don’t try to attack him more because of his size but also believes teams realized he refuses to be beat.
“I work out two or three times per week. My arms are not the strongest because I had surgery on my wrist that has limited my lifting for about the last 1 1/2 years. But I learned early how to use not only my speed but how to be mentally smart to make up for a lack of size.”
Because his father was in the military, Brewer lived in several states growing up. He was born in Texas, moved to Virginia where he started playing flag football and then to North Carolina where he played tackle football. The family moved to Alabama his first year of high school.
“I grew up loving football. We jumped around but everywhere we went football was the sport,” he said. “I played basketball and T-ball but my parents saw I loved football.”
He did play soccer in high school and became an all-state player his senior season. He was captain of both the football and soccer teams.
“I have always been a competitive person. Obviously when I transferred I wanted to get on the field. I knew what I had to do to climb the (depth) charts,” he said. “There were multiple people in front of me who have been here.
“I knew I had to show the coaches not only my athletic ability but also earn the plays to where I could play without thinking. I really worked hard the whole summer and obviously it has paid off for me and the team.”
