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Mouthy running back runs into a little reality

Mike Brown's season fell short of predictions. Disappointing? Not for him.

By MIKE READLING
Published November 3, 2006

Before the football season began, Brandon High School running back Mike Brown had some big plans for his senior year.

He wasn't afraid to share them with anyone who happened to be within earshot or reading a newspaper.

Brown was going to be the best running back in Hillsborough County. He was going to rush for 2,000 yards and countless touchdowns. Other teams would cower when they knew Brown and the Eagles were coming to town for a Friday night game.

Then he was suspended for the Kickoff Classic for disciplinary reasons. Then he missed the first half of Brandon's season opener against Chamberlain. Then he missed another game against King, also due to disciplinary reasons.

That 2,000-yard season? Brown finished the regular season with less than 1,000 yards.

If the first word that comes to mind is disappointment, Brown disagrees.

"I've had some bumps in the road. I got in a little trouble early in the season," he said. "Everybody has obstacles they have to overcome. I had to learn that it's just not myself on the football field and I had to get back out there to do what Mike Brown does."

What Mike Brown does these days is recognize his place not only on the football field but also on the football team.

After successful sophomore and junior seasons, Brown was looking forward to being All-Everything and he let it go to his head. What he didn't realize was Brandon's offensive line was very inexperienced coming into the season and new head coach John Lima wasn't going to put up with a cocky senior.

The two butted heads in the spring, causing Brown to miss the spring jamboree. The discord continued through the summer and into the early part of the season, leading to more missed playing time.

"The big thing with Mike is he wants to get prepared for the next level. He had habits we had to work on. He knew that and those are behind us," Lima said. "Everything we've done is in that direction. The biggest thing he needs is work in the classroom and with his discipline. It took a while to grow into that, but he's played the last five games and he's been ready to go each week.

"He's a great competitor and he shows great leadership, we're just finally at a point where we can emphasize those things."

Brown still has his moments, calling himself the "best running back in the county" after a 184-yard, four touchdown performance against Bloomingdale and saying he has "nothing to prove to these people" when asked about his stats this season.

But, more importantly, he also sounds like a captain and a leader on a team that grew up enough to secure a playoff berth in next week's regional quarterfinals.

"All I care about is getting the win and helping to develop [the offensive line and running backs] for the years to come," Brown said. "There's no more living in the moment for me. You have to look ahead to the future."

Brown's vision of the future includes playing in college. His list of schools includes Iowa State, Akron, Arkansas and University of South Florida.

But first, he has at least one more high school game left and that means one more chance to prove his leadership, add to the lore of his abilities and, of course, throw a little talk out there for whoever happens to be within earshot. "They call me The Problem," Brown said. "You can't stop a problem. You can only hope to contain it."

[Last modified November 2, 2006, 08:33:29]