New to football, Brown has big upside

Arkansas defensive end commitment Anthony Brown poses with Coach Bret Bielema and defensive line and specialists coach Rory Segrest during Monday's in-home visit.

Arkansas received the commitment of a raw, athletic and driven prospect when defensive end Anthony Brown pledged to Coach Bret Bielema and defensive line coach Rory Segrest during an in-home visit on Monday night.

Brown, 6-3 1/2, 235 pounds of Miami Killian High School picked the Razorbacks over scholarship offers from Michigan State, Mississippi State, Cincinnati and others. He officially visited Fayetteville on Jan. 17 and visited Starkville over the weekend.

“He’s a guy that wants to make plays,” said Killian Coach Cory Johnson. “He’s the guy that can change the game. He wants to be that guy.”

Brown, whose lead recruiter was linebackers coach Randy Shannon, focused on basketball until giving football a try his junior year.

“He’s a very athletic kid, he can jump, he can move, he’s very agile, very mobile,” Johnson said. “He has a lean figure and he puts on weight very well.”

Johnson said Brown has a lot to learn, but has the right attitude.

“Which is not a bad thing to have with that type of ceiling,” he said. “He has a good ways to go, but he wants to get there.”

Brown played his junior season at Archbishop Carroll High School in Miami before enrolling at Killian. Johnson, who’s a graduate of Killian, has coached for 13 years and ranks Brown high among the top players he’s coached.

“He movers like a deer,” said Johnson, who coached Florida State All American cornerback Lamarcus Joiner in high school. “As far as big, prototype kids, he’s probably one of the top kids I’ve ever coached. He ranks up there with the best of them.”

Johnson said Brown is low maintenance.

“He’s such an independent kid,” Johnson said. “You don’t have to tell him much. You can tell him something and he’ll go find out what it is or he’ll know what it is. He doesn’t need for you to do a lot for him.”

When an athlete is coachable and has talent, the odds of success are dramatically increased. Brown takes to coaching well.

“You can ride him hard and make him better,” Johnson said. “He won’t go into a shell. “