Andre Brown Turning NFL Heads

Let this one be a great testament – and therefore impactful recruiting marketing for recruiting – for Coach O’Brien and staff.

Just a week ago Ken Tysiac posted a blog entry regarding the recent development of NC State’s Andre Brown into a much more complete football player. So, it is only natural that after Brown’s complete performance on Saturday that he would be mentioned in this article in Sports Illustrated as a riser in the 2009 NFL draft.

Andre Brown/RB/North Carolina State: Brown, who instantly impressed NFL scouts as a freshman, has his game back on track after a poor junior season. He’s a big-bodied ball carrier that also produces as a pass-catcher. His two touchdowns and rushing average of 6.1 yards per carry were instrumental in helping the Wolfpack knock off previously unbeaten East Carolina

The following is taken from the N&O’s blog entry last week. I guess I couldn’t agree more with Tysiac’s perspective of the situation because before I remembered to link the entry I had already typed the following metaphor in this entry’s initial draft: “Brown wasn’t hitting the home runs that he used to, but his on base percentage has gone sky high. (If only Billy Beane was an NFL general manager!)”

Brown led N.C. State with 64 rushing yards and four catches for 51 yards in last week’s loss at Clemson. More importantly, he avoided the temptation to bounce out to the perimeter after contact, which has plagued him in the past.

“He was running tough inside,” O’Brien said. “He was getting tough yards. He was going forward. He caught the ball and got hit and made yards after contact. So he was a much more complete back as far as I was concerned Saturday than at any time since I’ve seen him here.”

But last season, he was reluctant to lower his shoulder and get the tough yards O’Brien wanted. To use baseball as an analogy, Brown was swinging for the fences too often and striking out a lot.

“Instead of dancing around and trying to get to the boundary as fast as you can, you go forward, take what you can get and keep the chains moving,” O’Brien said. “Because a lot of times in this league, if you can’t outrun guys bouncing to the boundary, you end up losing yards.”