Arthur & Bryce; back where they belong…

Randy Shannon took a lot of grief for pulling Bryce Brown’s scholarship offer back in February 2009. The more time that passes, the better Shannon’s decision looks.

The younger Brown gave Miami his verbal commitment after Signing Day 2008, before his senior year of high school, based on older brother Arthur becoming a Cane days before.

Little Brown continued playing the recruiting game, taking visits and remaining elusive. Come February, no signature as the running back wasn’t ready to commit. Rumors swirled – from others schools, to a proposed jaunt to the CFL instead of college. Something stunk, Shannon didn’t care for the smell and Miami was out of the Brown running.

Bryce rolled into Tennessee, carried 101 times, found the end zone thrice and didn’t even amass 500 total yards on the year. Scary as those paltry stats are, they’re still more impressive than brother Arthur’s two-year run at the University of Miami.

Big Brown spent two years at The U and never cracked the starting line up at linebacker. A few special teams plays and seventeen tackles in mop up duty were his Hurricane legacy before bolting back to Kansas a month ago, citing ‘family issues’ like Little Brown. Arthur enrolled at Kansas State, where many expect Bryce to go after heading home.

Need a picture of everything wrong with college football recruiting, look no further than the Brown saga in Wichita these past few years. From overhyped five-star rankings, achieved by beating up on lesser talent, to handler Brian Butler – talking Jesus one minute and extorting money on his recruiting website the next – these brothers proved to be an absolute disaster.

I’ll give my standard disclaimer here; we’re dealing with kids – kids who were put on a pedestal and coddled, no less. An incoming college sophomore and junior who have had their asses kissed since day one and had the media banging down their door before they even sprouted their first chest hair.

The system is partly to blame for the sense of entitlement shown by the Browns – and other highly-touted recruits – over the years. The recruiting game is absolutely out of control and teenagers are no longer being given that chance to be kids. Youth traded for instant superstardom, thanks to Internet recruiting sites and an overzealous sports media.

I don’t know the Brown family, outside what I’ve read online the past few years,as their sons played the recruiting game like a fiddle. Arthur Brown Sr. proved to be the family’s spokesperson during the recruiting sagas, quick to give a soundbite, supporting his sons, as well as advisor Butler. It’s a shame so much focus was put on the ‘process’ instead of the meaning of the word ‘commitment’.

Webster’s defines ‘commitment’ as “an agreement or pledge to do something in the future”. Big Brown signed his letter of intent with Miami, Little Brown gave a verbal commitment weeks later, broke the commitment within a year, then signed a letter of intent with Tennessee, which has since been broken… weeks after Big Brown ended his pledge to Miami.

Lots of players have a change of heart and transferring is a casualty of the college game. Especially when recruiting potentially homesick kids from out of state. Doesn’t make it right, though. The older you get, the more commitments you’ll make in life. What lesson is taught by parents when you tell your kids it’s alright to throw in the towel? In the game of life, there is no ‘reset’ button. There are repercussion for our actions, yet neither Brown will learn that here as Father Brown has encouraged his sons to return home, playing ball at Kansas State.

Both Browns rolled into their senior years regarded as big time talent. Big Brown was the top strongside linebacker in the land, ranked the No. 11 overall athlete. Little Brown was the top running back and was said to be the second-best high school prospect.

Arthur couldn’t crack the starting line up at Miami, yet his freshman year lesser touted and supposedly undersized Sean Spence was all over the field, eventually named to the All-ACC freshman team. Spence played for Miami Northwestern, went up against the nation’s best talent week in and week out.

Northwestern won the ‘national championship’ in 2007 and eight Bulls on that squad became Canes, with several freshmen seeing action. Marcus Forston, Jacory Harris and Aldarius Johnson earned immediate playing time with Spence. (Others were redshirted and Brandon Washington went to prep school.) From Miami’s Booker T. Washington, several other freshmen saw instant playing time – Brandon Harris, Davon Johnson and Thearon Collier – the wideouts, working their way to a starting job at arguably the most overcrowded position on the field.

The linebacker corps has clamoring for the next superstar since Jon Vilma and D.J. Williams took their skills to the NFL after the 2003 season. Years back, Willie Williams was thought to be that guy, but the troubled high school star never got it together mentally. Even after leaving UM, he bounced around and never gained traction elsewhere on the field.

Romeo Davis. Glenn Cook. Darryl Sharpton. All serviceable backers – nowhere near as highly touted like Brown – yet all saw significant playing time, due to heart, passion and a head for the game.

Some referred to Davis and Cook as “Shannon’s Boys”, feeling seniority was the name of the game and that kids like Williams or Brown got the shaft. This mindset always puzzled me as there’s no logical explanation for coaches not wanting the best players on the field. Coaches are fired after every season for losing too many ballgames. Why would a third-year coach purposefully do something that will get him one step closer to a pink slip?

Simply put, if Arthur Brown was ready to play ball, he’d have been on the field. Same for Willie Williams or any other high school superstar that tripped out the gate once getting to the next level. Uber-hyped Bryce got his chance with the Vols and didn’t overimpress anybody year one.

Many a lesson to be learned from this fiasco for players, coaches and their football families. First and foremost, further proof that recruiting rankings don’t mean squat. Those of you obsessed with five-star, “can’t miss” prospects – news flash, a few more just missed. As did Willie. As did Kyle Wright, Lance Leggett, Reggie Youngblood and a several others the Canes rolled the dice on over the years while other ‘lesser’ prospects made a name for themselves and are still playing in the NFL today.

Physical talent is important, but it’s not as important as the competition these players face on a weekly basis, their overall attitude or how much they have between the ears. You can’t put a star ranking on heart and desire.

Cane coaches and some of Brown’s teammates let it be known to the media that Brown struggled to learn the playbook over the years. If that was the case, then the biggest issue here is a lack of effort. Watch more film. Study harder. Other players were able to comprehend the playbook after a few months while others still don’t “get it” after two years.

A successful NCAA career and shot in the NFL are for those who work the hardest, not for guys who are living off past high school accolades.

Miami loyalty aside, I personally hope both Arthur and Bryce turn it around. As a sports fan I’m a sucker for a feel-good story and this is real life. Cane or no Cane, nothing good comes from seeing young people fail. Best of luck to both kids.

That said, I worry for college athletes who turn tail and run back home. If your end goal is a job in the NFL, outside of playing for the Kansas City Chiefs, the Brown brothers will need to take their show on the road. Being displaced from your hometown is part of the game.

For years we read about Edgerrin James feeling lost in Indianapolis or a Miami guy like Willis McGahee not being thrilled with a slow-paced life in Buffalo. Still, they were dedicated to their careers and realized a NFL season isn’t a full year. Spend your off-season at home and make your team’s town your second home.

Arthur – and most likely Bryce – heading to Manhattan; it comes across soft. Two guys who went to big time programs, couldn’t hack it and ran back home, tail between their legs. They’ll be ‘local’ heroes for a program that went 6-6, 5-7 and 5-7 the past three seasons. A soft program with a soft head coach in Bill Snyder, known for loading his schedule with cupcakes to build up a win total.

Just about anytime the Wildcats have been on the main stage, they crapped the bed, underachieved or proved they didn’t deserve to be there, earning their way to the top by beating lesser opponents and rarely shining when faced with a big challenge.

Further proof of Snyder’s soft ways? One of his first orders of business after reassuming head coaching duties last year? Dropping Miami from Kansas State’s upcoming schedule. The Canes and Cats were slated for a home and home in 2011 and 2012. Snyder wanted no part of it, running from a rising Miami team and making room on the schedule another Sisters Of The Poor.

To Snyder’s credit, he turned Kansas State from a nobody into an almost somebody and his coaching tree is impressive – Bob Stoops, Mike Stoops, Brent Venables, Mark Mangino, Jim Leavitt and Bret Bielema, to name a few. A great resume, but it doesn’t make Kansas State a powerhouse or the type of program that takes on all comers. Basically they’re the anti-Miami, a perfect fit for the Brown brothers.

Manhattan seems like a great fit for Team Brown, appearing the type who prefer to be big fish in a little Kansas pond. Based on competition and talent, both should see immediate playing time (after sitting out a year) and can continue building their home state legacy.

Where things go from there is anybody’s guess, but a safe bet that no one in Coral Gables or Knoxville is going to care.

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