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An early calling to Virginia for Prep’s BrownFootball star headed to play for Cavaliers, with Groh and D’Onofrio

The college recruiting game can sometimes be a brutal, grueling process – no matter what sport the prospective athlete plays. The relentless coaches call and call, almost to the point of annoyance. They ask the athlete what they had for dinner. They coddle the athlete’s mother and prod the father. They pester the kid with negative comments about the other schools in the hunt. It’s mentally draining.
The process is probably worse in the college football recruiting game more than any other. It’s because the pursuit is longer and more intense. Big-time colleges don’t recruit kids for being kids anymore. They recruit with positions in mind. Let’s get that lineman and this running back. Go after that defensive back and the other receiver. And on and on.
Sometimes, kids are promised the moon and the stars, only to have the worlds collide and they get nothing. Offers are placed on a table, for the athlete and his parents to read and accept, but if the kid doesn’t act fast enough, the offer is pulled off the table faster than an old magician yanks the tablecloth off the dining room mahogany without a teacup or bread plate touching the floor.
So when St. Peter’s Prep standout running back/defensive back Mike Brown began his own recruiting process, one that featured trips to college camps and scouting combines, he was well aware of the dangers involved in the recruiting game.
Sure, Brown had a host of solid big-time scholarship offers, some 33 in all. Name the school and they wanted Brown. Penn State and Wisconsin lusted Brown to become a running back. Boston College, Syracuse and the rest coveted Brown to play defensive back, to continue his brilliance as a cover cornerback, easily the best to man that position in New Jersey.
They all started the proverbial tug-of-war. Come here, Mike. We want you. We’ll make you a star. Play for us.
St. Peter’s Prep head football coach and athletic director Rich Hansen is all too familiar with the recruiting game. Six years ago, one of Hansen’s prized recruits, Anthony Jordan, was all set to go to Michigan, fulfilling a lifelong dream, when Jordan went on a recruiting trip to South Bend and became totally enamored with Touchdown Jesus, Knute Rockne and the history and tradition of Notre Dame.
After visiting Notre Dame, Jordan was convinced that’s where he had to go. So he came back to Jersey City, threw away the dreams of a lifetime and told Hansen that he was going to become a member of the Fighting Irish.
But when Hansen informed then-Notre Dame head coach Bob Davie that Jordan was all set to join the flock, Davie hit Hansen with the bad news. They needed to hold off on Jordan’s announcement about coming to ND. Another linebacker from Texas was considering Notre Dame as well, someone bigger and stronger than Jordan. Sorry, Hansen said, and Jordan was signing with Michigan the next day.
Two years ago, more of the same ugly mess. Another standout player, this time quarterback Joe Dailey, was all set to go to Syracuse. Dailey made a verbal commitment to become the next option signal caller for the Orangemen, before Dailey made his official visit. He was certain he was going to Syracuse.
However, Dailey went on the visit and decided that Syracuse wasn’t for him, so he changed his mind and headed west to the University of Nebraska instead. The decision caused Hansen to receive a lot of scorn and ridicule in the media, both local and nationwide.
So when Hansen began the process all over again, this time with top-flight studs Brown and versatile running back/man-child Rashawn Jackson, the coach was ready.
“I’ve been down this road before and it gets ugly,” Hansen said. “With Mike, I had every intention of seeing the process go through to the end.”
There was only one problem. Brown wasn’t ready to travel the same road. He wanted things to be over and done with as soon as possible.
“I laid out all the options for Mike,” Hansen said. “But Mike did a lot of research on his own, even before the process started. He had the 33 offers and went to the combines and was ready to narrow it down to the five official visits.”
However, Brown took an unofficial visit to Charlottesville, Virginia, to take a closer look at the University of Virginia. A good student with an even brighter future, Brown was intrigued with the school that featured former Jets head coach Al Groh as the head coach and North Bergen native Mark D’Onofrio as an assistant coach and chief recruiter.
“When he got back, he said he was blown away,” Hansen said. “It was a professional place with professional people, a great college environment. He was just enamored with the whole place.”
Plus, Virginia wanted Brown like no other school. He was listed as their No. 1 recruit at defensive back in the entire country.
“He was No. 1 at defensive back and No. 2 on their entire board,” Hansen said.
Sure enough, in the recruiting game, being placed in an echelon means a whole lot. It’s now about rankings and positions.
Brown thought about making an early decision, to give Virginia a commitment some eight months before the February signing date.
“He said that Virginia was his No. 1 choice all along and he was ready to pull the trigger and make the commitment,” Hansen said. “To be honest, when a school tells you that you’re their No. 1 guy, it has its advantages. It’s a good school in a great part of the country. It’s in the ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference). It’s a program that will be playing for a national championship in the near future with a head coach (New Jersey native Groh) who isn’t going anywhere.”
It also didn’t hurt the process that a Hudson County guy was calling the recruiting shots.
“D’Onofrio pushed for Mike, no question,” Hansen said. “He made that clear and the message got to Mike.”
So Brown told Hansen that he was giving his word to Virginia that he will sign with the Cavaliers in February, after Brown finishes his St. Peter’s Prep career with a flourish in the fall.
Sure, he can always change his mind. Of course, there will be others that will try to persuade Brown to go back on his word.
But it’s unlikely. Brown will be a man of his word and go on to Virginia. More than likely, he’ll have a great career there and flirt with the idea of actually playing in the National Football League someday. He’s that talented.
“He’s a terrific athlete and very versatile,” Hansen said of Brown, who was the first freshman to ever start for the Marauders in Hansen’s coaching career. “It’s all to his benefit. He will be able to settle down and concentrate on playing football this fall. His decision won’t be a burden.”
It might be a grueling, nasty, ugly process to some, but not to Mike Brown. His decision has been made. Sure makes the process a lot easier to bear when it’s done eight months earlier than anticipated.





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