CHARLESTON, S.C. - 'Let the game come to you.' Cliché as it sounds, one of the classic sports axioms uttered by coaches and broadcasters holds some truth. Blending a base of knowledge with a base of talent is necessary to produce success in any field. Achieving that balance on a football field – in a new atmosphere and new environment – is a challenge, and it's one Charleston Southern junior quarterback Austin Brown is trying to meet.
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Brown, who transferred to CSU from UAB last spring, has been working to learn the ins and outs of the Bucs' triple option offense ever since. The Flowery Branch, Ga. native's ability and diligence helped win him the starting quarterback job in fall camp.
Brown has put his talent on display at times during Charleston Southern's 3-0 start. He has tossed six touchdown passes against one interception while completing 60 percent of his throws. On the ground, he has produced two more scores while ranking third on the team with 120 rushing yards. But Brown, a newcomer to the option game who has spent much of his career in pro and spread style attacks, knows there is plenty of room for improvement.
"I have to focus every day on getting my reads down and getting a better feel of the offense but by the time its game day you've just gotta go out there and play," Brown said. "That's the main thing Coach Tuck (CSU quarterbacks coach Mark Tucker) has preached really hard – when you're on the field and its game time just go out there and play."
Brown played quite a bit over the last two years at UAB. He took over as the Blazers' starting quarterback four games into 2012 and promptly threw for 337 yards and three touchdowns in his collegiate debut. Brown ended the year with a UAB freshman record 2,673 yards passing, good enough to earn him a spot on the Conference USA All-Freshman Team.
After starting seven more games last season as a sophomore, Brown made the decision to transfer.
"I got to play a lot at UAB a lot which was great but just didn't feel like it was the place for me," said Brown, a kinesiology major. "I went through some growing experiences there and felt like I needed to go somewhere else and that's what led me here. I was looking for a place that I could call home and felt comfortable with. I came here and met with Coach Chadwell and everything went really well and I just felt like this was the place God was calling me to be."
Brown's ability as a passer has never been called into question. He has shown off his strong throwing arm already this year, hitting on ten plays of 20 yards or more. The threat of a downfield passing game has added an extra element to Charleston Southern's offense, but the Bucs' remain committed to running the football. It was what fueled their ten-win 2013 season, and will be more important as the schedule toughens beginning this Saturday against The Citadel. Brown's ability to make the correct reads in the option will help determine what kind of success CSU realizes offensively in 2014.
"The language and the depth of the run game is extensive, and is an extensive change for him," Tucker said. "It's the newness of it more than anything. Austin and all the quarterbacks work incredibly hard. From that standpoint, he's a coach's dream because he has a great desire to be good. His comfort level is the thing that's been in question the most. As he relaxes, his confidence will go up and his ability can kind of take over. We've had quite a few conversations about, 'hey, trust what you know, trust what you've been taught and what you can do. We're not going to put you in situations where you can't do something so go play.'"
CSU head coach Jamey Chadwell echoed the sentiment of Tucker, and speaks from experience. He ran an option offense for part of his playing career at East Tennessee State, with Tucker serving as his position coach.
"When you're young and you want to please someone, you'll do anything they ask you to do," Chadwell said. "It's kind of like an intern – no matter what it is they want to do it so well to make you happy and it kind of becomes overwhelming instead of being fun. I think sometimes Austin, like any of us, gets worried about this or that and doesn't just go out there and play. When you see him make plays and he doesn't think a lot, he can be pretty good He's a work in progress like we all are right now but hopefully with Danny (Croghan) playing a bit more, that will let both of them relax."
Brown and Croghan teamed to lead CSU in a dominant second half effort last Thursday against Campbell. Each led touchdown drives to open the third quarter as the Bucs quickly turned a 10-7 halftime deficit into a 20-10 lead. CSU went on to defeat Campbell, 34-10, outgaining the Camels 261-49 over the final 30 minutes.
"We just really started executing our plays fully," Brown said. "We made some mental mistakes in the first half and at halftime got ourselves together and starting doing what we're supposed to do. Getting live reps is big. It's a new offense for me but I'm getting more and more used to it now. There's really no replacement for those live reps."
Brown has enjoyed having Chadwell, Tucker and offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Gabe Giardina as mentors. The Bucs' offensive staff was able to successfully develop Croghan and fellow freshman Kyle Copeland a year ago after both were thrust into action following an injury to senior starter Malcolm Dixon. Brown, who succeeded former South Carolina star Connor Shaw as starting quarterback at Flowery Branch High School, is embracing the challenge of mastering the offense. He is optimistic the Bucs will begin to peak as the schedule intensifies.
"I feel like we've been ironing out the wrinkles," Brown said. "Everyone else has been playing great. We have a lot of experience and talent at running back and the young receivers have really stepped up big to fill the void left by some injuries. I'm just still getting the feel down and getting closer to where I need to be. I feel like we're getting closer and closer to where we need to be to reach our max potential."
