Ben Brown has made his presence felt on the field for Red Bank after two seasons away from football.Ben Brown is a senior who returned to football after a two-year absence, and he's made an impact at Red Bank.
"One play against Soddy-Daisy -- I swear he made all 11 guys miss," Lions coach Chad Grabowski said.
When Grabowski first arrived last spring, he made an impression on Brown in class, and those initial meetings led him to approach the coach about once again strapping on pads and helmet.
"I still loved the game and I want to all the games. The guys on the field were talking every day, and I realized how much I missed it," said Brown, a starter at wide receiver and safety. "Coach Grabowski had a lot to do with my decision."
Grabowski didn't have to recruit him, but he certainly encouraged him, and Brown has been elated after overcoming fears of going against bigger and more experienced players and worries about acceptance from team members.
"That first week of practice I was really hesitant, but I had so much fun I realized that this was really what I wanted to do," the 5-foot-9, 160-pounder said. "I had no idea how I'd fit in, and that first month I sure wasn't thinking I'd have a starting position. When the season rolled around I had a starting position, and that was really a surprise. I was the smallest guy out there, and I hadn't played in two years."
As for the bigger players, well, speed and agility can be a good equalizer, especially for an intelligent player.
"He'd be pretty good," Grabowski responded when asked how much better Brown would be if he hadn't missed his sophomore and junior seasons. "He would be a lot more knowledgeable. As far as football itself, he's a really good athlete."
Brown is learning on the job, having to catch up with teammates still on terminology and technique, but he isn't afraid of studying.
"I didn't know all the plays and I wasn't up to speed on the football lingo," he said. "I'm always watching film. The big thing for me is watching our opponents. And my technique is what I critique the most."
And that just serves as a complement to natural ability.
"He's one of those guys that can do a lot of things. When he gets the ball in his hands he can be pretty darn spectacular," Grabowski said.
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.