During a recent University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football practice, Kameron Brown stepped in front of a Preston Hutchinson pass, intercepted it and returned it for a score.
A handful of plays later, Brown got beat on a perfectly placed deep throw from Cole Copeland to Javon Burke for a touchdown.
It’s the life of a defensive back: Sometimes you’re going to do everything absolutely right, but things still don’t work out. If anyone thinks those kind of moments can shatter Brown’s confidence, though, they’re wrong.
“I take it on me every day to be the best out here. To stand out to make sure everybody notices that I’m on the field,” Brown said. “I just want to show out, because I know I’m alone. I’ve got the hardest job on the field, playing one-on-one, man coverage, and all the space in the field position.”
People have noticed, including — most importantly — UTC coaches.
Defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward called the 5-foot-9, 179-pound junior from Theodore High School in Mobile, Alabama, “probably our best player” during the recently completed preseason camp, which is important because Brown is in line to replace Jordan Jones, one of four starters lost to graduation in the UTC secondary.
It’s not all that surprising Brown is one of the players stepping into a bigger role for the group as the Sept. 3 season opener against Wofford approaches. In his debut 2019 season, he appeared in all 12 games the Mocs played, started twice and received Southern Conference All-Freshman recognition.
“Kameron is a very savvy, smart player, but I think Kam knew that coming out of high school that it takes time to develop into growth,” Ward said. “He always said, ‘Coach, don’t worry about me if I don’t get to play in a game; my time is going to come,’ and so now he’s taking advantage of this opportunity.”
Brown has since appeared in 15 games, but he has made just one additional start. That strong freshman season seemingly had him in line to be on the field even more, but a year later, his sister, Dr. Chaniece Wallace, died from complications due to childbirth. It happened the week UTC was preparing to play its one and only game of that calendar year at Western Kentucky, which Brown missed but had a chance to watch.
Now, with the opportunity to play more coming his way, he’ll approach games with Wallace on his mind.
“My mom worked a lot, so she was basically like my mom growing up,” Brown said. “She would pick me up from school and do a lot for me. I pray every morning for God to look out for me, and I just play all out when I’m on the field because that’s what she would want me to do. She would always come to a game or watch my game on TV, so I know she’s always watching.”
What Brown hopes his sister — and everyone affiliated with the program — sees is his ascension to being one of the top cornerbacks in the SoCon.
He credited Ward, a longtime defensive backs coach, and secondary coach Jordan Tippit for helping him view the game differently than before. Tippit is a former UTC team captain and All-SoCon selection, and Ward’s resumé includes time as an assistant for the NFL’s Raiders.
“I’m a film junkie,” Brown said. “I like to watch a lot of film, so just learning the game and mastering the game in a way that these guys have with a lot of experience, over 20 years of coaching and doing stuff like that, it’s just exciting in knowing the route I can be taken to get to the next level.
“They are teaching me stuff that you don’t see on a college level, that you see on a Sunday, so I really appreciate that.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.