Arthur Juan Brown
Born June 30, 1997 in Starkville, Mississippi
1m83 for 104 kilos
Receiver, Tennessee Titans, 2nd season
Mississippi Burning
State in the south of the United States, Mississippi has stigmatized racial issues in this country: from the first black student at Ole Miss University in 1962 to the infamous practices of the Klu Klux Klan described in the film “Mississippi Burning” released in 1988 But that’s another way AJ Brown set Mississippi on fire!
Like the rest of the country, the people of this state are crazy about football, and since they cannot satisfy their passions through the NFL, college football is lived there as a religion. Before the pandemic hit the world, Ole Miss and Mississippi State universities each had an average attendance of 50,000 spectators in their stadiums. 120 kilometers separate the Oxford and Starkville campuses and their fans are of course rivals.
Imagine the reactions then, when a child born and raised in Starkville, chooses to play for Ole Miss!
“We have received a lot of death threats. Some said they were going to come and set our house on fire, that sort of thing. », Explains Arthur Brown father of AJ to nfl.com
AJ Brown does not hold back from responding on social media, claiming that Mississippi State has not shown him the same interest as other colleges. And then, that he was not afraid of anyone, “come”. At his father’s request, AJ Brown then deleted all of his messages and did not post any more.
“This is not us, the Brown do not respond to salt with salt. », Arthur Brown for the Clarion Ledger
A few years later, AJ Brown will explain that several coaches such as Nick Saban (Alabama) had come in person during the recruitment process. Dan Mullen then MSU coach did not deign to make the trip, although the shortest of all, and only spoke to him on the phone. A lack of respect for AJ Brown.
“Coaches came from all over (Alabama, California) but Dan Mullen couldn’t drive 5 minutes! », AJ Brown for nfl.com
The strategist
In the USA, if football is king, baseball also holds an important place in families. In 2011, Brad Pitt brought to the screen the history of the Oakland A’s and in particular their so original way of recruiting players. It is therefore common for young athletes to play both sports: among many others we can mention Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs), Russell Wilson (Seahawks) or Hall of Famers Deion Sanders and Bo Jackson. This was also the case for AJ Brown and in 2015 he became the only 2nd high school student to be selected to play the High School All Star Game in both sports. The first player to achieve this feat had done the previous year: Kyler Murray (Cardinals).
“As soon as the baseball season is over, I play football. And as soon as the football season is over, I play baseball again. »AJ Brown told USA Today in 2015
And while he made a commitment 3 months earlier with Ole Miss University, he was drafted by the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball. A childhood dream. For him, the two sports are complementary.
“I always say that you catch the ball with your eyes. Baseball really helped me in that, especially when you have to chase that little white ball deep. Your timing must be good. “AJ Brown told ESPN
His father’s favorite sport, AJ Brown has been batting from a young age. But deciding to make football his option for success, he favored receiving a ball. But the bat and the ball are part of who he is.
Batman and robin
This 1997 opus is arguably not the best in the Batman series, but it fits AJ Brown like a catcher’s glove. Two superheroes with protruding muscles. AJ Brown and DK Metcalf, it’s Batman and Robin! And, if in the work of DC Comics Batman is the most imposing of the duo, it was not the case at the university of Ole Miss. AJ Brown was Batman.
As of 2016, Brown and Metcalf are in the rotation for their freshman seasons. Evan Engram (TE / Giants) is then the number 1 option in attack (926 yards and 8 TDs) but AJ Brown has 29 receptions and 2 TDs (Metcalf, only 2 receptions). In 2017 and 2018, it was AJ Brown who became the first option in attack: 1252 yards and 11 TDs then 1320 yards and 6 TDs. Player branded “slot”, yet he plays both inside the field and outside the marks.
But while DK Metcalf dazzles the 2019 NFL Combine with his athletic power, AJ Brown posts decent results. No more. 18th receiver in the 40-yard sprint, 22nd in vertical relaxation, 25th in long jump without momentum. Playing mainly in the slot and with average athletic results, he does not panic the NFL scouts. His production at the university is not however ignored and he is chosen at the gates of the top 50 in 51st position by the Titans of Tennessee, who since congratulate themselves on their choice. No transition season for him, more than 1000 yards and 8 touchdowns his rookie season. His second? He does it again.
The Titans are in the running for a new playoff campaign in 2020 so AJ Brown has only one desire, to go to the end. So that in a few years we can name a fourth film in his honor: Remember the Titans (Le plus beau des combats).
AJ Brown picked up the first and more ???? @Brown1arthur @Titans
???? #TENvsGB on NBC pic.twitter.com/uF31hQHFFN
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) December 28, 2020
visual by Thomas Guerriero – @hellkin13 (Insta) / @ Warrior_Th (Twitter)
