Football players know they’re going to get hit. After all, football is a contact sport.
But just because they expect to get hit doesn’t mean they have to like it.
University of Memphis running back Dante Brown said he has no problem with physical play and at 6-2, 220 pounds, opposing defenders may have reason to be concerned.
In Monday’s 30-10 loss to 18th-ranked Mississippi State, the former Georgia high school USA Today All-American led the team in rushing in his Tiger debut, totaling 43 yards on 13 carries.
“I can take a lick,” Brown said, explaining how he feels about contact.
And though he has taken plenty of hits in his life, Dante will tell you that the guys doing the hitting are much bigger now that he’s playing Division I-A football.
Brown initially signed with U of M head coach Tommy West when West was coaching at Clemson, but he was wasn’t able to play because of a low SAT score.
“I thought junior college would be as big as a university, but it wasn’t,” Brown said. “The players weren’t as big (as they are now) and the crowds were like high school.”
Capacity crowd or not, Brown still put his hard hat on and went to work during his two years at Middle Georgia College. He scored three touchdowns on only 11 rushes in 1999 and carried for over 900 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2000 while leading his team to a 10-1 record and a fifth-place national ranking.
After Middle Georgia, Brown reunited with West here at Memphis to try the Division I-A thing again.
“After Clemson, I got to know coach West really well,” Brown said “He’s a nice guy.”
Now that he’s up in the big leagues, Brown said the difference is noticeable, but not a problem.
“The crowds are much bigger, and the players are bigger,” he said. “The game is played faster and tougher, but it doesn’t matter how big you are — if I can get by you, I can get by you.”
Another difference for Brown will be getting used to the change from offenses featuring two-back settings to a new one-back set, meaning he doesn’t have a fullback in the backfield with him to block. But Brown, being the physical runner that he is, said he isn’t extremely bothered.
“This is my first time in a one-back offense. I’m usually in the I-back,” he said. “I like it better than I thought I would. I just have to make the best of the offense.”
West said he was pleased with Brown’s performance Monday night. “I thought offensively, he was the brightest spot. He showed exactly what we’ve talked about. He showed the ability to make people miss in the hole.”
Though Brown only finished with 43 yards, West said his style of running was key.
“They won’t go down as really big runs, but he made a couple of three- and four-yard runs that were really, really good,” West said.
Brown said he was pleased with his performance in the loss, and said he and the of the rest of the ball club played well.
“We lost our momentum at the end of the game,” Brown said. “It was a learning experience for us. We can’t give up.”
