BYU football: Terence Brown is anything but a quitter

PROVO — Terence Brown is anything but a quitter.

Brown, a 6-foot-4, 318-pound senior from Summerville, South Carolina, has started every game since his sophomore season for BYU and was even named to the Rimington Trophy 2011 Fall Watch List, but his first try at football didn’t go so well.

“My first year of football was in the fifth grade and I actually hated it,” Brown said. “I was, honestly, kind of a sensitive child. I loved playing during the games, but I didn’t like getting yelled at in practice.”

But instead of giving up on the sport, Brown decided to give it another try in the eighth grade.

“It took me awhile to warm up and grow up a little and understand that criticism is a good thing even though sometimes people yell,” Brown said.

Brown started playing on the defensive line in eighth grade but in ninth grade got moved to the offensive line and has been there ever since.

He is now BYU's starting center.

After playing on the junior varsity squad his freshman year of high school, Brown had big dreams for his sophomore year and his offensive line coach impelled him with some backhanded motivation.

“The one thing I look back on that really propelled me as far as motivation was after my freshman year when I was on the JV team and after that season, my offensive line coach came up to me and he asked what my plans were for next year. I told him I really wanted to try out and make the varsity team,” Brown said. “He said I shouldn’t even try out or worry about it and just stick with JV. For me, that was a big motivation because I felt like I could do it, even though he told me I couldn’t.”

Brown worked very hard that summer and not only made the varsity squad his sophomore year, but he started varsity from then on.

And just like Sheryl Yoast from “Remember the Titans” says, for Brown, growing up in the South, high school football was a way of life.

“Where I grew up football was a second religion for most people,” Brown said. “Friday nights the town would shut down and we would have anywhere from 10,000 to 15,000 people at our games. It was a fun experience and I was grateful I was able to play football there.”

Playing at Summerville High School under the legendary high school coach John McKissick, who is football’s all-time national wins leader at any level with 586 victories, the thought of playing college ball didn’t really cross Brown’s mind until later on in his career.

“When I was a sophomore starting in high school we were a very powerful football program and I would hear things from people that because I was starting as a sophomore that meant I could probably play college ball,” Brown said. “I had never thought much about it, but I felt like I had the ability to go that far. Starting my junior year, I started getting letters from colleges.”

Brown was recruited by several schools out of high school, including Clemson, South Carolina, Vanderbilt and even Georgia, but when it came to BYU, it was Brown who reached out and made the introduction.

“BYU didn’t find me, I really found them,” Brown said.

Brown’s stake president back in South Carolina had a brother who was an offensive coordinator at Alabama (Charlie Stubbs), so he understood what needed to be done when it came to recruiting.

“Being the oldest, my parents and I didn’t understand the recruiting process, so my stake president had me put together a recruiting video and we sent it to BYU,” Brown said. “They saw it, became interested and asked me to come out to a football camp in the summer. I came out, they offered me a scholarship and two weeks into my senior year in South Carolina, I called and told them I wanted to commit.”

And how did Brown decide on BYU?

“I had been thinking about it for a while, obviously,” Brown said. “But what it came down to was one night I prayed about it and felt very strongly BYU was the place I needed to be.”

Coincidentally, Brown committed while Gary Crowton was head coach, but never actually played under him. Brown’s first season was in 2005, the season Bronco Mendenhall took over as head coach for BYU.

And just like any athlete's progression to a higher level, Brown’s transition to the university level was a bit challenging — but not daunting.

“When you come to BYU it’s a big adjustment, I think for everyone, because coach Mendenhall expects a lot from you, but I felt like I made that transition fairly well,” Brown said.

“Things were faster, guys were bigger, faster and stronger. In high school you’re the big shot and then you come to college and you have to re-earn respect and all of those things.”

After his freshman year, Brown served a two-year LDS mission in Maceio, Brazil, and just as the transition from high school ball to the university level was tough, the transition back to football after his mission also had its challenges.

“The hardest thing was getting back into shape,” Brown said. “When I went on my mission I knew that was the right thing to do and I knew if it was the Lord’s will and if I did everything right, football would be here when I got back and it was, but the toughest thing was just getting back into playing shape. For me, my strength came back really quickly, but getting back the muscle endurance and just endurance in general was more tough.”

Even though Brown has played in 42 games at BYU since his freshman year, which involved three bowl games and three games against Top 10 teams, he says the most memorable moment during his university experience has been meeting his wife, Sara.

“We were in the same singles ward in 2008 and we had met before, but I’m a pretty shy guy,” Brown said. “Jake Kuresa, who I played with my freshman year, sent me a text one day telling me there was a girl in my ward who thought I was cute and told me I should ask her out. So we went on a double date with Jake and his wife, who was from the same town (Lehi, Utah) as my wife, and from there things went well.”

Brown married his wife Sara during spring ball, right before the summer break, in 2009.

When it comes to Brown’s most memorable football moment at BYU, he understandably looks to the 2009 Oklahoma game.

“Going into the Cowboys stadium (Arlington, Texas) and beating Oklahoma was a fun experience and it was amazing to be a part of it and the great atmosphere that surrounded the game,” Brown said. “It was a Big 12 team, and to have the opportunity to play them and to play well and get the win was amazing. I remember after in the locker room and it was a sweet experience and something I’ll never forget.”

Now in his senior year, Brown is looked up to as a leader and sets an excellent example for the younger members of the team.

“I don’t necessarily feel just because I am a senior I have to step up and be a leader. I just feel through my example and through my demeanor and through the things I do, I hope I can be a leader,” Brown said. “I definitely take the young guys and answer any questions they have and just try and show them what BYU football is because it is a change coming from high school. I feel that sense of responsibility, but I don’t feel like I have to change myself.”

Returning four starters to the offensive line, including Outland Trophy candidate Matt Reynolds, Brown is excited to continue playing and improving with his friends.

“We’ve played together for a couple of years now, so we just have that continuity and are all on the same page," said Brown. "So it’s fun."

In his last season as a Cougar, Brown looks forward to the opportunities ahead, including those that come with being selected for the Rimington Trophy 2011 Fall Watch List.

“I’m grateful I’m on the list and I think it’s a great accomplishment,” he said. “Being on that list is great and hopefully I can perform high enough I can continue to get looks and things like that. But I just want to better myself and help our team play well. If those things happen then I’ll be pleased with our season and with my season.”

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