ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, September 6, 1996 TAG: 9609060016
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DANIEL UTHMAN STAFF WRITER
STUART BROWN, who was not recruited for any sport, is now the 12th man for the Rebels.
His parents say he was just looking for something to do. Stuart Brown says he ``wanted to get a little exercise.''
So Brown decided to be a football player. At the University of Mississippi. In the Southeastern Conference.
``It's really one of the most farfetched things I've ever attempted to do,'' said Brown, a graduate of Rockbridge County High School.
Yet, he's done it. Brown never made All-Timesland as a wide receiver at Rockbridge. ``Far from it,'' he said. Yet he will be on the field Saturday in Jackson, Miss., when Ole Miss meets VMI, his hometown team.
Brown, 5 feet 11, 175 pounds, didn't plan on playing sports, particularly football, in college. No one recruited him for anything. He attended VMI's lacrosse camp three times, but apprehension over the ``Rat line'' and a love for Ole Miss he discovered as a senior in high school pulled him south.
After a semester at Mississippi, however, he and a friend from Lexington, Charlie Davidson, were ready to pull out. ``We packed up and left,'' said Brown, whose sister, Susan, was a three-sport standout at Roanoke College and coaches the Rockbridge County High School girls' basketball team.
Brown's father, Thomas, asked him to go back and said he could transfer after he completed a full year of classes. But Stuart Brown never left. Suffering withdrawal from the absence of sports in his life, Brown and a new roommate went out for the football team. Brown made it as a walk-on. ``His dad was really excited,'' said his mother, Mary Donald Brown.
The family then was plunged into the wild world of Rebels football and the SEC. They've tailgated in the fabled Grove in the middle of campus and watched the team stroll through two hours before each home game. They've belted out the tune of ``Forward, Rebels''. And they've seen their son accomplish things on the football field that no one ever imagined.
Brown started two games at flanker last season, played in 10, and caught five passes for 51 yards. He was on the kickoff and punt teams, making four tackles, two solo. When Ole Miss faced No.3 Florida on Sept.30, 1995, he was the Rebels' second receiver.
Brown says he takes the most pride in his blocking. He's had to do it in practice against players like Alundis Brice, now with the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, and on weekends against many future pros. ``That's what got me to play as much as I did, making sure my guy never got to make a tackle,'' he said. Then he paused.
``Really, not many people thought I could play at this level. I didn't think so, either. I never thought I'd be playing football in college, much less at an SEC school.''''
Nevertheless, Brown has done the unthinkable. What is a dream for most people, he turned into a reality, and without hesitation. He woke up one morning and decided to be an NCAA Division I-A football player in arguably the nation's top conference.
As the Everyman of the Ole Miss football program, Brown is signified by wearing jersey No.12, as in ``12th man.'' Rebels coach Tommy Tuberville gave him the assignment, an honor in Oxford, Miss. Every game, whether he's starting or not, Brown's name is sent out over the loudspeaker to the roar of the crowd: ``And the 12th man, junior flanker Stuart Brown!'', pom-pom girls, mascots and balloons following his wake.
``We wanted to get the students back involved in the program,'' Tuberville said. ``He's their representative. When they get to the stadium, they see No.12 and know they're a part of it.''
In addition to his receiving position and 12th-man duties, Tuberville gave Brown something else in the off-season - a full scholarship. Landing the scholarship was particularly impressive, considering the Rebels lost 13 grants the past two years because of NCAA probation. Asked how he felt when his son broke the news that he got a grant, Tom Brown said, ``Richer.''
Tom and Mary were on the VMI charter that was flying out of Roanoke Regional Airport on Thursday afternoon. Approximately 150 VMI supporters accompanied them on the flight to Jackson. ``We're hoping we don't have to ride in the baggage compartment,'' Tom Brown said jokingly.
Keydets fans can't hold the Browns' allegiance to Ole Miss against them, even if they are Rockbridge County residents. If anything, Stuart Brown's achievements as a Rebel should be a symbol for VMI. Against Ole Miss, the Keydets face odds similar to the ones Brown beat to become an important part of the Rebels' football program.
``Down here, just because you play football, you're a hero,'' Brown said. ``Some days, I just sit back in amazement.''
LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Brown.by CNB