Former Bradwell Institute football player Chester Brown is learning the ropes of a new college position at the University of Central Florida’s spring practice in Orlando.
Brown is being switched from the defensive line to the offense this year, and word is he is adjusting well and likely will start.
“The junior looks much more comfortable at the right-tackle position,” Ryan Gillespie of centralfloridafuture.com wrote in an article dated March 24.
Brown, a redshirt sophomore last year, has been elevated to the role of first-team right tackle, joining Michael Campbell and Tarik Cook as newcomers to the starting offensive line, as reported by ucf.rivals.com.
However, Brown knows how to play offensive line. At Bradwell, he was a highly recruited offensive tackle, receiving offers from the University of Georgia among other schools. Brown committed to UGA but later withdrew his commitment when an issue arose regarding residency/naturalization status.
The Knights offered Brown a scholarship, and he spent his first year as a true freshman primarily in the role of a defensive tackle. That year, he was named Defensive Scout Team Player of the Week for the Tulsa game as well as the C-USA Championship Game, also at Tulsa, according to ucfknights.com.
In 2013, as a redshirt freshman, he was named to the American Athletic Conference all-academic team and played in three games.
At the end of preseason camp last year, the Knights switched Brown back to the offensive line.
“Brown, a 6-foot-5, 325-pound tackle, has the frame and athleticism to be one of the most highly-rated linemen in the country if he can learn the nuances of the position,” Paul Tenorio of the Orlando Sentinel wrote in an article posted March 27.
"I feel like I have to prove myself to (offensive line) coach (Brent) Key and (head) coach (George) O'Leary because those are the guys that (believe) I can play," Brown said in the article. "I've just got to keep working, just got to keep taking every rep. Like Key said, it takes 1,000 reps to get better."
Brown didn’t start playing football until he was a freshman at Bradwell Institute.