Marshall University Athletics
MCGILL: Levi Brown ready for next step in football journey
4/22/2020 9:25:00 PM | Football, Word on the Herd
NFL Draft runs from Thursday to Saturday
By Chuck McGill
HerdZone.com
Levi Brown sat on the front porch of his parents' home in Georgia, a rooster crowing nearby, on the eve of the National Football League Draft.
"I planned on being somewhere different," said the former Marshall offensive lineman, who is eagerly awaiting his professional football fate over the course of the next three days.
The worldwide pandemic brought upon by the coronavirus – commonly referred to as COVID-19 – altered Brown's plans for the draft, which begins Thursday night at 8. The first round will be completed Thursday, two more rounds Friday and the final four rounds of the seven-round event will wrap up Saturday.
Brown will watch three days of coverage with his family. He has no idea if he'll hear his name called or see his name scroll across the bottom line of draft coverage. He has no read on whether he'll be taken with one of the 255 selections or if he'll wait and sign as an undrafted free agent. But, he is ready and waiting to begin his pro journey.
"Once I got to high school and got a shot to play college football, you realize that after college the next step is the NFL," Brown said. "Luckily, I'm from Georgia and I know people from all kinds of different high schools who went and played in the NFL. That meant a lot watching people you know succeed. Knowing it's my shot and my time is something special."
Brown has the attention of professional football teams after an impressive Marshall career.
He started 50 games, the 10th player in school history to reach that milestone. He made a Conference USA all-conference team all four seasons: all-freshman in 2016, second team all-conference in 2017 and first team in 2018 and 2019.
In 2017, '18Â and '19, Marshall coaches gave Brown the Jim Conard Award, which goes to the team's top offensive lineman.
"A lot of teams didn't get their Pro Day and didn't get a ton of work in after the season," Brown said. "So, this kind of comes down to film. I have 50 starts and played every single snap in almost every game, so it helps me out a lot more because they have so much film to see how much I've gotten better from season one to season four."
Marshall Pro Day was held at the Chris Cline Athletic Complex on March 11. The next day, college sports came to a grinding halt because of the spread of the virus.
Since then, Brown has been working out on his own and staying in shape in Georgia. At first, he relied heavily on push-ups and sit-ups, but then a former high school coach of his provided him with a key to the nearby high school. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Brown can workout at the school and do sprints. On Tuesday and Thursday, Brown does longer runs to keep up his conditioning level.
Listed at 6-4 and 297 pounds, Brown's football IQ and quickness is something that stands out to scouts, he said.
"When they watch film they see things that pop out like me pulling around guards and me pulling around tackles and getting up to the second level," Brown said. "They look for quickness and smarts and somehow I fit the bill for those when they come to look for centers."
What that ultimately means Brown's seven-round draft or post-draft fate is anyone's guess. He just wants the opportunity to prove himself at the next level, just as he did at Marshall for four seasons.
"I'm not a day one or day two guy," Brown said. "You don't know if you're going to get a call or not, so I'm going to spend some time with my family and enjoy it."
Chuck McGill is the Assistant Athletic Director for Fan/Donor Engagement and Communications at Marshall University and an eight-time winner of the National Sports Media Association West Virginia Sportswriter of the Year award. In addition to HerdZone.com's Word on the Herd, McGill is the editor of Thundering Herd Illustrated, Marshall's official athletics publication. Follow him on Twitter (@chuckmcgill) and Instagram (wordontheherd).
