Kerrville (TX) Tivy linebacker Chase Brown was the first Class of 2017 football prospect to commit to Tulsa all the way back in June of 2015. He'll also be the first to hit campus, as he told Inside Tulsa Sports that he's signed financial aid documents with TU and will start classes this semester.
"Yes sir, I've already got my schedule and everything," he said last weekend. "I'm headed up there on the 6th and my move in day is the 7th of January."
The 6-foot-3, 230 pound athlete will get to jumpstart his college career by participating in spring drills at TU, and he plans to hit the ground running with a solid work ethic.
“Honestly, I'll probably be redshirted, but my goal is just to work my tail off and set a good impression with the coaches,” he said. “If I earn a spot on the field next year, then great. If not, then I'm just getting an extra year to get faster, stronger and smarter. I'm not the greatest athlete, but for what I lack in athleticism, I make up for in not just hard work, but extra work and reps. I want to be able to bring that mentality to the team.”
As a senior at Tivy this past season, Brown racked up 132 tackles (68 solos), 12 tackles for loss, six pass deflections, four forced fumbles, one sack, one interception and one fumble recovery.
"Individually I was happy. I had a few minor injuries to my shoulder and knee that I tried to play through that slowed me down, but besides that, I thought I performed well," he explained. "We had one of the best defenses Kerrville has seen since I've lived here, but our first round loss (in the playoffs) was the earliest Tivy's had since I can remember, and that really stings."
Due to bad luck with injuries, Brown barely played in his first two years of high school. In the first game of his freshman season, he tore his ACL, MCL and meniscus. He tore his meniscus again in the summer before his sophomore year and an infection in his knee kept him out all season.
Fortunately for Brown, Tulsa coaches were already very familiar with him and offered a scholarship before his junior season.
“I've known (Tulsa) Coach (Philip) Montgomery and Coach (Joseph) Gillespie since I was a little kid,” Brown said shortly after he committed to Tulsa. “I've always wanted to play for Coach Montgomery and Coach Gillespie. It's been a dream ever since I started playing football. I know they're great people who will treat any kid like their own.”
Brown turned in a good junior season while playing behind three starters, and once he got his shot as a starter in his senior season, he dominated from his linebacker spot and earned First-Team All-District 26-5A honors.
“Just realizing my knee was fine and I didn't need to worry about it anymore -- that allowed me to play way faster,” he described. “In my last game, I had 18 tackles, two forced fumbles and four TFL's, and it just felt normal. Confidence and the ability to see past the guards and see the whole play develop is what I gained from football this year.”
While Tulsa was the only school to offer a scholarship, Brown was receiving interest from Texas, Notre Dame, Stanford, Missouri, Purdue and Iowa State after his junior season.
“Most D1 schools stopped talking to me about the time the season started,” he said. “I told a few schools I was a hard commit to Tulsa and skipped their camps last summer, and that was the last I heard from them.”
