http://www.cjonline.com/stories/020407/cat_144855564.shtmlK-State football recruit turning heads
215-pounder will be second in the Top 100 to play for Wildcats
By Austin Meek
The Capital-Journal
Published Sunday, February 04, 2007
MANHATTAN —
The phone calls just wouldn't stop. Everybody wanted to talk to Lamark Brown.
And why wouldn't they? Recruiting services list Brown's position as "athlete," but that only begins to tell the story. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds,
Brown is built, in the words of one recruiting analyst,
"like a Greek god."Still, Brown says he only wanted one thing.
"Like I tell everyone,
I've wanted to come to Kansas State since I was a freshman in high school," Brown said.
So in June, the standout from St. Louis' Hazelwood West High School made an early commitment to play football for K-State and coach Ron Prince.
Still, the would-be suitors continued flooding Brown with phone calls and text messages.
Two weeks ago, an Oklahoma State coach showed up unannounced during one of Prince's visits to Hazelwood West.
"He didn't even care that coach Prince was there," Brown said. "He just kept asking to see me. He didn't even talk to my coach before he came."Hazelwood West coach Keith Herring remembers that exchange and countless others that have taken place since Brown committed to K-State.
"Oh yeah, there were quite a few (schools) that kept bothering him and bothering me," Herring said.
It's no surprise to Herring, who watched a parade of college scouts ooh and ahh at Brown's physique.
"Every college scout that's walked through here, their comments have just been like, 'Holy cow, he looks better than a lot of our players,' " Herring said.
Despite the best efforts of Arkansas, Missouri and others, Herring said Brown never swayed from his commitment to K-State.
"He knew right away," Herring said. "His parents said he made the commitment, so he's going to go there. It was a done deal."
Brown, a high school running back and free safety, is expected to play wide receiver at K-State. It's a position he played at camps and combines, and one he said comes naturally.
"I'm actually a lot more with that than playing running back or free safety," Brown said.
"I felt more natural at wide receiver than any other spot I've played.
"Me going to wide receiver will help out the offense, help make more big plays downfield."Brown, rated the No. 71 prospect in the nation by Rivals.com, will become the second Top 100 player to sign with Prince at K-State.
The other? A Grandview, Mo., quarterback named Josh Freeman, whom Prince wooed away from Nebraska last year.
"We've got (Brown) ranked really high," Rivals.com analyst Jeremy Crabtree said. "We've got him ranked higher nationally than we had Josh Freeman when he came.
"Potential-wise, he's expected to be one of the highest-impact high school kids that they've signed in quite some time."
With his size and 4.5 speed in the 40-yard dash, Brown is a walking mismatch for undersized cornerbacks or slow-footed linebackers.
Those attributes, coupled with Prince's penchant for playing true freshmen, could get Brown on the field right away, Crabtree said.
"K-State is expecting him to come in and be an immediate weapon for Josh Freeman," Crabtree said. "He's that good. He's got good ball skills."Crabtree said Prince's "when they're ready, we're ready" philosophy toward true freshmen played a role in Brown's decision.
"He wanted an opportunity to play early," Crabtree said. "Lamark realized that if he's good enough, he's going to play early on, and I think that's something that's been a major part of his decision."
More than that, though, Brown said he felt at home in Manhattan.
"When I finally got a chance to come up there, I got along well with the coaches and felt like I was at home," Brown said. "It was like being around the coaches I was with for four years in high school."
So on Wednesday, Brown is expected to sign with K-State from his high school in St. Louis. And maybe then, at last, the phone calls will stop.
If they do, no one will be happier than Brown.
"I'm really excited to get on the field," Brown said. "I'm going to come in and do my job and see what happens."
