STARKVILLE — Starkville High School running backs coach Carlos Kemp first saw Avery Brown as a sophomore.
Brown was a member of the scout team, but he used that opportunity to show Kemp, the other coaches, and his teammates what was to come.
“When he got in, he ran hard and I saw then he was going to be pretty good his senior year,” Kemp said. “He’s just the type of person that comes to work each day, and he’s going to give all he’s got every day.”
Brown earned a start in the first game of his senior year against Noxubee County last week. He rushed for 90 yards on 21 carries in a 26-20 double-overtime loss. Brown likely will get his next start at 8 tonight when Starkville plays host to Oxford (1-0) in the “Little Egg Bowl.” ESPNU will broadcast the game live.
“Being a starter is great,” Brown said. “I have to do what I have to do to help the team out.”
Brown, a 5-foot-9, 180-pounder, has waited two seasons to become Starkville High’s No. 1 tailback. Last season, senior running backs Matt Fuller and Jacquez Horsley combined to rush for 1,595 yards and 16 touchdowns. Horsley has since moved onto East Mississippi Community College.
Even though the Jackets had Fuller and Horsley last season, Brown played in all 14 games, rushing for 358 yards and four touchdowns. He credits Fuller and Horsley for helping to teach him everything he knows. He said his goal is to “put it all together” so he can “make a big explosion out of myself.”
Kemp said getting playing time last season has helped Brown’s confidence.
“He really didn’t think he was going to play a lot, but when Horsley went down (with an injury), he was thrust into the picture, and he did a great job of handling the situation,” Kemp said.
Starkville has one of the best defenses in the state of Mississippi. Three of the four defensive lineman are seniors with several Division I offers. The other, Nelson Jordan, likely also will receive offers. The Yellow Jackets’ linebackers also are solid, so Brown faces good competition every day in practice to prepare him for Friday nights.
“(He’s a) hard runner and can just make a move at any second,” Starkville junior linebacker Willie Gay said. “Falling down, (he can) just shake you out. He’s just a crazy running back. He can do anything.”
Kemp said Brown has good vision and deceiving speed, but those aren’t even his best qualities at the running back. He said Brown also has good hands and is a threat to catch the ball out of the backfield.
Brown caught eight passes for 91 yards as a junior. He had three catches for 29 yards against Noxubee County.
Starkville will lean on senior wide receiver A.J. Brown in the passing game this season. A.J. Brown caught a team-high 14 passes for 147 yards and one touchdown last week. Avery Brown’s ability to catch the ball could add another dimension to the attack.
“It takes a little bit of pressure off A.J.,” Kemp said. “When we’re able to run the ball and he can catch the ball out of the backfield, you can’t just put everybody on A.J. Right now, we know A.J. is the guy, and if we can take a little bit of pressure off A.J., we’ll be all right.”
Brown is poised to have a big final season, but he wants the legacy of good running backs to live on when he’s gone. He hopes sophomore Andreus Swanigan can learn from him and carry on the tradition.
“I have to keep him focused every day in practice to get him better,” Brown said.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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