Lely's Marcus Brown in Historic Playoff

Lely’s Marcus Brown’s rise to the biggest stage in college football did not come easy. But six years after finishing his outstanding career at Lely High School, Brown held his own in the middle of Cincinnati's defensive line Friday night, as they battled perennial National Championship contender Alabama in the college football playoffs at the Cotton Bowl in Arlington, Texas. And while he was understandably disappointed in the Bearcat’s 27-6 loss to the Crimson Tide, he felt good about his performance.

“I think I played good overall,” Brown said immediately after the game. "I think I did my assignments to the best of my ability. I’m happy about what I did on the football field. I’m doing good as can be expected. It’s a blessing to be out there playing in the college football playoffs. It was a great experience. I’m not even mad about it. I’m mad that we lost, but there’s a lot more to be gained than just losing a football game.”

Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell was proud of his team’s effort.

“His words were,” Brown said, “No matter what, it was an amazing season.”

Brown went toe-to-toe with Alabama’s vaunted offensive line and came away with three tackles - an impressive number for a nose guard, a position that isn’t expected to produce big statistics.

“My role as a nose guard,” Brown said, "you’re going to take on two people every play. You’ve got to be disruptive. I’m not going to make all the plays. I’m not going to have all the stats. I’m not necessarily going to get all the recognition.”

Brown’s football career almost ended before it really got started. Even though he knew he had the size and the talent, he didn’t understand how important the academic side was.

“I started playing football my freshman year of high school,” Brown said. "I couldn’t play my sophomore year of high school because I was ineligible because of my grades. So, I had to sit out. I knew I could play college football my freshman year of high school. It was just the academic side I needed help with. But I always knew I could play at the next level. I got back on the team my junior year. I took off my junior and senior year.”

Lely counselor Beth Colman was Brown’s guardian angel.

“Miss Colman,” Brown said, "my academic advisor was definitely there to get me back on track. It was tough. I had never been a big academic type of person. So, it was a challenge to get back on the football field. A lot of the coaches helped me along the way. Coach Culmer St. Jean, Coach Fritz Jacques. I always go back to Lely to see Miss Colman every time I come back to Naples. I got to.”

“Marcus is a fantastic kid,” said Culmer St. Jean, Brown’s football coach at Lely. "Always high spirited. Always happy. A straight shooter. Just an all-around great kid. He just didn’t understand - like most kids - how athletics and academics correlated. Once he figured that out, he had a great work ethic, and he was able to get eligible and get the opportunity to play at the next level."

Colman’s influence on Brown didn’t end when he left Lely. He came back to talk to Colman after his second year at Cincinnati. The hulking 6’2, 297 lineman sat down with his petite 5-foot-tall counselor and bared his soul.

“I’m so excited for him,” Beth Colman said. "He’s such a good kid. Just a great kid. He’s been such a humble kid. And one who will always come back and talk with Fritz Jacques and I. A couple of years into being at Cincinnati, he came back one summer. He sat with me and talked with me about how he wasn’t sure how it was going to work out for him. He was just struggling a little bit with learning all the plays. He was very, very, honest and humble about it. And for being such a big guy, he’s such a sweet kid. To sit there and listen to him talk about that, about not being sure that such an overpowering kid could make it work. And then to see him go back that next season. It all clicked that year. I don’t know if it was because he was coming to that realization, or if he just realized it wasn’t as easy as he thought it was going to be. He started studying and really learning. It just all clicked that year. He’s had three great years. This year suited him well."

Brown returned to school and became a force on the football field, playing in every game and starting his final five games as a junior. His senior season he was selected second team All-AAC. The Cincinnati defense led the league in rushing, scoring, pass efficiency and total defense.

As a senior, Brown was part of Cincinnati’s first undefeated regular season and first playoff team. He was honorable mention all-conference in 2021 and led the team in fumble recoveries.

Just as important, he graduated and has started work on a master’s degree.

Colman remembers working with Brown as a high schooler.

“He’s so quiet,” Colman said. "He just does not speak. School was always very hard for him. But he was the most hard-working kid ever. He did everything you asked of him. He listened to every word you said to him. He did everything you told him to do. His best friend, Kendall Duckworth, had signed with Kansas. It was hard for Marcus because we were trying to get him eligible. So, we decided to send him to prep school. He listened to every word I had to say to him. Other people were telling him to go to junior college. I just kept telling him not to use that year of eligibility. This was only a few months. If he went to prep school, it would take care of his academics. He wouldn’t lose anything, he wouldn’t give up anything. He listened to me and he did everything that was asked of him, and it paid off. That was only six years ago. He’s done everything asked of him and more. He stayed the same humble kid. I know that his grades have improved quite a bit. I know that his academic support at Cincinnati has been great. I know he’s working on a masters. He has stayed the humble, sweet kid he’s always been to us. He hasn’t changed a whole bunch.”

St. Jean wants to make sure people understand what kind of person Brown is. While he’s proud of what Brown has achieved on the field, he’s even more proud of Brown as a human being.

"He’s a great kid,” St. Jean said. "He’s a great student. He’s a great athlete. Most of all he’s really a great person. He genuinely cares about people and doing the right thing. I know we’re focusing on him as a football player. But him as a person, it’s a beautiful thing to see. He lights up the room with his energy and his personality.”

St. Jean remembers Brown as a youngster whose talent separated him from his peers.

“He’s a freak of an athlete,” St. Jean said. "We took him to a Nike camp and he ran under a 5.0 in the 40. And he broad jumped 10’. He was 340-350 pounds. He’s definitely a specimen athletically. As far a football player, the great thing about Marcus is he wants to learn. He wants to get better. He comes from a single parent family. He loves his mom. I spoke to mom all the time. Mom’s a simple woman. Just wants the best for her kids. He’s just a hard-working kid. Because that’s what mom does. And he just replicates what she did.”

Brown said his mom watched the Bearcat’s playoff game against Alabama from her home in Naples. She’s a big part of his motivation to play the game.

“My mom was in Florida watching the game at home,” he said. "My mom was a single parent for most of my life. She had to do everything for me, my brother and my sister. She made ends meet. That’s why I’m playing this football stuff. I’m trying to take care of my family as well.”

In order to take care of his mom with his football talents, Brown will have to make an NFL roster.

"Yes, sir,” Brown said "that’s the plan. To get to the NFL. I’m going to get there.”

St. Jean, an All-Big 10 player at Wisconsin, both athletically and academically, believes Brown will make it at football’s highest level. He actually thought it was going to be as an offensive lineman.

“He was quick, he was strong, and he was a finisher,” St. Jean said of Brown as a high school athlete. "His junior year we played Clearwater Catholic, and they had an ESPN Top 150, number 11 defensive end. He demolished him. That’s how he actually got his name. He manhandled him. We put a clip together and it kind of took off from there. He had great upper body strength. He moved well laterally. If he got his hands on you, you’re going down. That's all there is to it. He was physical. At the high school level, if you’re a fast guard who can pull, I feel like that carries over at all levels. At 340 pounds, it’s a no brainer at the next level. He was fast enough to play guard at any Division 1 school. He slendered down. I thought for sure he was a guard and guaranteed into the draft. I think he’s still going to do it on the defensive line. It’s just a different journey.”

No matter what, St. Jean said Brown has a support group with roots at Lely High.

“He’s gonna get a shot at the NFL,” St. Jean said. "I talk to him from time to time. If he needs my support, I’m here. I try to give him the best answers I can. I know how overwhelming it can be when you get to this point. He knows if he needs something, he’s got a great support group at Lely, and the people who were there for him at Lely. I’m not currently there, but I’m an alumni. He has a great support group in Naples who wants him to be successful, that he can call on if he needs something. I think he’ll do fine." 

Brown feels his sixth year at Cincinnati, known as a COVID year, improves his chances of becoming an NFL player.

“My IQ for the game got a lot better,” Brown said. "My technique got a lot better in that sixth year. I feel like my conditioning got better. Everything just increases. It’s a real advantage playing six years.”

Next up for Brown is an all-star game in Texas.

“I gotta come right back up here on the eighth,” Brown said from the Cotton Bowl. "I’ve got an all-star game in Texas, the Texas Gridiron All-Star game. After that I’m going to be training for my pro day in Columbus.”

Whatever happens, Colman knows that she will always be a part of the big lineman’s life.

"I’m so proud of that kid,” Colman beamed. "I can’t begin to tell you. I got a text from him this morning. I just love him so much. He’s such a good kid. He’s a kid that I know I will always, always, stay in touch with. He’s represented us extremely well.”