The celebration was well thought out. It had been planned for two years. When the time arrived, it would be epic.
The time came for Texas A&M second-year receiver Yulkeith Brown with 3:39 seconds remaining in the first quarter of a 31-0 victory over Sam Houston.
Brown blazed past a cornerback and hauled in a 66-yard touchdown pass from Haynes King. A crowd in excess of 97,000 celebrated.
Curiously, Brown did not. Well, not in the manner in which he had planned.
“The crowd finally knowing who I am and (just looking at them),” Brown recalled on Monday. “I promise you, I had a celebration in my mind since last year, and I forgot about it as soon as I scored.”
He’s been somewhat of a forgotten man.
Veteran receivers Ainias Smith and Chase Lane returned. Heralded freshman recruits Evan Stewart, Chris Marshall and Noah Thomas had arrived. The combination might have made some forget that just a year ago, Brown was a four-star prospect from Miami.
His reminder wasn’t subtle.
Not only did he score A&M’s first touchdown of the 2022 football season, but he also delivered a smashing downfield block to free Smith on a 63-yard touchdown catch just before halftime.
“I feel like (the block) was the best part of my day,” Brown said. “I wasn’t really the primary read (on his touchdown catch). We’re always taught to run all our routes at full speed. Anything can happen. Once the DB pressed, I knew I had a vertical (route). I looked back, and I saw Haynes was targeting me.”
Plays like those should ensure Brown maintains a prominent role in the A&M offense.
“He’s growing and playing really well,” head coach Jimbo Fisher said. “Had a great camp. Played well. Made big plays. He can do a lot of things. The plays he makes blocking and otherwise.”
Fisher envisioned as much. That’s why Brown was aggressively recruited in 2020. Well, he was recruited as aggressively as was allowed in that year, which was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“My recruitment process was a little different,” Brown said. “I came in the COVID year, so I couldn’t really visit the school, but I had a chance to see a virtual. I just felt like home. I visited many schools, but this one I never had, so it was a weird feeling I had. I was like, ‘They keep calling me. They might want me for real.’ So I took a shot at it, and I’ve never looked back since.”
Brown might spend more time looking back this season. That is, looking back at defensive backs he has run past.
His speed was always a tantalizing quality.
Brown ran the 100m in 11.04 seconds as a senior at Miami Central High School. He estimates now he could run 10.8 or 10.7.
That puts him among the fastest players in a receivers room full of speedsters.
“When I think about our receivers group … we’re like the (Miami) Dolphins,” Brown said. “We need to race and find out (who’s fastest). Nobody knows yet.”
Brown might not know who is fastest, but he knows which teammates to pick for a 4x100m relay.
“We argued about this the other day,” Brown said. “First leg, I would go with Haynes. Second leg, I’m giving it to Evan Stewart ... Nah. I’ll switch that. I’ll get (running back Devon) Achane two, Evan three and let me close it out.
“Or you could let Achane close it out and let me be the two. I feel like me and Achane could be the two and four.”
That’s fast company. Speed like that figures to spawn many more celebrations at Kyle Field.
Hoping for a quick fix
Fisher indicated the run-blocking problems with the offensive line might be a relatively easy fix. The Aggies only rushed for 110 yards against Sam Houston.
“(It was) just communication,” Fisher said. “You had three or four guys who were new guys. You get a call and get a step out of line or a hand out of line. I think some nerves got to them a little bit. At the same time, we’ve got to calm down. We’ve got to get back to fundamentals.”
Left tackle Trey Zuhn made his collegiate debut. Center Matthew Wykoff got his first start. Guard Layden Robinson was in and out of the lineup and apparently hobbled with a sore ankle.
Injury update
Fisher said defensive tackle McKinnley Jackson and cornerback Jaylon Jones, who sat out the Sam Houston game with injuries, will return to practice this week. Tight end Max Wright, who also missed the game, remains questionable, as is linebacker Andre White, who limped off the field on Saturday.
Center Bryce Foster has been slowed by a case of mononucleosis. It’s uncertain when he’ll be back.
“I’m hoping (he’ll return), but I can’t tell you when,” Fisher said of Foster. “They’re telling me he’s day-to-day.”
bigag83 said:
This:
"I feel like (the block) was the best part of my day," Brown said
Receivers in the SEC need to block down field.
If you watch Johnny's runs in '11 you saw receivers making down field blocks for him.