One of the biggest surprises of the University of Utah's football training camp has been Charlie Brown, a speedy halfback from San Diego.
Brown - 5-foot-10, 190 pounds, fast, explosive, nimble - first reported to the team on Aug. 7. In that short time he has climbed to No. 2 on the depth chart behind sophomore Steve Abrams."Charlie Brown is one of the surprises of camp," says Head Coach Ron McBride. "He'll be one of the freshmen who sees playing time."
"He's not ready to do everything yet, because he's only been here two weeks," says offensive coordinator Dan Henson. "When we put him in there, we'll give him things that he can do early."
The Utes originally didn't offer Brown a scholarship, simply because they had none left to give him. They asked him to walk on, thinking that in the meantime some of their scholarship recruits might not pass their SAT tests or finish their junior college degrees and thus would be ineligible to play. That's exactly what happened.
"They kept me on hold through the summer," says Brown. "They told me I might get a scholarship in January, but that for the first semester or two I'd have to pay my way. But then a couple of recruits didn't pass their SATs. The first week of practice they saw my performance and gave me a scholarship early."
The question is how did recruiters overlook Brown? Speed? He ran 10.6 for 100 meters in a summer track meet. Credentials? He rushed for 1,600 yards and scored 28 touchdowns (including two punt returns) for Lincoln High last fall.
But only four schools recruited Brown - Utah State, San Diego State, UNLV, Utah - and only USU offered a scholarship.
"They didn't say why," says Brown of the schools who didn't offer scholarships. "All of a sudden they stopped calling."
FIELD DEMOTION: Cliff Smith, who missed the first week of practice because of academic problems, put on pads for the first time Monday after working out in shorts for two days. Smith, a senior and last year's leading rusher, is listed as the third-string halfback behind Abrams and Brown.
"He's going to have to work his way back up the ladder," says McBride. "Abrams is the starter."
INJURY UPDATE: Defensive tackle Vince Lobendahn, a junior college transfer who joined the team for the first time only two weeks ago, already has cracked the starting lineup, but shin splints forced him to sit out Monday's practices . . . Noseguard Greg Reynolds and guard James McKenna also have been slowed by injuries.
MISCELLANEOUS: Head Coach Ron McBride says he hopes that the Utes' stay in Price this week will improve their physicality and intensity. They seemed to be lacking neither during Monday morning's scrimmage, which came to a halt when cornerback Cedric Crawford had a major blowup. After a confrontation with the offense following a play, Crawford launched a lengthy, obscenity-filled tirade and was finally ordered off the field. A few minutes later, Crawford returned and all was forgiven, but not before McBride ordered the entire team to, "Keep your mouths shut! Don't talk, just play football! I'm not going to tolerate mouthy players!" . . . The Utes practiced six hours on Sunday, including morning and afternoon sessions. "We probably had them on the field too long," said McBride. "But we don't tolerate mistakes. If they make mistakes, we make them do it over." . . . It's not all work in Price. The local area chamber of commerce will hold a steak dinner for the Utes tonight.