PROVO — Brian Logan has been overcoming the odds since the day he first put on a football uniform.
No one thought he could play in junior college let alone start at a top Div. I program like BYU.
Now he’s making his bid to play in the NFL, and he’s hearing the same old line he’s been hearing since the sixth grade: “I’m just too short to play,” he said.
Logan currently is 5-foot-6 and weighs 180 pounds, which isn’t the ideal height or weight for an NFL cornerback let a lone a college cornerback. Despite his stature, Logan finished out his eligibility at BYU providing some of the best cornerback play fans have ever seen at the position.
Logan, who walked on at Foothill Junior College, developed into extremely confident, energetic and physical player who didn't back down from anyone.
During his first year at Foothill, Logan weighed just 150 pounds and tried out at running back — the position he excelled at in high school. He couldn’t cut it at that position and was set to quit the team before coaches approached him about trying a new position.
“They thought I could play cornerback and I seriously thought they were crazy,” he said. “I’d played a little corner in high school, but at my size, I just couldn’t see how I could cover or tackle anybody.”
Logan recalled looking up the heights and weights of college and NFL cornerbacks and what he found only confirmed his doubt about the position change.
“I thought, ‘there just aren’t cornerbacks that play at my size, not even close,’” he said. “I found some 5-8 guys, but no one that was 5-6, 150, that was for sure.”
Regardless, he decided to give it a go and found almost immediate success. In Foothill’s season-ending bowl game he was matched up against a 6-5 receiver who had committed to play at Purdue.
“I don’t mean to brag, but I dominated him.” he said. “I had three interceptions that game and it was then that I had a feeling that I could seriously play beyond the JC level and cover anyone no matter how tall they are.”
After his first year at Foothill, Logan sent out film and heard from a lot of Pac-10 schools. They told him that they loved his speed, quickness, smarts, tackling and basically everything required to play an effective cornerback, but that they simply couldn’t offer someone of his height.
“It was frustrating because it’s obviously something you can’t control,” he said. “I mean, I dominated in junior college and I showed that I could cover guys much, much taller than me, but I guess that didn’t matter. They just couldn’t get over how short I was and immediately wrote me off.”
San Diego State came through with an offer and he quickly committed to play for the the Aztecs, but that all changed when Chuck Long was fired. Brady Hoke, who was hire to replace Long, pulled Logan’s offer leaving him with the feeling that his career could be coming to an end.
“It was very frustrating because I held my commitment to San Diego State and they didn’t hold theirs to me,” he said. “I remember getting calls from Washington State, Oregon State and some other schools and I told them not to bother because I was going to San Diego State.”
Then the coaches at BYU offered him a scholarship and the rest is history.
Logan started at field corner in each of his two years at BYU and eanred All-Mountain West Conference honors.
Logan isn’t done with football though, not even close.
“My goal is to play in the NFL and I’m working hard to do that,” he said. “People might think I’m crazy that I can’t possibly play in the NFL being only 5-6, but I’ve heard that my whole life, it’s nothing new…I was as tall as everyone else my age, I just quit growing for whatever reason.
“So when people tell me I’m too short it’s not like I’m thinking ‘oh, yeah, I am short and I can’t possibly play.’ I know I’m short and I know that I shouldn’t be able to play, but you know what, I’ve played and played well at every level.”
Through his agent, Logan has heard from the Jets, Raiders, Broncos, but he has heard the most from the 49ers — the team he worked out for during Pro Day a few weeks ago. BYU assistant coach and former 49er Brandon Doman has been selling Logan and his abilities.
While Logan is aware that he won’t get drafted this coming weekend, he’s just asking for an opportunity to prove himself as a free agent.
“Just give me a chance, get me on that field and I’ll prove what I can do,” he said. “I’ve been given nothing, I’ve been the underdog my whole life. I’m used to it. I know what my limitations are, but I’ve overcome them at every level and I strongly believe that I can overcome them at the next level. One thing is for sure, I’m going to give it everything I got and if I don’t make it, then I guess it wasn’t meant to be.”
Logan holds strong Christian values that he draws upon constantly in his pursuit to maximize his abilities.
“I always look to the scriptures for inspiration and one verse I always read is Philippians 4:13 which simply says ‘I can do all this through him who gives me strength.’ I know that to be true,” he said. “I know that if I rely on my Savior, Jesus Christ, that through him, I can accomplish anything. I’ve seen miracles happen, not just in my own life, but with others who have relied on God and lived true to their faith.”
Logan, who is not LDS, is quick to credit the atmosphere on campus and in the football program for helping him remain true to his Christian ideals.
“Coach Mendenhall is a man of God who holds the same ideals I do and it’s a big part of why I was able to succeed at BYU,” he said. “It’s a program that keeps your mind right and I’ve definitely benefited from not just being a part of that, but believing in that and living that.”
Logan explored opportunities to play in the Canadian Football League and has received some calls from Arena Football League teams to try out. Right now, however, his focus is completely on the NFL and finding success there despite his perceived limitations.
If a career in NFL isn't in the cards, he’ll look into landing a coaching job preferably at BYU. No matter where Logan ends up or what he chooses to do specifically chances are that he’ll do very, very well.