Brown bolsters O-line
Braden Brown is a rare breed for BYU this Spring: a healthy offensive lineman.
“It’s crazy that all these injuries seem to happen to our group, but you can’t spend time worrying about it,” Brown told me. “You just have to go out and play.”
Worrying takes the edge away, and the edge is what helps Brown thrive at his new position of right tackle — or left tackle when Riley Nelson is playing quarterback. Brown came to BYU as an all-state tight end out of Highland High School in Salt Lake City, then, like so many Cougar players, ended up switching positions.
He first transitioned to fullback on the scout team when he red-shirted his first year in Provo, then was thrust into action as an emergency offensive lineman last season after returning from an LDS mission. He started two games — against Air Force and New Mexico — and saw spot-duty against Utah when left tackle Matt Reynolds went down for a few plays with an ankle injury.
And if there’s one thing last season taught him, it’s that he needed to bulk up if he was going to survive in the trenches.
“The hardest thing about it was that I only weighed 265 pounds while everybody else around me was at least 320,” he said. “I was way undersized and it was tough to try to consistently block guys who were bigger than me. It was a great learning experience, though, and I feel much more comfortable this season.”
His training regimen? It’s simple: eat a lot and work out a lot. Brown told me he eats at least seven meals a day and spends much of his free time at the gym. He’s up to 285 pounds now, but his goal is to hit 295 by the time the season starts.
“I eat a lot of protein, and I make some really interesting meals,” he said. “For breakfast I’ll make pancakes that consist of cottage cheese, oatmeal, egg whites, blueberries and pancake mix. Just throw it all into the blender, mix it, then cook it up. Stuff like that.”
With a year of seasoning and valuable in-game experience — and weird protein-packed meals — under his belt, Brown is set to bolster an offensive line that was already considered one of the team’s strongest units, injuries notwithstanding.
“Braden had to learn on the fly last season, and he did a very good job,” offensive line coach Mark Weber told me. “He’s worked his tail off this off-season and is going to be a really good player. He’s embraced the position. He loves football and he’s a smart player, and he knows a lot about the offense because of his time at the other positions.”