Four-star Brown part of special night

HOUSTON - When Chykie Brown made his commitment to Texas, there were thoughts not only of playing for one of the nation's top programs but also keeping his college year close to home.

With family in the Austin area, the 6-foot-1, 175-pound four-star Rivals250 cornerback decided that there was no need extending things any longer and announced for the Longhorns. Brown, rated as the No. 14 overall prospect in the state of Texas, is glad he's all done.

"It feels pretty good to be all finished and know what's up next for me," Brown said about his commitment to Texas. "My sister goes to school down there and just to be close to them in Austin so they could come to my games is something that was a huge deal to me."

"It was important and really helped me make an early decision."

Brown admits that schools are still coming after him and at times it can get overwhelming to deal with that, but says he's still heading to Austin for college.

"It rolls around in your head sometimes because there are just so many schools out there," Brown said. "I always think about it, but I'm still solid for Texas and that's my team. It's just a lot for me to handle. With the season going on, I've kind of just put that out of my mind."

Brown's North Shore team was a part of a special event when they took on Hastings for their second game of the season. The 49-7 win was not the only reason that the team will remember the game. It was also a special effort from the high school and Rivals.com to provide free tickets to the game for Hurricane Katrina survivors.

"I didn't really know about it at first, but it makes you feel good, you know," Brown said. "If I was in the same place and I was heading to Houston, I'd want someone to do that for me."

The next test on the schedule for North Shore is an away game against The Woodlands this Saturday.