Four-star Brown to check out USC, UCLA
When Jalen Brown arrives on the college campus of his choice next year, he will be given media training. The Rivals100 wide receiver won't need it.
Brown is already a master of the interview and the king of the cliché. The Phoenix Mountain Pointe junior can talk for large chunks of time without saying much of anything. When it comes to his recruitment, he's careful not to name a favorite or hint at what he might be thinking.
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He's polished. You'd think he's been doing this dance for years.
"No school stands out above the rest," Brown said on Wednesday. "I'm still open to all schools right now and keeping my interest open. It's just good to know I have a lot of opportunities and a lot of places I can go. I just feel real blessed.
"I don't know when I'm going to break down my list. It's probably going to be a lot later. The more visits I take, the easier it will be for me to break down that list."
In short, there's not much to glean here. If you want so much as a hint of what he might be thinking, you'll have to look elsewhere. From Brown, all you get is facts.
Fact: fellow FBS recruits Natrell Curtis and Dominique Fenstermacher will accompany him on both trips.
Fact: Brown's friend and teammate Kenny Lacy, a member of the 2013 class, is already signed to play for the Bruins next season.
What any of that actually means as it relates to Brown's impending commitment is up for interpretation. That's just the way Brown, the No. 57 overall player in America wants it. He'll talk about his ties to Lacy and Bruins to some extent, but don't expect too much insight. Brown plays football like one of America's top prospects but interviews like a pro.
"Kenny is always on all of us about UCLA," Brown said. "He's a good friend and wants us to go to UCLA with him. It plays a factor for me. It plays an important role. It's not the biggest thing for me, though. My decision isn't going to be based on where my friends go and where my buddies go. It's going to be where I fit best and the best situation for me."
In an era of three-ring recruiting circuses and hilariously mismanaged situations, Brown's is the portrait of a player who grasps the levity of the situation and the importance of his choice. The only thing he doesn't mind offering a guess on is what school might be next to make things official. And even that he does gingerly.
"I've heard a lot of contact from Iowa State," he said. "That's probably good guess on the offer that will be next. A lot of letters are coming from Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Tennessee."
As a junior, Brown, who plays both receiver and safety at Mountain Pointe, was a key cog in the Pride's 12-2 overall record and run into the state title game. He finished the season with 1,235 receiving yards and 19 touchdowns.
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