MADISON, Wis. – After six members of the University of Wisconsin’s 2022 class joined the program this past January to participate in offseason conditioning and spring practices, the Badgers will welcome the other nine members in late June.
BadgerBlitz.com continues its annual "Better Know a Badger" series, where we check in with the incoming freshmen as they begin the transition from being prep standouts to college athletes. Today we check in with Johnston City (Ill.) safety Austin Brown, who made 87 tackles, recorded five interceptions, and scored 18 offensive touchdowns his senior season.
Brown committed in July over 18 offers, including Boston College, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Northwestern. He was a first-team all-state selection as a junior and senior.
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How have you been preparing to make the adjustment to college life and college athletics?
Austin Brown: I feel like my work ethic helps push me to get on the field. I’ve been doing lifting for the last couple years, so that’s nothing new to me. It’s nice to have a program I can follow without trying to create my own workout. I’ve been on (strength and coaching coach Shaun) Snee’s weightlifting program since the beginning of January. I’ve been following that, and it’s made my focus on training a lot simpler, so I can go in, log it in, get it done, and see what the fieldwork is for the day.
I played basketball until my senior year, but I took basketball off so I could focus on weight training and be prepared for college. I have a lot more free time. I decided to work, like, three jobs, but since then, I stopped working there to focus on finishing up training and hanging out with my family before I leave. Overall, I love the grind and I just embrace it. I think of it as my job – I got to lift, run every day, and look at the playbook. It’s part of my life.
Was it tough to walk away from basketball, especially after a junior season where you were an all-state selection?
AB: Things were a lot different with basketball once I got to high school. We weren’t the winningest team at all, and that took my love away from it. The focus at our school for basketball wasn’t really to win, and that drew me away from it. I always loved basketball but winning is a big thing for me. I like to win. I play to win. When we’re not doing that, it made it easy to focus on the next step of my life.
With basketball, I’m a big sweater. I lose anywhere from 15-to-20 pounds during basketball season. I saw that pushing back my progress of maintaining weight or gaining weight. I wasn’t scared to get hurt, but I just felt like playing basketball and potentially breaking an ankle wasn’t worth the next four years of my life of college football.
You should have turned into solely a perimeter shooter and not play defense. You’d fit right in with the NBA.
AB: Yeah, but that wasn’t my game. I like to shoot threes here and there, but I was big into driving the hole, getting to the paint, getting to the free-throw line, and dunking on people. I love playing defense. A lot of times I’m guarding the best player. If I’m going to play, I’m going to play 110 percent. If I can’t do that, I might as well go and watch as a fan.
You were a two-way player for your high school, playing quarterback as a junior and running back/slot receiver last year. What did you learn about yourself playing on both sides of the ball?
AB: I just learned a lot of the tendencies that offensive players have. What things quarterbacks look for, how their eyes direct defenders, what the mind processes on run plays, pass plays, run-pass options, and things like that. Before I really wasn’t sure on that, but playing the quarterback position, I got a better understanding. You pick up tendencies a lot easier. Running back and receiver are definitely more natural. There are only so many things you have to do. You may get the ball, you may not get the ball depending on what the play is, but I can just go out there and be an athlete and block when I need to. The quarterback position my sophomore and junior year definitely gave me a better look as a defender playing safety.
What do you think your strengths are as you start college?
AB: I definitely think my work ethic. I am going to try to outwork everybody there. I’m not going to give up. I love to win. I am a competitor. I am going to do anything to try to win within the confines of the rules. I am going to give everything I have until the final whistle goes off. I am explosive, side-to-side speed. I am a hard hitter. I can play in the box, I can play in the post, I can guard slot receivers, I can get to the quarterback, so I have a lot of versatility.
You had a lot of good offers from a lot of good Midwest schools. What do you think the difference was between Wisconsin and your other opportunities?
AB: The big thing for me and my family was stability. I didn’t want to get to a program where I would have a rotation of coaches every single year. I wanted a place where I could fully depend on my coaches to be there. It is a business, but I wanted to play at a place where I knew I’d have my coach there for at least a while. I didn’t want to constantly have different game schemes going through my head, because that’s going to take me 10 times longer. I’ve seen it at high schools when coaches leave, a lot of players tend to leave, too. I wasn’t trying to have that be a thing for me.
A lot of coaches at Wisconsin were players there, so that shows me there’s something about Madison and the Badgers that brings people back. That very much attracted me to the stability of it. Jim Leonhard, in my opinion, is the best defensive coordinator in college football. Why would I not want to learn from him? He came up from a similar background as mine: playing in a small town, a two-way player in high school, walked on, became an All-American, and played 10 years in the NFL. That dude impresses me every time I talk to him. He’s very intelligent. He knows the game of football very well.
Wisconsin being the No.1 overall defense last year speaks for itself, so why would I not want to learn under him, especially when he played the same position I’m going to be playing there? Wisconsin hit a lot of the marks for me. The culture is unmatched, everyone is wearing red and white there, Camp Randall, I visited three games this past season and the student section is crazy there. It’s a great atmosphere to be around and something I want to be a part of.
You laid out a lot of reasons why Wisconsin was the pick for you, but I know new Illinois coach Bret Bielema made a big emphasis on keeping real talented kids as you instate and that he made a big push for you. Was it hard to say no to Bret and Illinois considering what he’s trying to build there?
AB: It was. It was difficult telling all the schools that I went on visits with that I wouldn’t be choosing them. That was the most difficult part honestly. I felt like I built a good relationship with all the coaches, but Illinois, specifically being a hometown kid, it was hard. I had a good relationship with Coach B and Defensive Coordinator Walters, but my heart felt like it belonged to Madison. It was hard telling them I wouldn’t be choosing their school, but at the same time, it was an easy choice.
How has the relationship between you and Coach Leonhard grown since December, especially since he’s also going to be your position coach?
AB: Our relationship has definitely gained a lot. We definitely talk more about football. Before it was about getting to know each other personally. He came down for a football game and then he came down another time to hang out with me and my family, which was cool to have him come to my house, see my hometown and where I live. Meeting my friends and family adds to the personal level of things. Getting into the playbook, he’s been able to answer certain questions I’ve asked him about different things with the defense, so our relationship is very good. I definitely felt it’s grown since I signed and it’s only going to grow more over the next four years.
Who are you living with this fall?
AB: Gavin Lahm. He’s a kicker. I met him on one of my gameday visits and we got along real well. He’s a nice, humble kid. I made sure he’s a neat kid because I’m not a complete neat freak, but I have a tad of OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder). We’ve been Snapchatting since that visit and talk pretty much every day. He’s a great kid, so I feel fortunate.
Gavin is from near Green Bay, Packers country. Are you a Chicago Bears fan at all?
AB: I am not, actually. When I was in first grade, I don’t know what it is, I decided that I needed an NFL team. I was looking at all the teams and I liked the Seahawks colors. Ever since I’ve been in first grade, I’ve been a Seahawks fan.
Where does your biggest support come from?
AB: My family without a doubt, 110 percent. I have a single mom who is raising me and my little brother. My mom’s side and dad’s side of the family are all hardworking people. That really motivates me every day to be honest. They will always be my number one support system.
What was your mom’s reaction when you received your first scholarship offer and how emotional was she when you decided to be a Badger?
AB: She was emotional, all good emotions of course. She had some happy tears. She knew how hard I worked, and it was good to have the hard work pay off. She had a good feeling after we left Madison, too. She loved all the coaches, loved the area. They had a good place in her heart, too. We both agreed that was the best fit for me.
From getting recruited by Wisconsin until now, what has been the best part of this experience so far?
AB: I would just say being a part of the culture. Growing up, I was born in Columbus, Ohio, and both at The Ohio State University hospital. I have pictures of me being an Ohio State so being a Big Ten fan, I always knew who the Badgers were. Anybody who knows college football knows who the Wisconsin Badgers are. To be a part of such a renowned college program that everybody knows and one I’ve known since I was a kid, one that had produced tons and tons of NFL talent and has a strong defense every year, is something I’ve looked forward to every single day since I signed my name to paper committing myself to them. I’ve been working my hardest to get there.
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