Every Day Is a Triumph For Redskins' Brown

College Bound

Brown longed to play for Miami, and Moss, who was playing for the Hurricanes, pushed the coaches to offer him a scholarship. Florida colleges were interested, according to his high school coaches, but shied away because of his past.

All the while, Wright was working behind the scenes at West Virginia, where he had played from 1990 to 1995.

Wright called Nehlen to make a case for Brown, and all but begged him to sign him. "I said, 'Coach, you need to get on this kid,' " Wright said. " 'He's come from nothing and he's a great kid and he'll do whatever you want him to do. You don't even need to watch him on film, just take my word.' "

Wright was also in regular contact with John "Doc" Holliday, who had been a recruiter in South Florida for West Virginia since 1982, letting him know when Brown completed any of his core requirements. Holliday pushed Nehlen as well.

"Antonio had graduated high school with barely a 2.0 [grade-point average]," Boykins said, "and Doc Holliday gave me a commitment that he was going to graduate [college], and they would give him all the tutoring he can possibly get to be a success."

West Virginia had no football scholarships left by the time Brown became eligible, but he had begun running track his senior year, and competed at an all-state level against some of the best athletes in the country. West Virginia offered him a track scholarship for his freshman year, with the expectation he would receive a football scholarship if things worked out.

"When we signed him, we knew we would have a little bit of a project on our hands, but it turned out to be a very easy project because he wanted to do it," Nehlen said. "He was just amazing to me. The tutors all told me he was the best kid they ever had. He never missed a tutoring session, never missed his classes. He really wanted an education coming from where he came from, and he was just infectious to be around. He was an exciting little guy and he smiled all the time and we all loved to be around him."

Brown started as a freshman.

For Brown, the change of locale, and his first experience in a rural setting allowed him to envision greater things. "I got a chance to get away at West Virginia and find myself as a person and look outside myself and see how I want to see myself later on in life," Brown said. "I saw it, and I painted a little picture for myself."

During Brown's freshman year, the West Virginia coaches sent Boykins a picture of a board they kept of their top 25 student athletes, to let them know how his pupil was faring. "Antonio was No. 7," Boykins said. "I'll always keep that picture."

Brown was an explosive return specialist, excelled on reverses and in the passing game. He led the team in receptions and receiving yards his junior season, and finished second to Moss in the 60-meter dash at the Big East track and field championships.

But Nehlen retired before Brown's senior season, and the new coach, Rich Rodriguez, barely used him (including during a game at the Orange Bowl, which left a contingent of South Florida high school coaches vowing never to send players to West Virginia again, Boykins said). Brown spent long nights on the phone with his high school mentors, who pleaded with him to stay in school, and he persevered despite the lack of playing time.