Kansas State Linebacker Arthur Brown Shines in Home State

Oct 27, 2012; Manhattan, KS, USA; Kansas State Wildcats linebacker Arthur Brown (4) plays defense during a 55-24 win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-US PRESSWIRE

A few years ago the recruiting world was aflutter with talk about the Brown brothers from Wichita, Kansas. Bryce Brown would have one of the most controversial recruitment storylines in years. He ended up just put up a huge game on Monday night against the Panthers. Arthur Brown was the older of the two and was one of the top recruited players in the nation. He would end up selecting the legendary “linebacker U”, University of Miami.

Arthur Brown received offers from just about every school in the country, but chose to continue the great linebacking legacy as a hurricane. He had enormous hype and many coaches considered him a once-in-a-decade prospect.

Brown struggled his two years at Miami. He would fail to crack the starting line up and finished his career there with only 17 tackles. Brown decided to transfer back to his home state and play at Kansas State.

This year Brown was the leader of the defense that helped lead this surprising Kansas State team to a one loss season. This is Brown’s last season with NCAA eligibility.

As a prospect, Brown does not have near the hype he had coming out of high school. He doesn’t have the big build that many expected him to build. At only 6’1″ with short arms, I expected him to really thicken out and get that stout Ray Lewis-esque build. His size isn’t too detrimental, but I expect him to be a better fit in a 4-3 than a 3-4.

At the NFL level he will be better working with the four man line in front of him. I don’t think he has the bulk or arm length to fight off blockers that he would be asked to take on in a 3-4.

His athleticism is certainly up to par. He moves well in space and is very quick to the ball carrier. He doesn’t wrap up as much as he should, but no one does these days.

His position is up in the air in my opinion. I think he is best suited for the weak side. I think he can match up against tight ends and backs coming out of the backfield. He would be great in a defense that plays a lot of nickel.

Brown’s expectations out of high school were to be the next Ray Lewis or some other top linebacker. He has not lived up to that hype yet, but he still has plenty of NFL potential. I think he is a solid third round pick at this point and could start for a 4-3 team during his rookie year.