Derrick Brown has been outstanding so far for Auburn, but he’s primed to be even better in 2019.
High expectations are nothing new for Auburn defensive tackle Derrick Brown. After arriving on campus in 2016 as a highly touted five-star recruit, it was expected that Brown was going to dominate right away at the collegiate level. Unfortunately, his freshman season didn’t go as planned as Brown battled inconsistency and played in only eight games. Fast forward to now, however, and it becomes clear that the expectations that followed Brown’s arrival at Auburn have been justified.
Listed at 6’5”, 315 pounds on Auburn’s official website, Brown is a massive human being, and on the football field, he uses that size to his advantage. Against smaller interior blockers, Brown is almost impossible to block, using his power to simply plow over whatever poor soul stands in his way. What makes Brown so special, however, isn’t his power, but rather his mobility and burst. Rarely are defensive tackles so nimble and quick to burst through gaps, but then again, Brown is a rare prospect.
What is perhaps the most exciting part of Brown’s game, however, is that he is just scratching the surface of his potential. His production has improved each year for the Tigers, culminating in last season’s 48 tackle, four and a half-sack season that also included 10.5 tackles for a loss. After ending last season on the All-SEC second team, Brown finds himself as an AP Preseason First-Team All-American going into the 2019-20 campaign, and there’s little doubt he will once again live up to the expectations.
It is clear that as week one in college football approaches, Derrick Brown is ready to dominate. Already seen by many as a potential first-round choice in 2020, Brown can play himself into a potential top-15 pick with another season of improvement and experience. Make no mistake, this is a special prospect and it’s only a matter of time before he’s dominating on Sundays.