Post-Spring Projection: Justin Brown

As fifth-year seniors go, there haven’t been many during Charlie Weis’ tenure as important as Justin Brown.

At first glance, Brown’s return might not seem like a real life-saver – he mustered 30 tackles as a part-time starter in 2007, running his career total to 48. But when you factor in the glaring lack of depth along the defensive line, getting the Washington, D.C. native to stick around was critical. (Heck, there were only five other healthy bodies there during spring practice, and one of those was early-entry freshman Sean Cwynar.)

People look at the five highly-touted rookies arriving on the defensive line and figure that they’ll be the saving grace – but expectations should be heavily tempered for that group. Remember that even standouts like Trevor Laws and recently-enshrined College Football Hall of Fame member Chris Zorich didn’t see any game action during their first year.

Almost all of the defensive line’s production will likely come from the upperclassmen, with Brown one of five players seen as the keys to success (along with senior Pat Kuntz, juniors Morrice Richardson and John Ryan and sophomore Ian Williams). He worked with the No. 1 unit throughout the spring and should at least have a chance at holding onto that starting position going into the regular season. Only Kuntz and Ryan garnered more playing time last fall among the returning linemen.

Brown had his moments in 2007, registering eight tackles at Michigan and six in the home loss to Air Force – but he also was a non-factor in other contests. If he’s going to become a full-time starter this fall, Brown will have to become a more consistent performer.

The fact that he was even invited back for 2008, though, is as much a testament to his talent as it is to the depth shortage. Brown never played organized high-school football until his senior year at Bishop McNamara in Clinton, Md., when he amassed 65 tackles, nine sacks and three fumble recoveries while earning second-team all-conference honors. That one season of work was enough to earn him a late scholarship offer from then-coach Tyrone Willingham.

Like fellow end Richardson, Brown is considered very much undersized for the end position (6-foot-3 and 254 pounds in the spring), but he showed flashes of potential a year ago at just 243 pounds – and if the Irish wind up showing more 4-3 looks than 3-4 this season, which is a distinct possibility, Brown could conceivably thrive on the outside if he can earn the playing time on a consistent basis.

What’s A Good Season?

As with Richardson, a good year for Brown would likely consist of holding on to the starting job through the entire season. He surged past Dwight Stephenson Jr. toward the end of last fall and started four of the last five games, so momentum is certainly on his side. Then again, it was also on his side after a solid debut campaign in 2005, and he followed up with an almost-invisible 2006 season.

With Williams almost assuredly holding down the nose tackle job and the recently-returned Kuntz likely moving to end (at least in a 3-4 setup), Brown will face some stiff competition for that starting job, especially with Ryan also back in the mix after missing the spring.

Regardless of whether or not he’s on the first unit, Brown should play a critical role for the Irish in his final season. If he can at least match his 2007 production, he likely will have satisfied most reasonable expectations.