Levi Brown makes most of opportunities

TROY — Levi Brown was supposed to be the other quarterback in the Troy-Florida Atlantic rivalry. It wasn’t too long ago that he was just another quarterback on this Trojan football team.

Last October, Brown watched as Jamie Hampton started the first five games of the 2008 season and watched as Tanner Jones took Hampton’s place after an injury against FAU last year.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Brown won the job in practice the next week and played so well last year (2,030 yards, 15 touchdowns, 3 interceptions) that he was awarded the starting job after the season while Hampton redshirted. He wasn’t on any preseason all-conference lists, but he has a chance to build on his strong candidacy for Sun Belt Player of the Year in Saturday’s 3:15 p.m. home game against FAU.

Brown is third in the country in passing yards per game (309.8). FAU’s Rusty Smith and Arkansas State’s Corey Leonard were voted as the co-players of the year on offense in the Sun Belt, but Smith is out for the season and Leonard was recently benched. Brown had a streak of 262 straight passes without an interception snapped in a 56-20 loss to Arkansas, but he leads the league in yards, touchdowns, completions and efficiency.

“I don’t think people understand how much better Levi’s gotten since we had that spring competition,” Troy offensive coordinator Neal Brown said. “He’s night and day compared to where he was in the spring of 2008. He’s one of the best quarterbacks in the country right now.”

The 6-foot-4, 225-pound Brown threw three interceptions against Arkansas, but one came on a dropped pass by a receiver and the other was a hail mary into the end zone to end the first half. He still hit 29-of-50 passes for 321 yards against an SEC defense.

“He made throws the other night with people in his face, he made some throws across his body and he made some throws in a tight window,” Neal Brown said. “He’s playing really, really good.”

Levi Brown’s success brings up the question on what would have happened had Hampton not been hurt, but coaches never think about it.

“We deal with circumstances that are real, not dreams, pretends or what-ifs,” Troy head coach Larry Blakeney said. “We’ve got to deal with the things that are happening that are factual. We lost Jamie and it was tough and catastrophic to our team, but we were lucky to have one there that had studied and learned and was ready to go and had a really good career.”

The career might not be over in three games. Levi Brown is earning interest from pro scouts and has talked to some. Right now, coaches are trying to get him into a postseason all-star game. Levi Brown just wants to win a conference title.

“I’ve had a couple (NFL people) call me, but I’m trying to stray away from it all right now during the season and delay it until after the season,” Levi Brown said. “It’s something I’ve wanted to do ever since I was little.

“I feel like I’m a pretty accurate passer and kind of a pro-style, pocket passer. Peyton Manning and Tom Brady are probably the best two in the NFL, and I feel like I’ve got a similar style. It’s unlikely I’d have the success that they’ve had, but hopefully I can get close one day.”

Neal Brown said scouts like Levi’s arm strength, size, ability to make all throws and the way he moves in the pocket.

What they may end up liking best is his perseverance.

“It’s a good story for anybody that doesn’t get the result that they don’t want to get initially,” Neal Brown said. “He busted it and he’s gotten so much better at things you probably wouldn’t realize. I know he’s our most improved player on offense. There’s no question.”