Florida CB Brown making gains after years of pain

NCAA Football Betting Lines

09/10/2010 -

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) -Just hours before Florida's season opener, cornerback Jeremy Brown was still wearing a protective boot on his right foot.

A teammate landed on him in practice earlier in the week, leaving Brown on crutches and out of the starting lineup against Miami (Ohio).

``Everybody kept saying, `Maybe you should just let it go and sit out this game,''' Brown said.

No chance. Not now. Not after all he had been through.

Brown spent his first two years at Florida battling a debilitating back injury. He had two herniated discs, inflamed joints, nerve damage and enough pain that he ``couldn't even put on socks and shoes.'' Compared to that, playing though a sprained ankle was easy.

``I worked so hard to try to come back,'' Brown said. ``I worked so hard for this moment, and here it was and I'm thinking I'm not going to be able to play. ... I just had faith. Then when it got closer to game time, I just said I have to go. I have to do what I can to help my team.''

Brown came up big, too.

Filling in for injured starter Moses Jenkins, Brown intercepted a pass late in the fourth quarter that ended Miami's slim shot at a comeback. Now, with Jenkins sidelined indefinitely because of a dislocated elbow, Brown will make his first career start Saturday when the eighth-ranked Gators (1-0) host South Florida (1-0).

It has to go smoother than his back injury.

``I'm just thankful to have this opportunity,'' Brown said. ``I would rather be on this end than the other end. ... It definitely puts a little pressure on me to step up. It's time to turn it up a little bit and get ready to go.''

Brown was ready to go as a freshman.

Coach Urban Meyer likes to point out that Brown, a third-year sophomore from Orlando, was ahead of Janoris Jenkins when he got hurt in 2008. Yep, the guy who made just about every All-Freshman team might not have gotten on the field had Brown not tweaked his back.

Brown did, and Jenkins took advantage. Jenkins started 25 games the last two years and emerged as the team's best man-to-man defender.

Brown could only think about what might have been.

``Sometimes when you have a serious injury, you second-guess and you wonder a little bit,'' he said. ``But my confidence is back and I'm past my injury.''

It wasn't an easy road, though.

Brown had a minor back injury in high school, but nothing that kept him off the field. He came to Florida in January 2008 and made strides in spring practice and summer workouts. But when fall practice rolled around, his back starting to tighten up. It kept getting worse, too.

Ice, heat, message therapy, nothing worked. Team doctors eventually ran tests that showed disc damage.

``When the MRI showed that my discs were messed up, I though, `Wow, this is serious,''' said Brown, who had his L4-L5 discs repaired. ``I've had a million procedures done, but we've got it taken care of,'' he said.

It took two years to get right, though. Brown spent countless hours in the training room, in the pool and hooked up to a back machine.

Nonetheless, there were times none of it helped.

``Whenever it would get bad, I would stay in bed for days,'' Brown said. ``I literally mean days. There were consecutive days I just couldn't even get up. ... There were times I couldn't even get out of bed, move. I just passed out on the ground. It was bad.''

It's better now, healthy enough that Brown beat out Moses Jenkins during training camp. Jenkins started the opener only because of Brown's foot injury. Brown didn't stay on the sideline long. He got a painkilling injection before the game and came on in the third quarter.

``He came out and played 31 plays and graded out a champion in his first ever game played at Florida,'' Meyer said. ``That's a heck of a story.''

It's just getting started. Brown will face South Florida's Evan Landi and Dontavia Bogan on Saturday. They combined for eight catches for 178 yards and a touchdown last week against Stony Brook.

The Gators are confident Brown is ready for the next test.

``All the things that he's been through with his back just shows that if you keep going and keep working hard good things will come to you,'' safety Ahmad Black said.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING

NCAA Football Betting

Many fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)

"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."

Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins

There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.

Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins

Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.

USC Trojans - 10.5 wins

A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.

Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy

Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.

"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."

Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1

The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.

Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1

If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.

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