Coleman Feeley
On the line
- Joined
- Dec 21, 2013
- Messages
- 177
This season both the Longhorn offense and defense have benefitted from a player named Malco(l)m Brown. At the center of the defensive line, Malcom Brown, a 6 foot 2 inch, 320 pound defensive tackle has accumulated 55 total tackles, ten tackles for losses, and four and one-half sacks. His consistently elevated performance has opened up the Longhorn defensive play book immensely. His solid and dependable pass rush has allowed Texas to use more three man defensive fronts as well as its traditional four man lines. Not only is Malcom Brown (#90) a solid defensive lineman, he’s a play maker. In addition to his tackles, he leads the team with four QB hurries, has a pass break up, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. His offensive counterpart, Malcolm Brown (#28) is the anchor of a dangerous tandem of running backs. Brown’s steady play has earned him the starting running back job and the title of the team’s leading rusher. In 131 attempts Brown has accumulated 533 yards and 6 touchdowns. This 4.1 yards per carry has led the way for the Longhorn’s offense, particularly against Texas Tech last Saturday.
Malcolm Brown (#28) is a versatile runner. He has a smooth stride to the line of scrimmage and an explosive burst through it. As Texas has begun to move away from running plays with multiple reads, Brown has flourished. He operates well with both zone-blocked and gap-blocked plays, using patience and great vision to find the openings. Against Texas Tech (at the 7:20 mark in the second quarter), Malcolm Brown demonstrated not only his patience in finding his lane, but impressive power by breaking two tackles inside the 5-yard line. Lined up in a single back formation, Brown took the handoff from Tyrone Swoopes off-tackle to the right and scored on a 3-yard run to put the Longhorns up 10-6.
On the other side of the ball, Malcom Brown (#90) has been leading the defensive line each game. Brown’s greatest asset to this defense is his ability to play either End or Tackle. His versatility both interiorly and exteriorly gives him more opportunities to contribute. As many have noticed, the second half for the Longhorn has been a struggle. The offense can never seem to find a rhythm and the defense looks tired, particularly the defensive lineman. Against Texas Tech the Longhorns used more defensive lineman in the rotation and it truly paid off. By platooning Malcom Brown it allows Texas to still work him into different positions on the field (even the best defensive lineman gets tired playing multiple positions in the same drive). With Brown’s athleticism and size, Texas has played him at the Nose, Tackle, End, and ‘Fox’ (stand up end); he’s even bailed into coverage once or twice this season.
Both of these players’ versatility and skill will be of crucial importance as Texas will be forced to take some chances against WVU. Running behind a continually improving offensive line paired with the way Swoopes and Harris have been playing, Malcolm Brown (#28) will only become more and more dangerous throughout the season. On defense, Malcom Brown (#90) must remain consistent in his play for the Longhorns to win.
