Jared Cohen
There are not very many players in high school football better on both sides of the ball than Mountain Pointe’s Jalen Brown. Coming off a 2012 season where he had 67 catches for over 1200 yards and 18 touchdowns he is ranked by scout.com as the seventh best wide receiver in the nation. As a result he is receiving more and more attention from division I schools.
For a lot of high school athlete’s this attention could go to their heads, but Brown is seeing the bigger picture and is only thinking about ways he and his current team can improve.
“I can work on everything and there is always room for improvement,” Brown stated. “Of course I have to work on my game. My routes, my catching, getting stronger and faster. But also becoming a leader. Pumping people up and making sure everyone is focused.”
Mountain Pointe had a remarkable 2012 campaign which saw them as the number one team in the state for a majority of the regular season making it all the way to the state title game. But they just came up short in a tough loss to a team they beat earlier in the season, the Hamilton Huskies. Spring practice is bringing a certain mindset on the practice field for the Pride because this soon-to-be senior class that Brown is a part of has a bad taste in their mouth.
“Once practice comes we’re working on team chemistry and building that relationship with everybody,” Brown mentioned.
“It’s all about unity,” added Brown’s quarterback Antonio Hinojosa who also is coming off a great junior season throwing for 2,255 yards and 31 touchdowns in 2012. “We cant really do much no without the pads so right now we are trying to just get bonded as a group.”
Brown’s standout offensive numbers have already been mentioned, but he was also the team leader in interceptions a season ago with five. He is being recruited on both sides of the ball but has a good idea of where he see’s himself playing at the next level.
“For me I believe I will be on the offensive side,” Brown explained. “I think I have more potential there. I like it more too.”
Right now Brown holds an incredible 34 offers from schools all over the nation. Most notably U of A, ASU, Boise State, Florida State, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Stanford, USC. But he plans to narrow that long list down in the near future.
“Toward the end of the summer I believe I am going to break it down,” Brown said. “Just seeing if there are any other offers rolling through…I am just going to be able to see all my options and get some more unofficial visits in.”
Brown, Hinojosa and the Pride wrapped up spring practices and are very much looking forward to the fall as they get another shot at a state title with a roster that is not short on talent by any means.
