Newsday: C.W. Post stars hope to get drafted
Newsday Article (April 26, 2011)
By Roderick Boone
Xavier Brown wasn't exactly hyperventilating, gasping for a rush of fresh air.
But the 23-year-old's mind was racing like he was behind the wheel of a NASCAR ride, all because he was going to work out for the Giants before heading over to do the same thing with the Jets a day later.
"The drive there was the most nerve-wracking part of it," Brown said, "just seeing the big stadium, going to the toll booth and telling them my name."
Suddenly, it all hit the Brentwood product with the same brute force he's been using these last two years racking up sacks as a defensive end at C.W. Post.
"That's really what I want to do," Brown said. "I want to play football in the league. Just being in their facility and all the things that you can do and you can contribute to that team, I want to contribute to an NFL team and make them better."
Brown may soon get the chance to see if he'll be able to do just that. The 6-4, 254-pounder, along with good friend and teammate Darnel Williams, has hopes of hearing his name called sometime Saturday during the latter rounds of the NFL draft.
It's a possibility, but in all likelihood, the C.W. Post duo probably will find their way into the league via the undrafted free-agent route -- a process that's on hold because of the NFL's ongoing labor strife.
"I know just by the interest, and just how they prepared in their workouts and their pro days and individual workouts with the different teams, they are going to be in somebody's camp," C.W. Post coach Bryan Collins said. "It's a matter of, No. 1 are they going to be drafted? Is somebody going to surprise and take a shot at these kids because they don't know if they can sign them as a free agent?
"Finally, we have an opportunity for two players to be in camps, but are they going to be a victim of circumstances and not have that great opportunity to get into camps because of the NFL lockout? So that is a concern of ours."
Brown and Williams are late bloomers, springing to life in their last two seasons at C.W. Post. Neither played football much in high school; Brown was strictly a basketball player until some friends dared him to try out for football his senior year. Williams, a Brooklyn native who is 6-4, 220, hadn't played a whole lot since his youthful days.
"I was a vicious Pop Warner dude," he said. "I was vicious, man. That's where I got most of my swag."
But it wasn't until his days at Nassau CC when the wideout got discovered, playing in a flag football game when the college's receiving coach saw him and told him he should try out for the team. He strained his hamstring the day before the tryout and couldn't participate, yet still made the team.
"I got in the rotation my freshman year, and by the end of the year, I was starting," said Williams, who runs the 40-yard dash in the high 4.5s. "By sophomore year, I was a full-time starter and did my thing."
One year later, Williams was at C.W. Post, beginning a two-year stretch that ended with him grabbing 121 passes for 1,694 yards and 21 touchdowns, which includes a 72-catch, 863-yard, 12-touchdown senior season.
Brown, who's getting looks from the Dolphins, Seahawks and Cardinals and could be converted to an outside linebacker, began flourishing once he overcame his fear of the sport's violence, finally learning to embrace it with all he's got. After redshirting his freshman season with the Pioneers, he morphed into a three-year starter, becoming a consensus Division II All-American thanks to stockpiling 17 sacks in 21 games.
Now, just five years after picking up the sport, he may find himself playing at its highest level, making for a pinch-me moment.
"It's crazy, but I just keep God first and nothing else matters," Brown said. "I want to skip down the hallway all day, but I've just got to chill and relax.”