While most of us are sleeping, USF football head coach Alex Golesh, a tireless worker, usually arrives at the Selmon Athletic Center for game-week preparations. In the pre-dawn hours, before the traffic builds up and the offices are filled with activity, it's a quiet time to get the day started.
More often than not, Golesh spots a familiar sight — the car of Byrum Brown. His quarterback already has arrived.
"You're like, 'Wait, am I late?' '' Golesh said. "No, I'm like four hours early and this guy (Brown) beat me in there. It gives the entire program confidence that your quarterback is the hardest worker, the toughest, the smartest. He's also willing to own a mistake, evaluate himself and get better. His entire process is excellent. He's really special.''
Really special, indeed.
Brown, the enduring face of USF football, will again be front-and-center on Saturday afternoon when the No. 18-ranked Bulls (6-1, 3-0 American Conference) continue to chase history by taking on the Memphis Tigers (6-1, 2-1), a longtime league nemesis.
He's off to a hot start. Brown has completed 63.4 percent of his passes for 1,695 yards, 16 touchdowns and five interceptions (he had a program-record streak of 252 consecutive pass attempts without an interception snapped earlier this season). He has also rushed for a team-leading 475 yards (with two 100-yard games) and six touchdowns. He ranks sixth in Football Bowl Subdivision total offense (310 yards per game) and sixth in points responsible for (18.9 ppg).
You can clear another spot on USF's QB Mount Rushmore, where the likes of Marquel Blackwell, Matt Grothe, B.J. Daniels and Quinton Flowers currently reside. He can catch two of those names on the career touchdown passes chart this weekend.
Brown's career numbers: 6,227 yards passing (fifth all-time at USF); 49 touchdown passes (three behind for a tie at third place); 63.9 completion percentage (on pace for first); 1,732 rushing yards (76 yards out of 10th-place); 23 rushing touchdowns (tied for fifth, two from third); 7,959 yards of total offense (fifth); and 72 touchdowns responsible for (five TDs out of third-place).
He has thrown three-plus touchdowns in his past four games, a program record, while accounting for 18 scores during that span.
For good measure, he also once caught a touchdown from noted pass-thrower Sean Atkins and he stands fifth in perhaps the most important statistic – starting quarterback wins (15).
The numbers are terrific.
But with Byrum Brown, the numbers never tell the complete story.
The Teammates Are Loyal
You'd expect the running backs, tight ends and receivers — often the recipients of Brown's scoring tosses — to be among his biggest fans.
And they are.
But there's an uncommon loyalty that comes from USF's offensive line and defensive players.
"I love that guy with my whole heart,'' guard Cole Skinner said.
"It's a theme you see with a lot of really, really successful people,'' center Cole Best said. "He's a true people person. He's a natural-born leader. He brings guys along with him — everybody from starters to the scout team. He's a dominant quarterback in every facet of the game. But as a person, he has a truly special personality and way with people.''
"Man, Byrum is everything that you want in a QB,'' linebacker Jhalyn Shuler said. "Nothing in his game is forced. Nothing in his life is forced. Everybody gravitates toward him. When you put that camera on him, he has a big old smile. He's big, fast, strong, smart, brave … every characteristic you want in a leader.''
"It's all about his heart, his love for people and his love for this game,'' linebacker Mac Harris said. "Those qualities carry him to these unknown lands where average players never go. Plus, the guy is just a physical unit.''
Brown, 21, checks in at 6-foot-3 and a chiseled 232 pounds — about a 40-pound gain from the day he arrived at USF as a 17-year-old freshman with a mouth full of braces — and he imposes that physicality on unsuspecting opponents.
Defensive coordinator Todd Orlando said he'd gladly welcome Brown to his squad — likely as an edge pass-rusher — because this QB has an aggressiveness that can be appreciated by all defensive players.
"I think it goes back to what we see every day,'' Orlando said. "Byrum is a dynamite kid to start with and he's very humble. But when you get him between the lines, he's ferocious. You see a kid you'd like your son to be like, then he takes the football and runs somebody over.
"When you see Byrum running and lowering his shoulder, as a defensive guy you're like, 'Man, I want to be associated with that.' He comes off the sidelines freaking fired up like a defensive end. He's an alpha dog who's a great person, not arrogant in any way. But on the field, he's edgy as possible. We respect the heck out of him.''
The Same Guy Every Day
Offensive coordinator Joel Gordon probably knows Brown as well as anyone, working with him intimately on a day-to-day basis. Gordon said he believes Brown's performance has rightfully earned him all the expected recognition and praise.
"With his accomplishments, he could be a really hard guy to coach on the field or in the meeting room … but he's not,'' Gordon said. "He has such a consistency about him. He's the same guy every day. With the way he works, his attitude, how he is around his teammates, man, that's hard to beat.
"Sometimes, you have a player that's good and they make a mistake and they get (defensive). When he has to fix something, he fixes it and doesn't complain. He's dedicated to getting better. He allows himself to be vulnerable to coaching and learning. He never thinks he has all the answers. As a coach, you could ask for nothing more.''
Brown had three turnovers in the first quarter at North Texas, including a botched handoff exchange with running back Nykahi Davenport.
"I generally don't say a whole lot to Byrum during the game,'' Golesh said. "Joel Gordon, Hayden Kingston and Tim Greene (assistant quarterbacks coaches), they do an awesome job with him on game day. But after that (fumble) at North Texas, I walked over and he's sitting there smiling. Byrum said, 'Coach, I screwed that one up. I got you. We're good. Let's roll.' And I'm like, 'Cool,' and walk away.
"The level of confidence Byrum gives you, it's just so intelligent. It's an elite level of confidence that he has. His process is so incredible, it just reassures you. It gives you confidence as the head coach. It gives you confidence as a coaching staff. It certainly gives you confidence throughout the team.''
Brown isn't prone to talking about himself, generally deflecting praise and building up his teammates. As USF fans know by now, Brown has a signature move after scoring a touchdown. He plants his left fist into his open right palm, then bows slightly.
It was passed on by former USF defensive lineman Jason Vaughn. In other cultures, it means, "Persevere Through The Hard.''
"This game can have good days and bad days, but no matter what, you keep going and you keep improving,'' Brown said.
Brown's first goal each day is being on time. He plans everything out —to the minute — so he knows exactly when he must be out the door or on to the next thing.
"We all have the same amount of time each day,'' Brown said. "It's all in how you use it. I don't want to waste it.''
Brown most values his time in the film room and on the practice field.
"You've got to know your opponent,'' Brown said. "You take the looks you see on film and replicate it in practice. Getting those certain looks and tendencies, that's how you prepare. The guys on the scout-team defense and scout-team offense, they go unnoticed, but their work is extremely relevant in our building.
"From there, it's getting your work in, taking care of your body, getting your rest, doing what needs to be done. Coach Golesh preaches having a great process. If you have that, no matter what the outcome is, you can look back and know you did everything possible in order to be successful.''
It sounds simple. Or maybe Brown just makes it look easy.
Either way, as the Bulls head to Memphis, USF players and coaches know they have an uncommon leader.
"Byrum is a difference-maker in our program,'' Gordon said. "We're glad that he's here. He will continue to grow. He's obviously a good player right now, but I'm telling you, he can be even better. That's what we're after. And believe me, that's what he's after.''
–#GoBulls–
