Sometimes college football can be a small world and there is some history between West Virginia head coach Neal Brown and the family of Baylor quarterback Charlie Brewer.
That’s because Brown, then an offensive coordinator at Texas Tech, recruited his older brother Michael to Lubbock from Lake Travis during the class of 2011.
The prolific signal caller selected the Red Raiders over a long list of scholarship offers and became Brown’s first quarterback during his tenure there.
Brewer led powerhouse Lake Travis to a perfect 16-0 record and the Texas Class 4A Division I Championship in 2009, his first season as a starter and followed that up with another championship the following season making him a priority for the young assistant coach on the recruiting trail.
Those efforts would pay off with his commitment.
I'm really excited to run Coach Brown's offense. I feel like it's a very good fit for me,” Brewer said at the time of his pledge.
Brown only coached Brewer for two seasons before departing, one being his redshirt year followed by a season serving as the backup to Seth Doege before he left to take the coordinator job at his alma-mater Kentucky. Brewer would eventually transfer out of Texas Tech and finish his career at Virginia Tech.
But his time spent with the family during the recruiting process made an impact.
“One of my favorite families I’ve ever had the opportunity to recruit. Really bought into what we were doing at Texas Tech. He was my first commitment there as the offensive coordinator and really started a special class,” Brown said. “I think we had four or five NFL players just on the offensive side.”
Because of that connection, Brown as a byproduct has kept tabs on the family over the years which also meant following the progress of the younger Brewer brother. While that was nine years ago, Brown recalls Charlie when he was younger and how he attended football camps in Lubbock.
“I remember him when we were recruiting Michael,” he said.
Well, that boy has grown up and now presents the latest roadblock on the schedule for the Mountaineers. During his three-years at Baylor, the signal caller has developed into one of the premier options at the position in a conference chalked full of them.
Now, in essentially his third year as a starter, the true junior has thrown for 42 touchdowns against 16 interceptions while completing 64-percent of his passing attempts. He also has rushed for another 13 scores with his legs.
“Most of the time when he runs the football it’s broken plays,” Brown said.
While Brown has never coached the Baylor starting quarterback he does believe there are some similarities between the games of the two brothers with both looking alike as well as featuring their trademark mobility as well as getting the ball out quickly.
“Their throwing styles are similar,” he said.
Brewer has developed in the face of plenty of pressure considering his lineage with his grandfather and father both playing quarterback at Texas along with his older brother succeeding at Virginia Tech. That doesn’t even factor in the success that Lake Travis has had with producing players at the position such as the older Brewer, Baker Mayfield, Todd Reesing, Garrett Gilbert and Matthew Baldwin.
And now a trip to Waco will bring Brown back to a family that has meant a lot to him on the pathway of his career.
“He took some lumps early but you can see him progress,” Brown said.
LISTEN: Musings from the Mountains | West Virginia Football | Episode 36
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