Name: Derrick Brown
School: Utah
Position: Quarterback
Height/Weight: 6'3''/230
High School: Vista Murrieta in Murrieta, California
Offers: Utah, Colorado State, San Diego State
Date Committed: June 27, 2010
Recruiting Profiles: Rivals, Scout, ESPN, MaxPreps
Tim Tebow immediately comes to mind when watching this bruising quarterback play. Like Tebow, he has a strong arm and runs the ball very well. In fact, he models his game after Tebow, who was extremely successful in Urban Meyer's spread offense that Utah runs.
Comparing Brown to Tebow, who is one of the most successful college football players ever, is a little much but he does play with a similar style.
"The similarities are the fact that they're both big kids that think of themselves more of a running back than necessarily a quarterback," his coach said to Rivals.com. "Derrick likes contact. He likes to hit. He's 6-3, 230. Those qualities make you think of Tim Tebow's game. He's not quite to that level yet. But he's somebody that Derrick looks up to that plays a similar game."
In his junior year, Brown passed for 1886 yards and 18 touchdowns in 14 games and rushed for 913 yards and 15 touchdowns. He had a decent completion percentage at 54% but he was most efficient on the ground averaging 5.5 yards per carry.
Brown told the North County Times that he chose Utah because he really liked the atmosphere there and coaches. He will be the third Vista Murrieta High School player on Utah's roster, along with Justin Taplin-Ross and Jamel King.
The last quarterback with size like Brown that Utah recruited, Brian Blechen, was moved to safety. That may not be the case with Brown since he possesses a strong arm, great footwork and good throwing motion. He told the North County Times that he expects to play quarterback at Utah.
Rivals ranks him the 19th best dual-threat quarterback in the country, ESPN ranks him the 23rd best overall QB and Scout.com ranks him at 50.
He drew interest from some big schools like Alabama, Notre Dame and USC but only Utah, Colorado State and San Diego State offered.
Other Utah 2011 Recruits
- WR Nate Fakahafua
- OL Isaac Asiata
- DE Jordan Robles
- OL Daniel Nielson
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