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Curtis Brown – “Every day I wake up and I think about that moment when they disrespected us and it’s |
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AF_Puma | Monday, November 20, 2006, 4:01 pm
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By Jim Vallen
COUGARBLUE
What does BYU's all-time leading rusher think about what the Utes did at LaVell Edwards Stadium after the game in 2005?
This interview was taped from this past weekend from Salt Lake City’s CBS affiliate KUTV (channel 2) “Talkin’ Sports” program with Dan Shelton.
Curtis Brown had been a guest on the KSL’s (1160 AM and 102.7 FM) locker room show following the football game against New Mexico Saturday and Greg Wrubell had asked Curtis if he would be interviewing much this week or would the coaches kind of keep him a little more under rap as Curtis has been colorful at times in saying things that have been prime bulletin board material for the opposing teams. He responded that they might. Well he answered the call and received permission to appear on KUTV’s “Talkin’ Sports”. Here’s his interview:
DS: “The Cougars Saturday secured their first out-right Mountain West Conference Title since 2001 and one of the biggest reasons why joins us now—BYU’s all-time leading rusher, Curtis Brown is here. Curtis, thanks for taking some time away from the family and joining us.”
CB: ”Not a problem. Anything for the media.”
DS: “Let’s talk about first the record setter that made you the all-time rushing leader in BYU history. Could you have dreamed up a better way to break the rushing record than that 49-yard run for a touchdown Saturday?”
CB: ”I was hearing about it all week. They were saying things like, ‘Don’t let it be a two-yard run.’ Jake Kuresa, one of my offensive lineman, he told me I had five runs to do it in. He said, ‘If you don’t do it in five rushing attempts, I’m going to sit down on the bench and let someone else block for you.’ So I had a lot of ultimatums. Just watching that play in slow motion I knew the opportunity was going to present itself and I took full advantage of it and the offensive line did a great job opening a great big hole for me to run through and I was able to get into the end zone.”
DS: “You’ve been sharing the running load with Fui [Vakapuna] and Manase [Tonga], but what doesn’t get talked about as much is that you lead your team in catches; you have fifty-one so far this year. Why does John [Beck] go your way so often and do the other receivers get jealous?”
CB: “I think the reason John partly goes my way is because I’m the closest to him and I’m always yelling his name. I’m just trying to help this team win. John is a smart quarterback. He’s going to get the ball to whomever he thinks is going to make a play and if it’s me or if it’s Nate Meikle or Jonny Harline; we have a long list of receivers that are great at making plays and its John’s read. If he sees that things are pretty messed up down field, then he’ll just throw it off to me in the flat.”
DS: “All right, we know pretty much what you think of Coach Bronco Mendenhall right now with the way he’s lead this team, but what did you think of him when he first arrived in 2003 and you were his scout team running back?”
CB: “I had a tremendous amount of respect for him. The offense was kind of off on a different kind of schedule. We weren’t as intense as the defense. Coach Mendenhall was getting the most out of his players on the defense. Being a part of that scout team allowed me to become the running back I am today. He pushed me past the limits. I think one of the things that he first brought when he first got here was no limits through the preparation of his defense, through the preparation of this team when he took over. We’re starting to see that. This team has no limits. We can achieve whatever we want to achieve as long as we’re determined, we’re focused and we have the right leadership.”
DS: “Speaking of achievement, let’s talk about rivalry. The Utes have beaten you four straight years. Why will this year be different Curtis?”
CB: “All I can say is just the leadership. It’s BYU’s time. It’s been rough. It’s been a rough road, but we’ve learned from our mistakes. We watched that Utah team dance all over our field last year. That picture just stays in my mind. Every day I wake up and I think about that moment when they disrespected us and it’s time to take it to them. We have all the tools and we have all the weapons. We have the great coaches and play makers –we have everything it takes to win that game. All it’s going to take is us doing what we do on a regular basis and we should go out there and win.”
DS: “How do you picture it in your mind? Do you think it will be a close game, a blow out? What kind of game do you think it will be?”
CB: “You never know. I picture a blow-out. I’m confident in our offense. You look at our conference play and the games haven’t even been close. We’re a team that’s riding high right now and the way that our coaches prepare us and the way that we prepare ourselves—I don’t think it can be touched. It’s going to be a game of emotion, but what I think it’s going to come down to is us keeping our composure; us keeping our poise and just executing and not playing out of ourselves.”
DS: “Speaking of that then, categorize a blow-out for me then? BYU by how many?”
CB: “I can’t give exact numbers. Our goal has always been to score forty points each game. So I know the offense is going to look to put up that number at a minimum and our defense has been holding teams to 12-15 points a game in conference play and I expect them to continue to do the same.”
DS: “Finally then, are you friendly with any of the Ute players out there?”
KNZ’s The Manly Morning Show (6 A.M to 10 A. M. weekday mornings on 1280 The Zone, 1280 AM Salt Lake; 960 AM Utah County) aired an interview this week with BYU senior running back, Curtis Brown.
CB: “I don’t have any Utes that are friends, but I do have respect for that team. They have some great players on that team. Players that play well under pressure and step up when they need too. So I will tell you that I have respect for those guys, but at the same time we’ll be out there to take care of business. We’ll be out there to finish this thing right. I want to go out there and play our best ball.
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