Colleges have stayed with Williamstown's Brown

Williamstown junior linebacker Buddy Brown has played a half-season of varsity football, but it hasn't hurt his recruiting prospects.

The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Brown, who also will play receiver but expects to be recruited on defense, says he has received scholarship offers from Rutgers and West Virginia.

According to Brown, Penn State, South Carolina, Virginia, Wisconsin, Florida, Oklahoma, Miami, Stanford, and Michigan State are among other schools that have expressed interest.

Brown began his high school career at St. Joseph in Hammonton, but transferred last year to Williamstown.

According to NJSIAA rules, he had to sit out the first 30 days of the season, so Brown missed the first four games.

"It was hard sitting out," Brown said. "It wasn't like I transferred because I didn't like the program, but financially, it was tough."

And once he played, he made the most of it.

"He runs well, he has good size, and he really played well for us," Williamstown coach Frank Fucetola said. "You can see why schools are showing interest."

During the spring and summer, Brown visited some college campuses and competed in various 7-on-7 tournaments and received valuable exposure from each.

Brown attended the spring football games at West Virginia and Penn State. He also made visits to Rutgers and South Carolina. Attending South Carolina is a distant cousin of Brown's, receiver-slot back Damiere Byrd, a recent graduate of Timber Creek.

Now, Brown is looking forward to playing an entire season, although he has been held back this preseason after spraining a knee during a 7-on-7 tournament in July.

"I have been held out as a precaution," Brown said. "It feels good, and I will be ready opening day."

That would be Sept. 9 at home against Eastern in a West Jersey Football League American Division matchup.

Williamstown is coming off a 7-3 season and earned a South Jersey Group 4 playoff berth last year.

"I think we have a chance to be a lot better than last year," Brown said. "This year, we are close and our defense is the backbone of our team and we have a chance to be a really good team."

And the chances increase with having Brown available for an entire season.