Fran Brown's Authenticity Connects With Recruits, Community and Fans

Syracuse football's new head coach comes from humble beginnings.

Fran Brown touched foot in Syracuse on this past Sunday, a day after coaching the SEC Championship game for Georgia and has already made an impact in the short time he has been in his new home.

There is a lot known about Fran Brown in terms of how he is the top recruiter in college football and his inspiring journey moving up the ranks of college programs. After having the chance to listen to Brown in person, his story goes much deeper than that.

In Brown’s opening statement to the media, he shared how being born in Camden, N.J. to a mother who was 13 at the time and by 21-years-old she had four children. As the oldest one Brown had to grow up quickly and realize that the one person it would take believing he could succeed in life was himself, because there were plenty of others who had their doubts.

When Brown looks at a city like Syracuse, the areas that most people turn a blind eye to, he looks right at it and draws nearer. It reminds Brown of where he was raised and allows him to connect with people who live there. Brown said over and over that he was not just committed to Syracuse’s football program but rather Syracuse as the city itself as he plans to make a difference by going to places such as the YMCA, Salvation Army and helping pick up the streets. Emphasizing that all the work will be done with cameras not around.

As Brown delivered his press conference, he had a room filled with people hanging on every word because it did not feel like a press conference from a typical coach or recruiter who has mastered the art of a sales pitch. He was speaking from his heart. 

Brown shared that when he calls up a recruit, he wants to learn the recruits’ grandmothers name, his aunt and uncle, and the person they lost earlier in their life who impacted them. All the typical things that would normally be overshadowed by a coach’s sole focus on a player’s IQ in the sport and who they are physically on the field. 

The genuine and authenticity of Brown’s DNA is what draws recruits in and what is believed to keep players on Syracuse’s current roster. He has already shown the building of a relationship with star running back LeQuint Allen who he can bond with their New Jersey ties. He takes it a step further in requesting Allen to come into his office to pray with him and spiritually and emotionally align before they talk ball.

If you aren’t already sold on Brown’s heart, it is his work ethic that will impress you.

In Brown’s first week as head coach, he has already cashed in on what most believe is one of the biggest steals in college football, adding Elijah Robinson. A former Texas A&M defensive line coach/interim head coach who will now serve as the defensive coordinator at Syracuse. Instead of resting after a crazy week, Brown is hosting recruits this weekend on top of going out multiple times this week at night to watch different recruits. He knows he received this job because of his reputation as the top recruiter in the country and he refuses to stop what he is best at just because he has a higher role and more responsibilities.

For those who are lifelong Syracuse fans who are wondering if Brown understands the rich history of football that Syracuse holds, his very first college football game was watching Syracuse. He even went as far as asking the great Syracuse coach Paul Pasqualoni for his blessing before going after the job because that is who he wants to embody and aspire to be. Big shoes to fill but if the next decade follows a similar shape to his first week, big things are on the horizon in the Brown Era. 

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