LD Brown Shows Improvement and Is Making the Most of His Senior Season
STILLWATER – Following the conclusion of Oklahoma State’s season opener against Tulsa, Mike Gundy was asked about a running back’s performance and it wasn’t Chuba Hubbard. Tulsa had an answer at just about every turn in regards to Hubbard, so we saw a lot of backup LD Brown.
Brown, a senior out of DeSoto High School in Dallas, TX, played just about as well against Tulsa as he had at any point in his career. He finished with nine carries for 63 yards, but he would’ve finished with 10 carries for 114 yards and one touchdown had a 51-yarder for a score not be wiped out on a holding call.
"I thought he ran more physical and determined today than he has in his career at Oklahoma State,” head coach Mike Gundy said following the Tulsa game. “He has practiced really well. He has always worked hard, but over the last month he has looked a little different in practice. I wish I could give you a reason why, but he has practiced really hard and his attitude has been good. I thought he was a very physical runner today, and we're certainly going to need him so I'm excited about what he accomplished today."
The media had the chance to speak with Brown during Tuesday’s weekly Zoom call and he gave us a few reasons to his success on Saturday.
We’ll start with one of the most obvious reasons: weight gain. The 2019 media guide shows Brown at 5-9, 191 pounds. This season? Brown’s up to 205 pounds.
"Gaining weight,” Brown said. “That's weird to say to, but just trying to maintain and play over 200 pounds. I never did that in a season. If you're physical and bigger you can take more damage. I just concentrated on gaining weight, gaining muscle mass. I've been pushing 200 pretty well, I just hope I stay in that area, just to be able to play and still be fast as well.
"I felt a much better difference. Just taking the tolls and hits and stuff. Credit to Tulsa, they've got some players that can hit. I felt a difference just being at 200. I felt like I was still fast, hopefully. Everything went good."
Another reason is it’s his senior season. Despite the NCAA granting everyone a free eligibility year due to COVID-19, Brown’s urgent to prove to everyone, including the NFL, he’s got what it takes and he learned that mentality from a former Oklahoma State backup running back who’s currently one of the top backs in the NFL.
"You got to think this is probably my last chance, and of course everybody gets this year back, but just with that mentality and make [something happen] ,” Brown said. “I took this away from C.C. a long time ago, Chris Carson, who's with the Seattle Seahawks, just put something on tape. That's just a mentality you have to have, with everything you do. Just showing teams you can do stuff and everything else."
However, Brown also hinted that it’s no all just about business. With everything in life, it’s important to go out and just have fun and enjoy what you’re doing.
"Yeah, like I said early, you miss playing football with so much uncertainty going around. Just with the season and everything it was just fun to be out there. The best thing to do is just have fun, play loose and that's when you play your best. That's what coach always instills in us. Just play loose and play fast. That's all I was worried about doing."
The Cowboys Big 12 opener against West Virginia kicks off at 2:30 p.m. CT this coming Saturday and will be televised on ABC.
