The McNabb Report: Arizona Offers Matt Brown

Arizona Ties Attracting Allen QB Brown? Allen quarterback Matt Brown is starting to pick up interest in the recruiting process for 2010 as he shows he's fully recovered from last year's broken collarbone. But it could be his parents' alma mater and a high-profile offensive coordinator that lures him to some familiar roots. Arizona offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes has offered Brown, whose parents are Arizona grads and there's still some family in Tucson. Brown was named the MVP among the 130 invitation-only participants at theoldcoach.com Ultimate Combine in Coppell last Saturday. Brown registered one of the top 40 times with a 4.54 and had strong showings in the bench press and throwing drills. Brown already has established himself as one of the state's 2010 prospects after two years of starting at Class 5A power Allen. Brown passed for 1,973 yards with 27 touchdowns and rushing for 1,131 yards and 13 TDs before a broken collarbone ended his season just before the Eagles' state playoff run to their first state championship. Brown's early offers are from Arizona and Nebraska. Kansas State, TCU and Oregon likely are not far behind as colleges can begin their spring evaluation visits in two weeks. While there is a Tucson tie for Brown, Nebraska gained favor with an early offer and Kansas State coach Bill Snyder has made a strong impression recently. As Allen starts spring practice in May, Brown will be the starter. Next season, he'll continue to split series with junior Tucker Carter, who shined during the playoff run. Carter's strength is distributing the ball well with his knowledge of the offense. Carter's dad is an Allen assistant coach. Carter's college sport may be baseball where he is a hard-hitting first baseman for the Eagles' baseball team. Brown's speed to break for a run probably comes a little quicker in his reads, but he's still a strong-armed, accurate passer. Allen coach Tom Westerberg has a long-standing philosophy of rotating in offensive units regularly every two series to one - a rotation used when Westerberg was offensive coordinator under Joe Martin at Garland and won the 1999 state title. Allen's strength will be at quarterback and, perhaps, the state's best offensive line. Allen will have to build its core of receivers. Brown has been rebuilding his strength in the off-season. He bench-pressed 185 pounds 12 times at the combine - a very high number for quarterbacks. Brown said he could probably do 15 or 16 reps at this time last season but attributed that to Allen having a longer off-season because the Eagles were upset in the first round of the state playoffs rather than last through the six-game playoff gauntlet that lasts until the last Saturday before Christmas. Brown has always shown accuracy and a strong arm since taking over as a starter in his first game as a sophomore when a senior starter was injured. Rockwall-Heath Just Getting Started Rockwall-Heath established itself with a great playoff run with a half-dozen major college signees. But the third-year varsity program likely hasn't piqued with last year's Class 4A state playoff run that didn't end until the fourth-round to eventual state champ Sulphur Springs. But Heath's has another strong list of prospects in its 2010 who are starting to make names for themselves. Running back Jesse Irokwe is the heir apparent to 2009 sensation Kendial Lawrence. Like Lawrence before a breakout senior year, the 5-10, 175-pounder is on some college radars and a big season could boost his recruiting status considerably. Mississippi, Virginia and Colorado State have interest and Irokwe is hoping he'll get the attention of Texas Tech. Rockwall-Heath 6-3 receiver Cameron Wilson showed excellent speed and athleticism despite tender knees from recent workouts as a long and triple jumper. He still had nearly a 9-foot broad jump. During drills, he made several difficult shoe-top catches. During Heath's long playoff run led by running back Kendial Lawrence and slot receiver Everett Gilbert, Wilson caught only 7 passes for 135 yards but he's likely to be much more of a target as Heath also goes to new quarterback Kevin Rodgers to replace graduated Drew Hollingshead.