The McNabb Report: How Arizona Landed Matt Brown

Allen QB Brown Pac-10 bound Allen quarterback Matt Brown becomes the top quarterback to make his college commitment. Brown committed to Arizona this week. Brown visited Tucson about a month ago and deliberated slowly even though the Wildcats were the early favorite. Brown was performing very well at camps and was picking up interest from Kansas State, Iowa State, TCU and Oregon to go along with a very quick offer from Nebraska. "The (Arizona) coaching staff was awesome," Brown said. When I went down there they treated me real well and I just loved the area. I've got a lot of ties there family-wise. My dad's side of the family is over there and I was born about a mile from their campus... "I knew it was the place all along. I was holding out because I wanted to see what else happened but this week I just thought, 'why not (commit)?'" While Arizona offered Brown a chance to play in the Pac-10 but still be around some close connections, the Wildcats also had been strongly recruiting Brown with Texas-native offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes. Arizona coach Mike Stoops hired Dykes two years ago to increase North Texas recruiting (which Dykes had done for seven years at Texas Tech 2000-06). Brown had been an early target for Arizona which is trying to add to the three sophomore quarterbacks the Wildcats currently have on their spring depth chart "Sonny Dykes is just a genius," Brown said. "I could tell on my visit that he is just awesome and I am so excited to learn some more things about him and from him." Brown is returns for his third-year to start at Class 5A Division I state champ Allen. But Brown missed the Eagles' run through the playoffs with a separated shoulder. Still, he passed for 1,973 yards with 27 touchdowns and rushing for 1,131 yards and 13 TDs. As Allen starts spring practice next week, Brown is fully recovered from his broken collarbone. 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. Brown's 4.5 speed in the 40-yard dash makes him a strong running threat and he's dramatically increased his accuracy on roll-out throws. Royse City quarterback Richard Morrison signed with the Wildcats in February. Morrison certainly will get a shot at quarterback, but he also can move to receiver or defensive back. Brown had a strong interest in Texas A&M, but the Aggies already have two quarterback commitments for 2010. Arizona had always been an early leader, but he waited just to be sure. "I'm actually really relieved," Brown said. "A huge thing just came off my shoulders. I can go through spring practice and not worry about what scout is here or what scout is this or what scout is that. I don't have to worry about which camps to go to and travel all over the place. Now I can just focus on bringing Allen another state championship." Brown said he's considering whether to early enroll at Arizona in January following Allen's '09 season. But the Eagles are aiming for a repeat with Brown leading the way for a prolific offense and a huge, very-experienced offensive line. Allen 2010 offensive lineman Cedric Ogbuehi is a Texas A&M commit while lineman Taylor Pearson is considered a major college prospect for '10 as well and guard Brad McNulty is a top 2011 college recruit. *VYPE DFW recruiting expert David McNabb writes on local recruiting and high school sports every week on VYPE.com/DFW.