Nashua North football star Brown picks Bryant U.
Feb. 1—Before his freshman year of high school at Nashua North, Toby Brown decided it was time to get serious about pursuing a college football career. He wrote down some numbers on a piece of paper and then put that paper on his refrigerator, where it could be examined regularly.
"It had my height and weight, my speed and different numbers I wanted to hit in the gym," Brown explained. "What I wanted to be for each grade."
Those numbers ended up being good enough for Brown to accept a scholarship offer from Bryant University, an FBS program located in Smithfield, Rhode Island. Brown, a 6-foot-3, 230-pound defensive end, signed a National Letter of Intent to play at Bryant on Wednesday.
"(The recruiting process) can be stressful at times, but there's nothing else like it," Brown said. "This was my family's first time dealing with anything like this. It definitely helped me develop negotiation skills, communications skills. It's definitely an experience I wouldn't exchange for anything. If I could have had an easier route in my recruiting, I wouldn't take it. What I've learned is just to be persistent. If you want something, you'll figure out fast that you're willing to keep fighting for it."
Brown also had offers from Holy Cross, Merrimack and Sacred Heart. He took an official visit to Bryant last weekend and said it became clear during the visit that Bryant is where the next chapter of his football career would unfold.
"It definitely was not a tough decision," he said. "When you're at the place. you get a feeling. My visit was very one-on-one with the coaches and players, so I got a good feel for who I'd be around every single day. Really loved the environment that I would be putting myself into.
"I had a very good visit with Merrimack the week before. I really liked everything there as well, but once I got on (Bryant's) campus and stuff, I just knew. It's not quite a full (scholarship) but I'm paying barely anything out of pocket."
Brown said the fact that Bryant has a strong business/finance program was also a strong factor in his decision.
Brown played defensive end on the 2020 North team that beat Goffstown in the Division I championship game. He also played offensive tackle last season, but said Bryant sees him on the defensive side of the ball.
A knee injury cut short his senior season. North entered the playoffs undefeated, but lost to Bedford in the quarterfinals. Brown said as of now he plans to play in the CHaD East/West All-Star Game.
He also has plans to change what's on the front of his refrigerator.
"That's something I've been reflecting on, and I'll definitely be rewriting that piece of paper for college," he said.
Matthew Williams (Timberlane), Jack Poirier (Proctor Academy), Reimello Hyde (Merrimack), Frank Brown (Winnacunnet), Darian Lopez-Sullivan (Dover) and Monty Hanchett (Hanover) are among those in Franklin Pierce's 2023 recruiting class, which was announced Wednesday.
UNH adds four players
The UNH football team on Wednesday announced the addition of four players to its signing class, bringing the total of National Letter of Intent commitments to 14 for this fall.
The players are: Matt Festa, a quarterback from Duxbury (Mass.) High School; Dominick Laudicina, an offensive lineman from Villanova, Pennsylvania; Matt Vezza, a quarterback from Elmhurst, Illinois, and Sean Webb, a cornerback from San Diego.
