Wrook Brown shows flashes in first career start against Lobos

Oct. 14—LARAMIE — Wrook Brown lost count of how many teammates slapped his helmet in celebration last weekend.

Brown, a redshirt freshman for the University of Wyoming, made his first career start at nickelback last Saturday against New Mexico. The Salado, Texas, product filled in for Keonte Glinton for the Cowboys and made his presence felt all night against the Lobos.

With UW trailing 14-7 early in the second quarter, Brown stepped in to break up a New Mexico pass on a crucial third-and-5. The Lobos were forced to punt the following play, and Brown was greeted by essentially the entire team when he returned to the sidelines.

"My teammates and our strength coach were really excited for me," Brown said. "When I came off the field after that pass breakup, I must have gotten my helmet hit at least 50 times."

Brown stepped up multiple times during the Cowboys' 27-14 win in Albuquerque. In his first career start, the nickelback finished second on the team with 10 tackles, including seven solo stops and half a tackle for a loss.

"Wrook really answered the bell," coach Craig Bohl said during a news conference Monday. "He tackled well, and he was in the right spot, and he was in his element. It was great to see him out there."

Brown saw game action against Illinois in Week 0, but looked much more calm versus New Mexico, Bohl said.

"He was calmer than I was," Bohl said. "That first game against Illinois, he was out there, and they had really fast players, and it was new, and he was playing man-to-man coverage, and I think he backed up 8 yards into the end zone. He's learning, and I think he's playing well, and I think he needed to play well."

Brown credits Bohl and the rest of the UW coaching staff for helping prepare him for New Mexico's dynamic offense.

After the Cowboys fell behind two scores early, Brown and the rest of the defense held the Lobos scoreless in the final three quarters.

"New Mexico is a team that got us the last two years, so our whole defense was keyed in all week, and the preparation was there," Brown said. "I felt good going into this game, and I was comfortable with the game plan. We weren't facing anything we weren't used to seeing out there."

Brown's 10 tackles might have stood out in the box scores, but the redshirt freshman was in on what seemed like every play last weekend. Whether it was pushing the pile backward or forcing a ball-carrier to change directions, Brown was all over the field in a good way in Albuquerque.

"The nickelback was in the box a lot more than normal, so that definitely contributed to me being around the ball so much," Brown said. "Coach Bohl said before the game, 'Don't let yourself not give 100% effort mentally and physically,' so that was definitely playing through my mind the whole time I was out there."

Brown's performance against the Lobos didn't just stand out to Bohl. Cornerback Cameron Stone was impressed with his teammate's showing on defense during the Cowboys' second conference win of the season.

"I'm proud of Wrook," Stone said after last weekend's game. "You guys don't know the half of it. I'm proud of Wrook. He was more vocal and more confident, and that was a worry I had for Wrook personally, but he showed me wrong. He played a good game, and I'm proud of him."

Making an impression on a competitive guy like Stone was a big compliment for Brown. His No. 1 goal aside from winning in Albuquerque was to not let any of his teammates down in the process.

"Cam Stone is also in the secondary, so I see a lot of him during practice, and he definitely gives me constructive criticism quite often," Brown said. "But he also gives me encouragement when he thinks I deserve it. He's always on me about making sure my voice is loud and that they can all hear me out there."

What made Brown's first career start even more special was having his parents in attendance. The Cowboys' road game in Albuquerque was the closest the team will play to his hometown in Texas all season.

"This has to be at the top of football memories for me," Brown said. "It's quite a bit different when you're at the games on the sidelines versus when you're really contributing on the defense.

"This has to be one of the best moments of my career."

Alex Taylor covers the University of Wyoming for WyoSports. He can be reached at ataylor@wyosports.net or 269-364-3560. Follow him on Twitter at @alex_m_taylor22.