Buffaloes OLBs coach Brian Michalowski has a knack for analyzing high school defensive ends and recruiting them to fit the outside backer position at Colorado. CU signees Jason Harris and Alvin Williams are a good example of that.
All in all, Michalowski appears to be at it again with a recent scholarship offer issued to Class of 2021 DE Victoine Brown of Loganville, Georgia.
Brown is a 6-foot-3, 225-pound three-star DE. And while we've still got Harris on the tip of our tongues, the Buffs' four-star signee actually helped get Colorado on Brown's radar.
"I just recently heard about Colorado when I was watching the Under Armour All-America Game," Brown said. "When (the Buffs) picked up (Jason Harris), I heard about (the Buffs) when he committed there."
So not only was Harris' nationally broadcasted commitment to CU good for the brand, there were also recruits across the country who watched it and took notes.
Another Colorado connection Brown has was a week three matchup that he and the Grayson High Rams had against CU signee Jake Wray and Marietta. Marietta emerged victorious, 42-28, in that game back on Sept. 13 of last year, but interestingly, the way Brown put it, Grayson during that game ran defensive packages that gave him some reps in pass coverage.
“We have play where me and the outside linebacker, against Marietta, the defensive end goes into coverage while the outside linebacker rushes, so (that gave me) some experience covering," he said.
The 2019 season was Brown's first with Grayson. As a freshman and sophomore, he played football at Freeport High School in New York, which is located on the south shore of Staten Island. One of the things Michalowski noted was how Brown adjusted well to a different level of competition down in Georgia.
"He told me how (he likes) how I transitioned from a New York play style to a Georgia play style in that I play more aggressive than when I was in New York," Brown said "(Michalowski said) I made a great transition from up there to down here, just fitting in."
Before Brown watched Harris commit to CU during the All-America Game on Jan. 2, Michalowski and the Buffaloes had gotten on his radar initially in the fall.
“Colorado has been showing me interest for the past three months," Brown said. "Around two weeks before Christmas break, (Michalowski) came and watched me. Me and him spoke in the weight room, talked about my grades, and I gave him my number. I hadn’t heard from him since that day but (Wednesday) he called me, we spoke on the phone, and...then he gave me the offer."
It is thus feasible to deduce that when Michalowski was down in that neck of the woods on a home visit with signee Alvin Williams who lives in Ellenwood, which is about an hour's drive southeast on routes 20 and 675 from Loganville, that's when he met up with Brown.
As of right now, Florida and Louisville have taken the lead in Brown's recruitment. Brown says he plans on committing in May before his senior season while he currently has unofficial visits slated for South Carolina, Georgia State, Georgia Tech and Florida over the next month.
However, from what Michalowski has told him about CU's defense, Brown might very well have gotten another school to consider seriously in the Colorado, regardless of where he fits into the schemes.
"(Michalowski) says that I fit in as a great outside linebacker," Brown said. "He said I was super fast on the get-off (and commented) on how strong and agile I am...“I feel more comfortable playing d-end but if they need me at linebacker, I’ll player wherever they need me. That’s the kind of person I am. If I do play OLB, I’ll work at it with the pass coverage, but the pass rushing stuff — that I have down.”
