West Chester welcomes back Tim Brown after academic snafu

THE IRONY? West Chester senior Tim Brown had just made an honor roll for the first time in his life. Then he found out that he'd been ruled ineligible by the NCAA because of an administrative error.

"That's the part that made it almost comical to me," said Brown. "I didn't want anyone to think I'd done anything wrong. I'd just had my best semester ever. So I'm thinking, 'Man, maybe if I hadn't worked so hard.' That's crazy. I just didn't understand how I could be penalized for taking too many classes."

Yet that's what happened. In the spring, he'd taken a full course load. And obviously done well. Problem is it turned out to be his 10th full-time semester, if you count the time he'd spent at Delaware County Community College before moving on to West Chester. He could've been a part-time student last spring and still retained his eligibility for this season. But that's not what coach Bill Zwaan had recommended, based upon his knowledge of Brown's academic transcript.

It was an honest oversight, one that Zwaan took full responsibility for. Not that it made the situation for either of them any easier.

It was an emotional time for both.

"I felt like I'd changed his life for the worst," said Zwaan, who's one of the good ones. "It would've stayed with me.

"His information had been listed incorrectly. But it was on me. He'd done so much to get to that point. You never want to hurt a kid's chances.

"Especially someone like that, who's come so far."

"I felt sorry for (Zwaan)," Brown acknowledged. "He's the one who was taking all the heat for everything. He stood strong. That definitely took a lot of the weight off me. He wished he could put himself in my position. Still, it was the hardest thing I'd ever gone through.

"I was confused. I got down on the whole situation. People try to pick you up, but some of it goes in one ear and comes out. I wasn't prepared for it. I wanted to be by myself, but that didn't help. To be honest, I didn't know what to do."

Fortunately, the story had a happy ending. On the third appeal, the powers that be finally conceded that the All-America indeed was an innocent victim. And on Sept. 11, as the team was busing to Erie for a game against Mercyhurst, he got the news that he was once again a member of the Golden Rams. Which meant all his dreams - maybe making it to the NFL, becoming the first in his family to get a degree - were back in play.

"I work at a restaurant on weekends, and I was driving home," Brown recalled. "My phone wouldn't stop going off. It's a long ride out there, and I figured all the guys were just fooling with me, so I didn't answer. Then I saw a message that said: 'Congratulations, happy to have you back.' And I'm, like, 'Wait, what's going on?' I thought there was no way. I knew (Zwaan) had kept pushing. But I couldn't believe it, until I finally answered and realized he was serious.

"It was an unexplainable feeling."

To fully understand where Brown's coming from, you need to comprehend where he's been. School was never his thing, certainly not at Upper Darby High. He didn't have the grades to get into a four-year institution. So he started at DCCC. A year and a half later, in the spring of 2012, West Chester took a chance on him at the Division II level. But he couldn't play his first season, because not all his credits were transferrable.

"A couple of friends who knew him were pushing for us to take a chance, because they really liked him," Zwaan said. "They just wanted him to get an opportunity. We weren't really recruiting him. He was just raw, in every area. He was a linebacker, but we switched him to tight end, because we needed one. The whole time he kept saying, 'I'd rather be on defense.'

"He had potential. But he had to learn every piece of it. He was all over the place. He had to get that you have to be at every practice, and you have to go to meetings. We tried to get him more organized, be in the right places at the right times. It was a process. But we thought if he could contribute, he could be successful. Football can help this kid graduate. He had a lot of people in his corner."

The most difficult transformation might have been getting Brown - who has a reading comprehension disability - to believe in himself.

"I just didn't take things seriously," said Brown, a 6-3, 235-pounder who caught 53 passes for 1,059 yards and 17 touchdowns last season. "I was immature. I wasn't prepared for all the stuff that comes with college. Coach was checking up on me every day to make sure I was doing whatever I was supposed to be doing. There was a time when I hated school more than anything. It wasn't for me. I had to figure it out. Or else I don't know how I would have ended up . . .

"When we took tests, I'd be the last one leaving the room. It was embarrassing. It didn't come natural to me. I had to put in twice as much work as the average student just to get C's. If you'd asked me in high school, I'd have never thought this was possible. No one even thought I'd go to college. I struggled with school.

"I think I'm the only one in history to take a public speaking class two or three times. On the day I had to make a speech, I couldn't build enough courage to do it. Finally, I got a teacher who made me feel comfortable. But I was still nervous, shaking. I got a little red, I was sweating real bad. I was out of my element. I like to be in the back of the room, not saying much. I like to listen more than I like to talk. But eventually, I felt better about it.

"It was a good feeling."

A criminal justice major, he's now close to getting his diploma. Two uncles work in law enforcement. But he's also received a draftable grade from scouts with eight NFL teams. In another twist, that worked against him when he was first ruled ineligible. Because that meant he had to wait until the next draft instead of being allowed to immediately sign on somewhere as a free agent. Fortunately, that's no longer an issue.

After practicing for a week, Brown made his 2015 debut in Saturday's 48-34 home win over Seton Hill. He had only one reception, for 23 yards, in large part because he was being covered by two and sometimes even three defenders. But . . .

"He (still) caused a lot of havoc," Zwaan duly noted of the guy voted captain by his teammates.

Brown's presence opened the field up for sophomore running back Jarel Elder, who accounted for 331 yards (84 receiving) and four scores. And the Rams, who can still be a factor in the PSAC East after making it to playoffs the past two seasons, had their first win.

"They're three weeks into the season, and I'm still in (training)camp," Brown said. "My legs are heavy, I'm sore. But I think me being 80 percent is going to help the team. I'm putting in extra time getting myself back (in shape).

"I'm one of those guys who always thinks the guy across from you is better. It makes you want to do better than him. Even growing up, playing in the park. It gives me that little bit of motivation. Just to even be noticed is kind of like a dream come true. It was a goal to play at the highest level, but I never mentioned it to anybody. I kept it to myself. But deep down, I trained as if I could make it. I at least wanted a shot."

He might get it. But he insists that won't mean as much as being part of a commencement ceremony.

"I think I'll lose it," Brown acknowledged. "My mom will be thrilled. She always said how important it is. I'd be the last one anyone would think would do it. Football's great, but at some point it won't be there. This is the rest of my life. I just want to give myself the best chance."

Nobody ever said it had to happen in a straight line.