In one version of this story, Antonio Brown never gets there. Florida State said no. Not allowed to attend Florida International. Going back and forth between prep schools without a clear way forward. He really should be thankful that he found Central Michigan in the first place, and even more grateful that they liked something about him enough to keep him.
Brown grew up in Miami. His father, Eddie “Touchdown” Brown, was a professional football player in the Arena Football League. It was always in my blood to play football. And having talent doesn’t help if doors keep closing on you. That’s what happened to him for a while when he was in his late teens. Concerns about his grades kept him from getting into Florida State. A stint at Alcorn State didn’t happen. Over 1,200 passing yards as a quarterback during a season at North Carolina Tech Prep, but there was no clear next step. The next stop was Florida International, where things ended before they even started because of a fight with security.
You could say that most people in that situation just give up. Brown didn’t. A wide receivers coach named Butch Jones had done a lot to recruit him. When he tried to get in touch with Jones, he found that Jones had become the head coach at Central Michigan University. Brown followed him, but he didn’t come to Mount Pleasant, Michigan as a recruited athlete. Instead, he came as a walk-on trying to get a spot. Not a promise. There’s no red carpet.
The next part that happens is often skipped over when people talk about his time in the NFL. Zach Azzanni, who coaches wide receivers at Central Michigan, told Brown that he could fly out and try out for the team. They liked what they saw enough after a few weeks of practice to offer him a scholarship. Brown wasn’t just getting used to a new system on the field, though. He was getting used to the basic routines of college life, like showing up on time, going to meetings, and sticking to a schedule. It was really Azzanni and his wife who helped him build that routine from scratch. He became friendly with their family. That little thing tells us something about where he was at that time.
By the end of his first year in 2007, Brown had caught 102 passes for 1,003 yards and six touchdowns. That number of receptions was the best in the whole Mid-American Conference. Young Player of the Year in the MAC. Almost overnight, the walk-on had become the team’s best receiver.
In quieter but more important ways, his sophomore year built on that base. Besides catching 93 passes for 998 yards and seven touchdowns, he also led the country with an average of 20.5 yards per punt return. It was becoming clear that this player was more than just a receiver—they were a weapon in the open field who could change games in more than one way at the same time.
The junior season was when he became known to more people. In 2009, Brown had 110 receptions, which was a school record. He also gained 1,198 yards and scored nine touchdowns. In his last college game, a win over Troy in the GMAC Bowl in January 2010, he had 13 catches for 178 yards. After all was said and done, he set a school record with 305 receptions, 3.199 receiving yards, and 22 touchdowns. In the history of Central Michigan, he has had three of the best receiving seasons.
Even with all that work, NFL scouts weren’t exactly jumping for joy. Most people thought he would be picked in the fifth or sixth round. He wasn’t one of the 35 best wide receivers in the draft. It seems like the smaller conference room and his size—he is listed at five feet ten inches and 186 pounds—made the judges wary. In the end, the Pittsburgh Steelers picked him with the 195th pick, which is the sixth round.
When asked later why he chose the number 84, Brown said that eight times four is 32, which is how many teams, including Pittsburgh, passed on him. That small but accurate fact tells you something about how his college years changed him. Not really anger, though. Like fuel more.
When people talk about Antonio Brown, it’s easy to forget about the years he spent at Central Michigan. Most of the time, they start with the Steelers, then move on to the Pro Bowls, the records, and finally the trouble. But everything that made him special—his route running, hands, ability to return, and unwavering drive—was built in Michigan by a kid who had been told not more than once but kept coming back anyway.
