Donald Brown and Knowshon Moreno article

http://www.nj.com/sports/njsports/index.ssf/2009/04/former_red_bank_catholic_conne.html

Atlantic Highlands' Donald Brown, who was MVP of the International Bowl in January with Connecticut, says the process of preparing for the NFL draft has been 'incredible.'
As players put their names into the NFL Draft pool each year, there are always moments when they realize the magnitude of what they are doing.

Sometimes it's during a workout with a team or being interviewed on television. Other times it doesn't hit until their phone rings or their name is called on draft day.

For Donald Brown, his moment came sitting on Tiki Barber's couch.

"Last Saturday I got the chance to sit down and talk with him at his apartment for over an hour," Brown said last week. "That was a great opportunity, and he was a great guy. Him and I were just hanging out, shooting the breeze, and talked about a ton of different things."

That's when it hit the former Red Bank Catholic High School standout from Atlantic Highlands what he was about to do. When Brown was growing up, his family used to have season tickets for the Giants, and Barber was a favorite of his. So finally getting the chance to sit down, face-to-face, with the former Giants star was Brown's pinch-me moment.

But the player who led the nation in rushing last season at Connecticut didn't sit there star-struck. Brown picked his brain about the transition from college to the NFL, how to train and the pro athlete lifestyle.

He was there for advice, not autographs.

"It's been an incredible process," Brown said. "First training out in California for the Combine. Then flying out to San Diego to visit the Chargers, flying to Cincinnati for the Bengals. Driving down to Philly to visit the Eagles and then the Jets. It's been a lot of different things."

Despite gaining 2,083 yards last fall, Brown continually found himself fighting to be considered the nation's best running back. He continually racked up yardage -- capping his career with 261 yards and one touchdown in the International Bowl -- but scouts, NFL general managers and draft gurus ranked others such as Ohio State's Chris "Beanie" Wells, Georgia's Knowshon Moreno and Pittsburgh's LeShon McCoy ahead of him.

And when he decided to forgo his senior season and enter the NFL Draft, everyone pegged him in the middle rounds. Not anymore.

"Donald Brown really came on this year," said Mel Kiper, ESPN's NFL Draft analyst. "He averaged 4.8 yards a year ago and was up to 5.7 per carry this year. Over 2,000 yards. This was his year. But if you look at who has the better resume over a two-year span, it's Knowshon Moreno."

Brown finds some humor in the fact that he's once again overshadowed by Moreno, the Middletown South grad who is expected to be either the first or second running back taken on Saturday afternoon. The two are friends and have a long history together.

They played on the same Pee Wee football team -- Moreno was the quarterback and Brown was the running back -- and in high school consistently butted heads in the Shore Conference. So to be battling once again with his friend for the top rusher slot in this year's draft is just another signpost on a long road.

"We saw each other at the Combine and were catching up on things," Brown said. "We've been talking here and there throughout this whole process. We were up at the Jets on the same day. He's a great guy, a great player.

"We're just two guys from little towns tucked away by the Jersey Shore, trying to make it to the NFL."