Talk is cheap, but Texas Longhorns’ Curtis Brown been making noise

By BLAKE HURTIK

Special to the Star-Telegram

AUSTIN — Under most circumstances, a five-star recruit and Mack Brown go together like fine wine and cheese.

The Texas coach didn’t earn — for better or worse— the nickname Coach February for nothing.

But there are times when Brown will flat-out tell a recruit, no matter how talented, that he may not be a good fit at Texas.

Curtis Brown fell into that category when Mack Brown courted him in 2006.

"I said, 'I’ll take you, but I’m not sure you should come because it’s hard. There’s a lot of pressure here,’ " Mack Brown said. "It was just because he was so shy, and I didn’t feel like he had a tremendous amount of confidence, and this is a place where you need to have some confidence or it will eat you up."

That was the early mark on Curtis Brown: all the athletic talent in the world, but lacking the superstar-in-the-making personality that so many Texas athletes have.

"Curtis didn’t talk," Mack Brown said.

He still doesn’t talk much but when he does, it’s with more confidence. Brown, a junior, has become a fixture in Texas’ secondary at right cornerback and finally got his first career interception out of the way, a 77-yarder for a touchdown against Oklahoma State last week.

"Curtis never wants to talk," said safety Earl Thomas, one of Brown’s closest friends. "He’s not a trash talker, but he’s kind of got a swagger about himself now. He’s just feeling confident, and you can see it Saturdays."

To understand how far he has come, it’s necessary to look where he started. Considering what Curtis Brown had already dealt with in his first 18 years of life, Mack Brown understood why he wasn’t the most extroverted recruit.

Through circumstances that he doesn’t like to talk about, Curtis ended up in his paternal grandmother’s care when he was 6 weeks old. Oneta Taylor, or "M’dear" as Brown affectionately calls her, has raised him ever since.

"I had a pretty rough upbringing. I stayed with grandma my whole life ... and basically football and her are the main things in my life," Curtis Brown said. "My grandma and just trying to get out of the situation I was in [motivates me]."

Taylor instilled in him the value of education as a way out of that situation. When he found success on the football field at Gilmer High School in East Texas, it opened another door. He was a high school All-American and a five-star recruit as a wide receiver.

But he soon saw that his best shot at a potential NFL future would be at cornerback because of Texas defensive backs coach Duane Akina’s penchant for producing pro players.

Akina was impressed with Brown’s combination of athleticism and size (6 feet, 180 pounds).

"He had unbelievable quickness, the things you can’t coach," Akina said. "He’s as good an athlete as I’ve ever coached, but that doesn’t always mean great football player."

He had to be taught how to play cornerback when he arrived at Texas in January 2007 and, through his struggles, earned the nickname "The Cat."

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