CHATSWORTH — Sierra Canyon sophomore wide receiver Lance Brown told the team’s wide receivers coach, Terrell Thomas, last fall about his dreams of playing at Ohio State.
Thomas remembered telling Brown, “Only five stars go to Ohio State.”
Thomas knows what it takes to be elite. After starring at USC, he won a Super Bowl as a cornerback for the New York Giants in 2011 and accumulated 298 career tackles, three sacks, seven forced fumbles and a pick-six during his NFL career.
“You’re telling me (you want) to go to the Ohio State?” Thomas recalled. “There’s a certain mindset you have to have.”
For Brown, that meant listening to every detail told by Thomas and former Pro Bowl wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh. Houshmandzadeh joined Sierra Canyon’s staff in an advisory role and reinforced the skills and work habits Brown had to instill.
That meant getting into the weight room and growing stronger, an aspect Brown wasn’t fond of at first but embraced and added muscle. Brown also ran track, something he hadn’t previously done. By working on his own, ran the 100 meters in 10.9 seconds.
“I just had to get out of my own way,” Brown said.
Details in route running and developing speed allowed Brown to elevate his game throughout the season and put together his most complete performance of the season last week.
Brown had three receptions for 128 yards and two touchdowns in Sierra Canyon’s 56-7 victory over Bishop Amat to capture the Mission League title and solidify a top-2 spot in the Division 1 playoffs.
His first catch was a 79-yard touchdown grab against man coverage. Then came a 21-yard grab in the end zone that became the talk of another dominant Sierra Canyon performance.
The 6-foot-1 Brown ran to his right and toe-tapped both feet in the end zone. An NFL-quality catch confirmed by Thomas and Houshmandzadeh, who saw nine months of work pay off.
“When you have quickness and speed that translates,” Houshmandzadeh said. “I’ve been where a lot of these kids want to go. They’re accepting to me helping them. I can say all I want, but if you’re not accepting of the help then it doesn’t matter. He has a bright future, and when you have that type of talent and teams play us that way, that’s the result we expect to get.”
Brown took to the coaching and accepted the two important voices in his corner. First from Thomas, who, despite playing cornerback, has focused on coaching wide receivers. He understands, as a former defensive back himself, how to break a defense down.
Thomas and Houshmandzadeh played against each other during their NFL careers and now complement each other’s teaching styles.
“It’s been tremendous learning a position having played and studied the game,” Thomas said. “When he’s there, he says the same thing I’ve been telling them.”
This season didn’t always go smoothly for Brown. He has battled a lingering ankle injury and struggled with dropped passes earlier in the season.
Thomas noticed the passes that not only Brown was dropping, but other Division I aspiring players were as well, like junior Sir Homer King Webb, junior Micah Slade and junior Christian Butler.
“I challenged him to find a way to practice,” Thomas said of Brown. “Get out there, show leadership, and he persevered through all that. I reminded him, ‘When you continue to show up, trust the process, and you get rewarded.’ ”
Brown has stacked up offers from top programs, including UCLA, USC, Alabama, Miami, Cal, Oregon State, North Carolina, Ole Miss and San Diego State.
But Brown’s goal is to become a Buckeye and play at the school that has produced some of the all-time great receivers, like Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Michael Thomas, Jeremiah Smith, Santonio Holmes, among the numerous Pro Bowlers pumped out of Columbus.
Brown and his teammates are also reminded by Thomas to make the most out of every rep and play during practice and games.
“They’re all fighting, and there’s only one ball,” Thomas said. “Everyone wants the ball, and I’m trying to paint that picture. When you get that opportunity, you have to take advantage. I have no control over that. And lately I’ve seen a hyper focus from this group I’ve been very proud of.”