Catching Up With Cason Brown

This football season Cason Brown expects opportunities to catch the ball.

The Schulenburg High School graduate entered fall camp as Angelo State University’s starting tight end after being a starter the past two years. He did not have a reception either season.

“He was definitely more of a blocker,” Angelo State head football coach Jeff Girsch said. “He’s a great blocker.”

He said Brown has gotten a lot stronger and has been working on his receiving and “becoming a true threat” for when the season begins in the spring.

Listed at 240 pounds, the 6-foot-1 Brown stayed on campus this summer. He said he practiced catching passes from the five quarterbacks who worked out with him and others two to three times a week without coaches being present. He ran routes and also did drills.

The quarterback operates out of the shotgun formation, and Brown’s pass routes don’t take him too far upfield. “Most of our (tight end) stuff is short center because we’re bigger bodies,” he said. “Most of my stuff is power inside.”

Offensively, he said, “We try to be unpredictable. They’re moving us around.”

Sometimes he positions to the left or right side on the line of scrimmage, while other times he is in a two-point stance farther back from the line. “Coaches move us across formation,” he said. “Don’t give the defense a good read.”

His blocking assignments usually call for him to match up against defensive ends and linebackers. “It was a huge struggle and challenge coming in here,” Brown said. “Everything from the snap count to the speed of the people coming off the ball is so much faster. You’re trying to learn and adapt to a whole other level. It’s a fight every play.”

Besides his repetitions on offensive plays, he will be on the kickoff return and field goal units. He is a third-row blocker--closest to the returner--on kickoff returns and a blocker on field goal attempts. “I’ve been very happy with my performance,” he said.

Girsch said the players have been training eight hours a week, and that time will grow to 20 hours a week when full practice begins.

After the unofficial summer workouts, the news about the season being postponed was disappointing.

“It really was a bummer for a lot of guys,” Brown said. “It wasn’t what we wanted. We’re going to try to adapt.”

He also is a thrower for the men’s track and field team. He finished second in the discus throw in the final meet before the spring shutdown. The past two years discus has been the event in which he has placed highest.

Send updates about area athletes to Barbara Boxleitner at jdanddoc@gmail.com.