PLaw
5/10/2010, 08:11 AM
I can't say enough how proud I am of this young man. Comes in as a partial qualifier; does what is best for the team by going from D-Line to O-Line; and now after two pro-bowls, goes back to get his degree.
BOOMER
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
New Orleans Saints' Jammal Brown, Usama Young enjoy degrees of success
By Jim Rapier
June 13, 2009, 11:23PM
Before May 16, Saints teammates Usama Young and Jammal Brown had little in common other than occupation.
Brown plays offense. Young plays defense.
Brown's a two-time Pro Bowler. Young's a third-year reserve trying to make his way in the league at a new position.
The hulking 6-foot-6 Brown wears his hair closely cropped and his jester's personality on his sleeve. The lithe 6-foot Young likes his hair in shoulder-length braids and bears a quiet demeanor.
But now they share this: They're both college graduates.
On May 16, the Saints teammates received their college diplomas, Young from Kent State and Brown from Oklahoma.
Four states and 1,000 miles from each other, their motives were independent, but their missions were the same: to fulfill a personal goal to themselves, an obligation to their respective universities and a promise to their parents.
Few in Browns' graduating class of 117 former and current student-athletes were more unlikely than the 28-year-old Lawton, Okla., native.
He arrived at Oklahoma as a partial academic qualifier and needed a year of tutoring and help just to make it on the field as a freshman.
Brown left Oklahoma 15 hours short of his degree in multidisciplinary studies and was still seven hours shy after completing coursework in 2006.
Fame and fortune interceded.
In December, the powerful left tackle was voted by coaches, peers and fans to play in his second Pro Bowl. He'd already earned about $10 million and was scheduled to earn another $2.4 million this season.
"He certainly didn't need to come back to school, " said Lt. Col. Randy Garibay, the academic adviser for the Sooner football team. "Financially he was set."
Brown's conscience, however, tugged at him.
He aspired to be the first of the four children in his family to earn a degree. He wanted to reward his coaches at Oklahoma who hounded him to complete his degree every offseason when he returned to Norman, Okla.
Most important, he didn't want to renege on a promise he made to his mother, Zola, who died in 1999 from lupus when Brown was a junior at MacArthur High School in Lawton, Okla.
"My mother always wanted me to graduate from college, " Brown said. "I told her I would, and I kept forth that promise. I finally buckled down and made school a priority."
Brown completed seven hours this spring by taking online courses under the supervision of Oklahoma's dedicated academic counseling staff.
Not even his second trip to the Pro Bowl in February could deter him from his studies. Between practices and Pro Bowl duties, he plowed through coursework on his laptop in his hotel room.
The effort paid off. Brown graduated with honors, a 3.5 GPA. He needed a couple of extra cracks at some exams to get there, but his advisers were more than willing to let him do it.
His father, Charles, girlfriend Stephanie, 10-year-old daughter Halle, and several other relatives attended his graduation ceremony. That night, the group toasted Brown at a surprise party attended by some of his old teachers and advisers.
"It was just really exciting, " Brown said this week after a Saints offseason practice. "I had my cap and gown on. My whole family was there. It was just a great feeling for me."
Young knows the feeling.
The cornerback-turned-safety was one of 52 student-athletes to receive a diploma at the M.A.C. Center in Kent, Ohio.
He completed seven hours at Kent this spring and earned his degree in educational studies, but Young's back-to-school experience was much different than Brown, who did most of his work online.
Returning to campus was "culture shock" for the affable 24-year-old. As was Ohio's winter weather. Sub-freezing temperatures greeted him on his first day of classes, which began at the ungodly hour of 7:45 a.m.
Midway through the semester, Young was forced to return to New Orleans, where he participated in the Saints' offseason conditioning program and tried to learn a new position in the defensive secondary.
Although all the on- and off-field learning left little time for socializing, Young remained undeterred.
"It got hard there for awhile, " Young said. "I was trying to learn the safety spot and then exchange notes with people over the phone. I kept in touch with my math professor via e-mail.
"I questioned myself a few times, " Young added with a chuckle. "But I owed it to the coaches and my parents. I wanted to finish what I started."
Usama became the fifth of Janice and LeRoi Young's five boys to earn a degree, fulfilling a promise he made to his mother, a career educator at the high school and college level.
"She was proud, " Young said. "She said, you finally got it done. Now it's time to get that master's."
With his degree, Young hopes to one day open a learning/rec center for youth. He said the experience also will allow him to speak with greater conviction when he speaks to youth groups and at schools during the season.
"Hopefully, I can change some lives, " Young said. "Being NFL players, we've got that opportunity because so many people listen to us."
On the field, the Saints are expecting big seasons from both Young and Brown.
Off the field, each has already had a hell of a year.
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BOOMER
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
New Orleans Saints' Jammal Brown, Usama Young enjoy degrees of success
By Jim Rapier
June 13, 2009, 11:23PM
Before May 16, Saints teammates Usama Young and Jammal Brown had little in common other than occupation.
Brown plays offense. Young plays defense.
Brown's a two-time Pro Bowler. Young's a third-year reserve trying to make his way in the league at a new position.
The hulking 6-foot-6 Brown wears his hair closely cropped and his jester's personality on his sleeve. The lithe 6-foot Young likes his hair in shoulder-length braids and bears a quiet demeanor.
But now they share this: They're both college graduates.
On May 16, the Saints teammates received their college diplomas, Young from Kent State and Brown from Oklahoma.
Four states and 1,000 miles from each other, their motives were independent, but their missions were the same: to fulfill a personal goal to themselves, an obligation to their respective universities and a promise to their parents.
Few in Browns' graduating class of 117 former and current student-athletes were more unlikely than the 28-year-old Lawton, Okla., native.
He arrived at Oklahoma as a partial academic qualifier and needed a year of tutoring and help just to make it on the field as a freshman.
Brown left Oklahoma 15 hours short of his degree in multidisciplinary studies and was still seven hours shy after completing coursework in 2006.
Fame and fortune interceded.
In December, the powerful left tackle was voted by coaches, peers and fans to play in his second Pro Bowl. He'd already earned about $10 million and was scheduled to earn another $2.4 million this season.
"He certainly didn't need to come back to school, " said Lt. Col. Randy Garibay, the academic adviser for the Sooner football team. "Financially he was set."
Brown's conscience, however, tugged at him.
He aspired to be the first of the four children in his family to earn a degree. He wanted to reward his coaches at Oklahoma who hounded him to complete his degree every offseason when he returned to Norman, Okla.
Most important, he didn't want to renege on a promise he made to his mother, Zola, who died in 1999 from lupus when Brown was a junior at MacArthur High School in Lawton, Okla.
"My mother always wanted me to graduate from college, " Brown said. "I told her I would, and I kept forth that promise. I finally buckled down and made school a priority."
Brown completed seven hours this spring by taking online courses under the supervision of Oklahoma's dedicated academic counseling staff.
Not even his second trip to the Pro Bowl in February could deter him from his studies. Between practices and Pro Bowl duties, he plowed through coursework on his laptop in his hotel room.
The effort paid off. Brown graduated with honors, a 3.5 GPA. He needed a couple of extra cracks at some exams to get there, but his advisers were more than willing to let him do it.
His father, Charles, girlfriend Stephanie, 10-year-old daughter Halle, and several other relatives attended his graduation ceremony. That night, the group toasted Brown at a surprise party attended by some of his old teachers and advisers.
"It was just really exciting, " Brown said this week after a Saints offseason practice. "I had my cap and gown on. My whole family was there. It was just a great feeling for me."
Young knows the feeling.
The cornerback-turned-safety was one of 52 student-athletes to receive a diploma at the M.A.C. Center in Kent, Ohio.
He completed seven hours at Kent this spring and earned his degree in educational studies, but Young's back-to-school experience was much different than Brown, who did most of his work online.
Returning to campus was "culture shock" for the affable 24-year-old. As was Ohio's winter weather. Sub-freezing temperatures greeted him on his first day of classes, which began at the ungodly hour of 7:45 a.m.
Midway through the semester, Young was forced to return to New Orleans, where he participated in the Saints' offseason conditioning program and tried to learn a new position in the defensive secondary.
Although all the on- and off-field learning left little time for socializing, Young remained undeterred.
"It got hard there for awhile, " Young said. "I was trying to learn the safety spot and then exchange notes with people over the phone. I kept in touch with my math professor via e-mail.
"I questioned myself a few times, " Young added with a chuckle. "But I owed it to the coaches and my parents. I wanted to finish what I started."
Usama became the fifth of Janice and LeRoi Young's five boys to earn a degree, fulfilling a promise he made to his mother, a career educator at the high school and college level.
"She was proud, " Young said. "She said, you finally got it done. Now it's time to get that master's."
With his degree, Young hopes to one day open a learning/rec center for youth. He said the experience also will allow him to speak with greater conviction when he speaks to youth groups and at schools during the season.
"Hopefully, I can change some lives, " Young said. "Being NFL players, we've got that opportunity because so many people listen to us."
On the field, the Saints are expecting big seasons from both Young and Brown.
Off the field, each has already had a hell of a year.
RecommendRecommend (0)
Print this Email this Share this:
Previous story: It's early but the New Orleans Saints appear poised for breakout 2009 season
Next story: New Orleans Saints news and notes, with a mailbag
Story tags: New Orleans Saints