Austin High School senior James Brown scored the go-ahead touchdown and helped lead his team to a 32-28 victory over Kashmere at Barnett Stadium. Credit: Jimmie Aggison/Defender

James Brown once wanted nothing to do with getting hit.

That was the main reason the Austin High School senior hesitated to play tackle football. A basketball and flag football player, Brown had spent years using his speed and quickness to avoid contact. But after Coach Stephen Wiggins repeatedly encouraged him to try tackle football, Brown finally made the switch as a junior.

Now, the quarterback is using those same instincts to make defenders miss. He showed it in a back-and-forth game against Kashmere, when Austin battled Kashmere before Brown led a late fourth-quarter drive and scored the winning touchdown in a 32-28 victory.

“On that last drive, I remember looking at the scoreboard and knowing I had to finish it,” said Brown. “My coach gave me the look and told me to do what I do best, so I did.”

The play was a designed run called Sisco Q, but if it broke down, Brown had the freedom to do whatever he needed to score a touchdown.

“I just knew we couldn’t work hard all game and then lose,” said Brown. “I knew all eyes were on me, so there wasn’t any time to fold under pressure. I had to rise to it.”

During the late fourth-quarter drive, Austin head football coach Jermaine Bluford saw that James had what it took to make the play Austin needed to make.

“James is relentless and has proven that no moment is too big for the next,” said Bluford. “What everyone saw on Thursday is what we already knew about him from day one.”

Brown’s late-game heroics, however, were a long way from the start of his football journey, when the senior wasn’t sure he wanted anything to do with tackle football.

Before playing tackle football, Brown had played flag football in a local league and had spent 10 years immersed in basketball.

“The thing that made me hesitant to play football my freshman and sophomore years was getting used to the contact, since it was something I had never experienced,” said Brown. “Not knowing how it would affect my body for basketball was my biggest concern about tackle football, because I was more focused on making it to college through basketball.”

In his freshman year, at 5-foot-6 and 138 pounds, Brown was approached by former coach Stephen Wiggins, who spoke with Brown’s mother and convinced her that Brown needed to come out for summer workouts.

“The thing that made me hesitant to play football my freshman and sophomore years was getting used to the contact, since it was something I had never experienced.” 

James Brown

“He finally got through to my mom about getting me out there for summer workouts, because he saw the type of athlete I was and believed I would be okay,” said Brown.

Wiggins had encouraged Brown to play tackle football since his freshman year, but Brown didn’t make the transition until his junior season.

Once Brown finally put on the pads, the very thing he had tried to avoid became part of the game he had to learn to embrace. His background in basketball and flag football helped him transition to tackle football.

“All of the work I put into basketball really translated to football,” said Brown. “Footwork and sprints; since I’ve been a point guard my whole life, that leadership factor really translated into playing quarterback, because I knew I had to become the person my team could trust and depend on.”

Brown began to realize that his speed and ability to make defenders miss could be an advantage against defenders trying to tackle him.

“I noticed after my first game in my junior season that it would be a problem for defenders,” said Brown. “I have that confidence in my game and skills that when I touch the ball, nobody can stop me.”

“He sees the entire field with or without the football,” said Bluford. “His ability to stop on a dime and accelerate immediately is a weapon.”

Brown’s ability to use his speed and shiftiness has continued to develop since he first started playing tackle football.

“Because he is a multi-sport athlete, you see it constantly,” said Bluford. “Track and weightlifting have been the biggest contributors to his development.”

What began as a reluctance to absorb contact gradually became a different kind of confidence, one built on his use of athleticism to avoid it.

“When I first took this job, I gave a detailed breakdown of the vision I had for James,” said Bluford. “He went from being used in a single role to being weaponized as a threat across the field. He’s consistent in his effort and playmaking ability, while inspiring others and helping elevate their game.”

That transformation is something Brown recognizes, both in the way he plays and in the person he has become.

“Looking back at the player who was hesitant to play tackle football, I’m very different now, both as a player and as a student,” said Brown. “My confidence is higher, my skills are better, and I feel completely different from that hesitant boy I was.”

Brown’s evolution is perhaps best measured not by how often he takes a hit, but by how confidently he now handles the moments that once made him hesitant to play the game.

“Scoring the winning touchdown against Kashmere meant a lot to me, given my background in the sport and where I started,” said Brown. “As a senior, I want people to remember how I instill hope in everyone around me and how I show up and show out every time, no matter the circumstances.”

The player who once hesitated because he didn’t want to be hit is now the senior quarterback trusted with the ball when the game is on the line.

“You’d better know where he is on the field at all times,” said Bluford. “He’s dynamic and only needs a crease to make a play. 694 total yards and 8 touchdowns in three games aren’t mediocre numbers.”

I’m originally from Kansas. I graduated from the University of Kansas with a degree in communication studies. Shortly after moving to Houston in 2007, I began doing photography. I covered cy fair sports...