Northwestern University Athletics
ON THE RECORD...With Vince Browne
11/2/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 2, 2009
Daniel Burnham, the legendary architect and urban planner whose ideas so shaped much of Chicago, once avowed, "Make no small plans. They have no magic to stir men's blood." That is a cry-to-action certainly understood by 'Cat defensive end Vince Browne, who talks about his ambitions and much more with NUsports.com special contributor Skip Myslenski. . .
On The Record...With Vince Browne
I'm interested in seeing how good I can be.
It's very difficult to focus that same intensity and that same energy in all aspects of your life. It tends to go towards what you're more passionate about. I'm extremely passionate about seeing how good a football player I can be.
Where did it come from? I guess maybe when I was a kid, my first time playing football.
I used to play soccer when I was really, really young. I started playing football, I begged my dad to let me play, and I enjoyed a lot of success, even as a kid. I became addicted to that success.
| Also in this issue... |
When I was in high school, I really started to work at it. That's when I saw a relationship between the effort I gave in preparation, during the off-season and in every other aspect, that's when I saw results. That kind of fueled the fanaticism and it sort of snowballed from there.
It's still rolling.
When I was a kid, a couple of my buddies had started a year earlier than me. I wanted to play as well. You just sort of do what your friends do at that age. My dad didn't really want me playing football that young. I think he thought I'd be burned out on it by the time it mattered in high school. But finally he agreed to let me play.
I was in fifth grade.
The contact and the collisions, I would say. No, not the contact. The collisions.
I heard a quote from (former Buc defensive back) John Lynch one time and I find this to be so true. It's the same feeling as when you're playing baseball and you hit a home run and the ball goes off the sweet spot of your bat. It's the same thing you feel if your hips roll and you really get a good hit on somebody. You feel all that energy transferred. It's the same feeling.
It's so pure. That's probably what I enjoyed the most about football.
No. And when I do I'll pursue that with the same intensity that I pursue football. But I haven't found anything that's given me that same rush. When I do, I'll try to be the best at that as well.
Growing up, as a kid, there was a film that my dad had called, I think it was called "The NFL's 100 Toughest Players." Something like that.
I used to get up when my (older) brother got up. We lived on a farm and my brother got up to throw hay to the cows. I used to get up when he got up and I watched that movie every morning before school. I'd rewind to the (former Steeler linebacker) Jack Lambert section a million times.
It was just incredible. It was something that was awesome to me at that age.
I don't know if I visualized myself as Jack Lambert. He was someone that, I guess I tried to emulate him in certain aspects. His tenacity and his intensity on the field were, at that time, unparalleled.
I never put my hand on the ground ever in high school (where he starred as a linebacker). Well, I did play a little tight end and fullback. But playing defensive end and using my hands and picking the view of the field and narrowing it down to the man in front of me is something I wasn't used to.
I'm still trying to do that and hone in.
As linebacker, you have to see the big picture and diagnose what's going on and get there. As a defensive end, you really have to focus on the man in front of you who's trying to beat you.
All his energy is focused on moving you and beating you and out-positioning you and out-leveraging you. If you don't give him the equal focus, you don't really stand a chance of being successful.
When I was being recruited, the old defensive coordinator Coach (Greg) Colby was here and there was talk of maybe moving to a three-four scheme and (me) playing like an outside linebacker hybrid.
When I got here, I was placed with the defensive line coach and that was my position.
I was about 235, 240. I'm about 270 now.
It's more of a lifestyle than just going to the weight room or just going to practice. It's what you think about the most.
Probably one of the best quotes I took away, a couple of years ago Coach (Pat) Fitz(Gerald) said, "You move toward and become like what you think about the most." Obviously becoming bigger and stronger was important to me, and I thought about it and worked toward it.
It's not just in the weight room, it's not just in the film room, it's not just on the practice field. It's every aspect. It's eating well. It's sleeping. It's training. It's practice. It's everything.
I think everybody does visualization. I think everybody on this team visualizes himself making plays. I think that's why we got here.
We were the kids who, at night, used to dream of making great plays and the hair on our neck would stand up.
Mine were big hits. Mine were always big hits. That's what would flash across my mind. Big hits on crossing patterns or running backs or anything.
Before the ball is snapped, there's a million things going through your head. There're so many thing you have to take into consideration. Personnel. Where they are on the field. What they've done up to that point. Is the offensive tackle heavy in his stance, light in his stance, is he looking at you? What about the guard, what's he looking at?
Once the ball is snapped, at the end of the day, you just have to play fast and react. Just react.
I think that sixth sense that (other defensive linemen) refer to is a lot of pre-snap reading. You can kind of feel if a tight end is going to block down on you and you're going to be doubled teamed by the tight end and tackle. Or you can feel if that tight end is going to try and release.
The collisions on every play? I guess it depends on your definition of collision. My definition of collision is me being able to see someone, turn, start running, get a full head of steam and shoot my hips and be able to hit him that way.
It's a little bit more difficult on the defensive line when there's a man right on top of you from the get go that you have to deal with. It's not quite as easy.
I'm a little jealous of some of the safeties and linebackers who get to come downhill and really put a hit on guys.
That's why I liked kickoffs so much last year. I wasn't put on (the kickoff return units) this year. I would love the idea of a collision every play. But unfortunately it doesn't work that way at the defensive end position.
It feels good to get a sack. It's extremely difficult to get a sack. But that's my end as a football player right now. Sacking the quarterback.
It's what you dream of, man, as a defensive lineman. That affects the outcome of the game. It's devastating to the other team.
My favorite move is getting to the quarterback whatever way I can get there. Whatever way is working.
One of my favorite defensive ends to watch right now is (the Vikings') Jared Allen. He's the one I watch the most. Dwight Freeney (of the Colts) was incredible a couple years ago. Guys like Terrell Suggs (the Ravens' outside linebacker), Julius Peppers (the Panthers' defensive end).
How they win, what they do as far as rushing the passer.
You try to. But what works for one doesn't always work for another.
Practice is a great time to just test out new things and see what works and see how they feel and see if you can perfect it.
It's not something that really enters my mind, "Oh, I hope I don't get hurt." Playing that way, anyone will tell you, is not the way to play football. First of all, you're not going to be successful. Second of all, you're a lot more likely to get hurt.
Possibility of success.
I have a picture in my mind of how good I can be. That doesn't mean I'm going to be that good. But I know in my head that I can be as good as I picture myself being. I want to see if I can get there.
It's not something that's going to happen overnight, but that's my motivation. Seeing just how good I can be. I'm interested in just how good a football player I can be in the end.
Yeah, I'm absolutely enjoying the journey and I haven't lost sight of the fact that I'm very lucky to be here.
I get the opportunity to go out and compete in the Big Ten on national TV in front of thousands of people, which is good. I get a free education and I get to play football. And I was able, in high school, to extend my career and be able to compete with kids like me even longer.
In high school, it was (former Bronco linebacker) Bill Romanowski's autobiography. That's what first kind of showed me that there were other guys like me out there.
In high school, there weren't a lot of guys on my team who were as passionate about football as I was. It was refreshing to read that book. It gave me hope as far as getting to the next level in college. That definitely fueled some of my desire to become a good football player.
I was fortunate enough, and I couldn't have asked for a better way of growing up, just growing up on a farm is something that I think also definitely helped shape who I am today.
We didn't really deal with crops that much. We had a hay field, that's about it, some cows, chickens, at one point we had pigs.
I had chores to do outside since I could walk. But sixth or seventh grade is when I started to really take on a bigger role as far as taking care of the animals we had.
My brother was much older than I was and once he was out of the house, that was just something we did. It definitely helped me out, moving those feed bags and hay bales.
It depended on whether they were damp. It depended on how tightly they were packed. Feed bags were always 50 pounds. Hay bales, I would venture to guess they were a little heavier.
The discipline, and the work ethic, and the responsibility. Ever since I can remember, if I didn't do it, the animals weren't fed. In the winter, there's a severe cost to that.
Obviously, my father used to go down and check randomly. If they weren't done, I was punished. Eventually it just becomes ingrained in you. You don't really even think about it anymore. You just do it.
No cheating.
• • • • • •
Check out the full Skip Myslenski NUsports.com Archive!
