With the coaching and scheme change coming to the Flats this fall, there will also be a change in the personnel groupings used by the Jackets offense. After 11 seasons spent in 30 personnel (3 running backs, 0 tight ends and 2 wide receivers) the Jackets expect to be a team that utilizes multiple personnel groups. The most common grouping you will see from Tech will probably be 11 personnel (1 running back, 1 tight end and 3 receivers). This will create more snaps and force the Jackets to try and find a few more play-makers at the position. One player who will have a lot to say about those snaps is early enrollee freshman wide receiver Ahmarean Brown.
Brown comes to Tech from Jefferson HS in Tampa, Florida. The five foot nine, one hundred sixty-five-pound wide receiver was 662nd ranked player in the US, 86th ranked wide receiver and 81st ranked player in Florida. The Jackets beat out Maryland and Minnesota, among others, for Brown’s NLI.
The first thing you notice when you turn on the tape is that Brown can fly. When a player shows that much speed on tape, I always like to go see if the player runs track. Players can look fast on tape for several reasons, but a track time can help really confirm how fast a player is. Fortunately, Brown ran track as a junior in 2018, finishing 4th in the 100 meters at the FL state championship, with a time of 10.4. To put that in perspective, noted speed demon Broderick Snoddy, ran a 10.7 as a senior at the state meet. Brown is incredibly fast, the three guys that beat him are all playing in the SEC now, two at Auburn and one at UGA.
The second thing you notice is that he is a football player who runs track and not a track athlete on a football field. Often a great track athlete will give football a try, due to them having speed to burn. They sometimes struggle with the agility required to be a good football player and end up playing a bit stiff as well as track athletes tend to run more upright than you want in a football player. Brown doesn’t have those struggles; he is fluid in his movements and able to change direction quickly.
Enrolling early will help Brown get a leg up on the transition from high school to college. He apparently turned heads during the spring and has been mentioned multiple times but the staff as a player to keep an eye on this fall. He already has his first touchdown on the Flats, a four-yard pass from Lucas Johnson during the spring game, in route to a two catch and 8-yard performance.
The new look Yellow Jackets will be searching for play-makers on offense this fall. Expect one of those play-makers to be this lightning fast freshman wide receiver.