WR Brown emerging as weapon for Buffs

BOULDER» With Colorado needing a big play late in the fourth quarter at Nebraska, quarterback Steven Montez had one of his most reliable receivers on the sideline with an ankle injury.

The junior didn’t hesitate, however, to look for Tony Brown.

Off the snap, Brown, lining up in the right slot, took a quick step to his right to shake his defender and then darted inside. Montez hit Brown stride for a 17yard gain on thirdand6 — a pivotal play to set up the gamewinning touchdown a few moments later.

“The big play he made when Juwann (Winfree) got hurt at Nebraska, that slant that he broke the safety down and hit, that was a huge thirddown play on the last drive,” CU coach Mike MacIntyre said. “I think it gave him a ton of confidence.”

To that point, Brown had just two catches for 5 yards for the season, but he has since blossomed as a goto receiver for Montez.

With Winfree missing the past two games with his ankle injury, Brown has caught 11 passes for 157 yards. He has had two 53yard catches.

“It feels pretty good, especially being in the mix and being able to make plays here and there,” said Brown, a junior from La Mirada, Calif. “It’s my time to grind and shine.”

Brown played his first two seasons at Texas Tech and was im pressive enough to earn playing time as a true freshman. In 24 games with the Red Raiders, he caught 27 passes for 378 yards and one touchdown.

Brown felt his role was dimin ishing at Tech, however, and in 2017 he transferred to CU, where Darrin Chiaverini was coaching receivers. Chiaverini recruited Brown to Tech and coached him there in 2015.

When Brown announced his intention to transfer, Chiaverini knew he could help the Buffs. It wasn’t difficult to convince MacIntyre to bring him in, especially because CU had recruited Brown out of high school.

“We knew he was a very good player and liked a lot of things about Tony,” MacIntyre said.

Brown is third on the team in catches (14) and yards receiving (179), averaging 12.8 yards per catch. While he hasn’t scored, eight of his 14 catches have gone for first downs.

“He has played excellent,” MacIntyre said. “His runaftercatch has been excellent. He’s been playing really well.”

To this point, sophomore Laviska Shenault has been the unquestioned star of the receiving corps. Shenault has 38 catches for 581 yards, leading the country in catches (9.5) and yards (145.3) per game.

While nobody else can touch Shenault’s numbers, big plays like the one Brown made late against Nebraska are vital and have shown CU’s depth at the position.

“All the other receivers are playing well and doing a good job,” MacIntyre said. “Steven is doing a good job of getting the ball to them at different times. All those guys will step up and keep playing well.”