Picking a Defensive Player of the Month is never easy. At some point, it has to be about stats, but stats never tell the whole story in a day and age where the best defender on the field can be the noseguard occupying 2-3 blocks. It also has to be about explosiveness, but it’s hard to measure that on the field when quarterbacks will throw away from explosive cornerbacks. Part of it has to be how the rest of the defense functions, but sometimes stellar linebackers are hidden in the rough because of the defensive line’s inability to engage blockers.
Baron Browning of Kennedale has all of these aspects and more.
Let’s look at how Browning’s defense preformed, because we’ve established that a good player makes those around them better. Kennedale only gave up 28 points during the month of October. I’d say that’s more than good, I’d say that’s outstanding.
Let’s talk about explosiveness next. Watch this highlight tape of Browning’s Junior year, then try and tell me that he’s not explosive.
There are few people in any recruiting class that can move sideline to sideline the way Browning can, which is part of the reason why he’s a 5 star prospect on nearly every single recruiting website in America. He’s a dominant athlete in general, a guy who can excel at any number of linebacking positions.
When we talk about stats, it’s really difficult in high school football. Rarely any publications keep defensive stats, and most of the time teams that keep stats don’t release them to the public. There’s also many factors that downplay stats, such as good defenses getting off the field in only three plays as opposed to nine, and so on. That’s why, when given the MaxPreps stats for Browning, I’m not truly convinced that he isn’t a great player. His stats seem low, but that could be due to any number of factors.
Browning is our Defensive Player of the Month, not because he’s a big-time recruit, but because he’s an explosive player who dominated the field in October. He was absolutely everywhere, something that’s monumentally important for a defender. He’s a dominating force of will and nature, and that’s why he’s our Player of the Month.
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