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Rams’ Malcolm Brown, Aaron Green balance friendship with competition
By Jack Wang, Los Angeles Daily News
[www.dailynews.com]
OXNARD >> Almost six years ago, Malcolm Brown stood in the stands at Comalander Stadium and watched history unfold.
In front of him was Aaron Green, tearing up the field during a record-setting night in San Antonio. Against Kerrfield Tivy — a team that featured then-sophomore Johnny Manziel — the running back churned out 428 yards in Madison High’s 69-56 victory. He scored more than three-fourths of his team’s points, scampering 80 yards, 56 yards, 55 yards.
With 20 seconds left, Green crossed the goal line from nine yards out. It was his ninth touchdown of the night, a city record.
“That was probably when I thought, ‘OK, he’s the real deal,’” said Brown, who played for Steele High in nearby Cibolo.
Their friendship soon blossomed, keeping them balanced as they became some of the top-ranked running back prospects in the nation. It’s a connection that still holds strong today, even with a Rams roster spot potentially at stake.
Brown and Green first met in middle school as AAU track teammates — the former a sprinter, the latter a hurdler — but didn’t know each other well for another few years. As “sophomore sensations,” Green said, they gravitated toward each other, two teens making names for themselves a half-hour’s drive apart in South Texas.
For the first time, they’re on the same football team. Brown joined the Rams a year ago as an undrafted free agent out of Texas, and took four carries for 17 yards in his rookie season. This spring, Green followed in the same manner, his pro career delayed by a post-transfer redshirt season at TCU.
Along the way, they’ve each earned their share of highlights. After combining for 348 yards and five touchdowns on national television to open their senior seasons — Madison won, 28-23, handing Steele just one of its two losses that fall — they split their two college meetings. In 2013, Brown ran for two touchdowns in the Longhorns’ 30-7 win, a game delayed by three hours due to lightning. A year later, Green recorded 73 yards and a score in a 48-10 victory. Afterward, he spent Thanksgiving night with Brown in Austin.
They are unlikely to log such exploits in the NFL. The Rams have a bonafide backfield star in Todd Gurley, the league’s reigning offensive rookie of the year. Behind him is Benny Cunningham, a prolific kick returner who also added 390 yards from scrimmage last season. Also on the depth chart are Chase Reynolds and Tre Mason, although the latter has missed all of the team’s offseason workouts after being arrested on drug and traffic charges in March.
A month ago, during the Rams’ rookie minicamp, head coach Jeff Fisher said that Brown and Green may very well be competing for a single roster spot.
The zero-sum nature of an NFL roster hasn’t strained their relationship. Neither of them have much of a penchant for trash talk, and both acknowledge that it won’t do any good to take business personally. In a new city, they’re both happy to see a familiar face.
“I’m still learning as well,” Brown said. “We’re just kind of feeding off each other, trying to help each other out.”
Added Green: “Nothing’s really changed.”
By Jack Wang, Los Angeles Daily News
[www.dailynews.com]
OXNARD >> Almost six years ago, Malcolm Brown stood in the stands at Comalander Stadium and watched history unfold.
In front of him was Aaron Green, tearing up the field during a record-setting night in San Antonio. Against Kerrfield Tivy — a team that featured then-sophomore Johnny Manziel — the running back churned out 428 yards in Madison High’s 69-56 victory. He scored more than three-fourths of his team’s points, scampering 80 yards, 56 yards, 55 yards.
With 20 seconds left, Green crossed the goal line from nine yards out. It was his ninth touchdown of the night, a city record.
“That was probably when I thought, ‘OK, he’s the real deal,’” said Brown, who played for Steele High in nearby Cibolo.
Their friendship soon blossomed, keeping them balanced as they became some of the top-ranked running back prospects in the nation. It’s a connection that still holds strong today, even with a Rams roster spot potentially at stake.
Brown and Green first met in middle school as AAU track teammates — the former a sprinter, the latter a hurdler — but didn’t know each other well for another few years. As “sophomore sensations,” Green said, they gravitated toward each other, two teens making names for themselves a half-hour’s drive apart in South Texas.
For the first time, they’re on the same football team. Brown joined the Rams a year ago as an undrafted free agent out of Texas, and took four carries for 17 yards in his rookie season. This spring, Green followed in the same manner, his pro career delayed by a post-transfer redshirt season at TCU.
Along the way, they’ve each earned their share of highlights. After combining for 348 yards and five touchdowns on national television to open their senior seasons — Madison won, 28-23, handing Steele just one of its two losses that fall — they split their two college meetings. In 2013, Brown ran for two touchdowns in the Longhorns’ 30-7 win, a game delayed by three hours due to lightning. A year later, Green recorded 73 yards and a score in a 48-10 victory. Afterward, he spent Thanksgiving night with Brown in Austin.
They are unlikely to log such exploits in the NFL. The Rams have a bonafide backfield star in Todd Gurley, the league’s reigning offensive rookie of the year. Behind him is Benny Cunningham, a prolific kick returner who also added 390 yards from scrimmage last season. Also on the depth chart are Chase Reynolds and Tre Mason, although the latter has missed all of the team’s offseason workouts after being arrested on drug and traffic charges in March.
A month ago, during the Rams’ rookie minicamp, head coach Jeff Fisher said that Brown and Green may very well be competing for a single roster spot.
The zero-sum nature of an NFL roster hasn’t strained their relationship. Neither of them have much of a penchant for trash talk, and both acknowledge that it won’t do any good to take business personally. In a new city, they’re both happy to see a familiar face.
“I’m still learning as well,” Brown said. “We’re just kind of feeding off each other, trying to help each other out.”
Added Green: “Nothing’s really changed.”
