So You Wanna Be A College Linemen?: NAIA Edition

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This series will cover Offensive Linemen on multiple levels of college football as we take a deeper dive into what it takes to be a college football player. From the food, and fun-filled visits as a recruit, to the reality of your first fall camp as a college player. Many of the Power five programs have a lot of content and media out on “day in the life” of players and what being on campus is like. Even though most of the “small schools” don't get as much coverage it leaves a lot of people wondering what is actually like to play college football at all levels. Stay tuned to learn about the dedication, preparation, &amp; time it takes to play this game at all levels of college football.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator {"className":"is-style-wide"} --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide"/> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>For round 2 of our series, we sat down with Keshaun Brown(6'5" 340) senior starting offensive lineman for Trinity University. Keshaun currently majors in Computer Science, and he is from Indianapolis and he attended Pike High School. Learn more about Keshaun using link below</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://tiutrojans.com/sports/football/roster/keshaun-brown/6110">https://tiutrojans.com/sports/football/roster/keshaun-brown/6110</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"large"} --> <p class="has-large-font-size">Q &amp; A with KeShaun Brown</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"textColor":"primary","fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-primary-color has-text-color has-medium-font-size"><strong>What made you choose Trinity International University(NAIA IL)?</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>KeShaun: </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>&nbsp;“I chose Trinity because they offered me the most money out of high school, and when I first got here I knew that it would be a building process, and I took that part as a challenge. It has gotten better every year I have been here at Trinity.”</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator {"className":"is-style-default"} --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-default"/> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"textColor":"primary","fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-primary-color has-text-color has-medium-font-size"><strong>What was the most significant transition from HS to College?</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>KeShaun:&nbsp;</strong> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>“The D-Line has been the biggest transition for me. In high school, it was easy to bully D-Linemen. In College it's another level, I played as a freshmen, and going against older guys when I was young was eye-opening for me. Watching how those guys got after it, I remember my entire sophomore season saying to myself I have to get better because these guys are bringing it every week.”</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"textColor":"primary","fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-primary-color has-text-color has-medium-font-size"><strong>What does your day look like as a college football player?</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>&nbsp;KeShaun:&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>My College Senior Schedule</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>6:45am-Lift</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>9:00am- Breakfast</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>10:30am- Class</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>12:00pm-3:00- I have a job in between class</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>3:30-6:00pm- Practice&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>I balance my school work by really utilizing study hall and it's nice to go somewhere quiet and peaceful to focus on class work, because I know if I stayed in my room I would just play the video game and hang out with the guys.</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"textColor":"primary","fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-primary-color has-text-color has-medium-font-size"><strong>How do you prepare for games now? Is it different than in high school?</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>KeShaun:&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>“It is a lot different, in high school I use to watch film with coaches and that's it. Now I spend so much time watching film, usually on Sundays I watch the recent game we played. By Monday I have watched a few games on whoever we are playing that week to start identifying their tendencies. The last team we played only ran twists when they lined up in “2i” techniques head up of our guards, so having that in the back of my head so I can communicate with my teammates is huge. You only know things like that from watching film, and just watching film with coaches will only get you so far.”&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"textColor":"primary","fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-primary-color has-text-color has-medium-font-size"><strong>What do you know now about college football that you wish you knew as a high school senior?</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>KeShaun:&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>“The dedication goes up an extra notch from high school, everything is connected to one another. I find myself in the training room taking care of my body more than I am in class lol, but you have to take care of things both on and off the field. In high school, some guys don't take things that seriously but you have to in college.”</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"textColor":"primary","fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-primary-color has-text-color has-medium-font-size"><strong>Everyone talks about D1 or nothing. How has your experience been playing NAIA football that you want to share with others?</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>KeShaun:&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>“You would think because it is NAIA that you wouldn't go against the talent that you go against, but I have really gone against some guys that taught me a lot about myself as an O-Linemen. I have come out of games like man I have to improve my hands because my hands got knocked down a lot out there today and things like that. I feel like you learn as time goes on, and the game slows down for you. In my Freshmen and Sophomore years I didn't know how to prepare for a game I was used to just playing. Now that I am older things have slowed down and I do the work early in the week to be prepared for game day.”</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator {"className":"is-style-wide"} --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide"/> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"align":"center"} --> <p class="has-text-align-center"><img class="wp-image-508365" style="width: 500px;" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/11/B46AE2E4-FD0D-4A86-8810-2CB83B1D29DE-crop-862x566-1668019751.jpg" alt=""></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We would Like to thank Keshaun for taking the time out of his hectic day as a student-athlete to speak to us at Prep Redzone about his experiences. The more interviews I do the more I began to realize the misconception a lot of people have of the different levels of college football. Many people do not know a lot about college ball at the NAIA level, so I feel this will be very informative to players, parents, and high school coaches. Utilize this information to prepare yourself to put your best foot forward on your quest of being the absolute best you can be. For all of your offensive line training tips, virtual sessions, etc please follow The O-Line Lab on all social media platforms. Please continue to follow and check out the series "So You Wanna be a College Linemen?" Next up will be the D1-FCS edition. Keep working and keep grinding Big Dogs!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->