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The upcoming virtual NFL draft is quickly approaching and is set to take on Thursday, April 23 on ABC, ESPN and the NFL network.
Ahead of the draft, we sat with down Auburn defensive standout and potential top 10 pick Derrick Brown to talk about the struggles of being a professional athlete during a pandemic, his goals for his NFL career, and how his military upbringing helped shape him as a person and a player.
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Due to the current spread of the coronavirus, Brown is currently staying with his parents and prepping for the NFL Draft in Sugar Hill, Georgia., during the quarantine. According to Brown, the hardest thing he’s had to deal with during the state’s stay-at-order for him is not having access to a gym and being forced to get creative to get a good workout in.
The workout part has been the hardest part, our gym is closed, I had to just to find new ways to adapt. I bought buckets and filled them with sand to use for weight training. Carrying out workouts has been the biggest challenge. Thankfully our gyms here in Georgia open later this week.
The Auburn standout has been projected get drafted in the top 10 by many NFL analysts but he’s not satisfied with just getting into the league, he told us he has bigger plans for his career on the field.
“I’m excited about learning how to play the game at the highest level, I’ve always said that I don’t just want to make it to the NFL. I want to be one of those guys that gets a gold jacket, that’s something I think about because I think I have the potential to do so, I don’t see a reason why I can’t do it “
Brown recently partnered with USAA, the NFL’s Official Salute to Service partner, to share his story about growing up in a military family and credits his father James, who served four years in the U.S. Army and four more in the National Guard, with instilling him with the drive that continues to push him forward to this day.
“My dad being the in the military he was strict but he was a fun guy, he always instilled in us that if you want the greatest outcome, you have to give the greatest effort, whether it was in school, football it was just something he instilled in us. I never took that for granted and I take that with me every single day”
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Brown said partnering with USAA ahead of the draft was a no-brainer and immediately jumped at the chance to be able to lend his voice to servicemen who have sacrificed their lives for the country.
When I sit there and think of the veterans and the people in active service now I know that I wouldn’t be able to do what I’ve been doing all my life without them doing what they sacrifice, the time away from their family, the time to go war, for us to do what we do I’m blessed to be a part of that