Brown talks adjustment to South Carolina, start of spring practice

Jason Brown came to South Carolina a year removed from putting up gaudy numbers at an FCS school, St. Francis, and came to South Carolina knowing there was going to be an adjustment period.

He’s going through that right now in his first weeks in Columbia and, in his first media availability of spring practice, spoke about some of the things he’s dealt with since arriving on campus.

“I’m not going to lie or sit up here and say it’s been easy because it hasn’t. It’s completely different because I’m coming from a spread offense and that’s not what we do here,” Brown said. “So communicating in and out of the huddle, communicating with the guys up front has been challenging. We’re going to get right, and that’s the main thing I’m working on the next couple weeks.”

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In 2019 Brown completed 62.3 percent of his passes for an eye-popping 3,084 yards and 28 touchdowns to six interceptions.

After missing the first practice of spring, Brown was out there for the last two and the Gamecocks didn’t practice this week to give Brown and the rest of the team a chance for more meeting time.

The SEC and South Carolina is a big step up from FCS football, and an adjustment period was expected for Brown.

Speed of the game is vastly different and Brown is growing a lot, he said, having to go against Clayton White’s defense in practice.

“It’s a lot faster. I really have to know where I’m going with the football and I can’t make any mistakes,” he said. “I really have to know what I’m doing, study (defenses) and learn as best I can. It’s fast and challenging but I love it. It’s fun.”

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Brown is competing now with incumbent Luke Doty and freshman Colten Gauthier for the starting quarterback spot but Brown said despite the competition all three passers are “really close.”

“We talk every single day outside of football,” he said. “The competition’s been great. We go out there not just on the field. We’re in the meeting rooms with each other as well and competing in everything we do. That’s what drives us to be great. We know competing against each other is going to make us as a whole very, very good.”

Brown committed to South Carolina in late January after putting his name in the portal.

The Gamecocks were one of the first schools to show interest in him, jumping on him less than a week after his name went in, and the rest is history.

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“From when they offered me to now, they were incredible. Coach (Erik) Kimrey reached out to me every single day to check up on me and see how I was. I knew I was somebody they wanted and this was going to be a special place,” Brown said. “You can’t beat playing in the best conference in college football. They were very family-oriented and I really felt that from day one when I talked to them.”