Playing in the shadow of an All-American could seem daunting to any player in an Ivy League football program. For linebacker Eric Brewer '08, however, playing alongside standout Zak DeOssie '07 has not stopped him from putting up impressive numbers of his own.
"He's been known for his big hits the last three years," said Brewer of DeOssie. "It's been fun with each game (this year) as the trust has been established and we just feed off of each other."
The two work well together in more ways than one. Part of the duo's pre-game ritual is listening to techno music on DeOssie's iPod - Prodigy is the current favorite.
The defense has benefited greatly from the energy of the two linebackers, who together have accounted for more than a quarter of Brown's total tackles. Though DeOssie earned Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week for his 12-tackle performance in Brown's win against Cornell Saturday, Brewer was equally impressive with 10 tackles and a sack.
"Brew has stepped up, and knowing he's back there, confident and capable, is a big plus," DeOssie said.
"The biggest influence Zak has as the leader of our defense is his practice habits," said Defensive Coordinator and Linebackers Coach Mike Kelleher. "He goes out and practices each play like it's his last. I think some of those habits have filtered down to Eric, who has become a very good practice player."
Brewer has come a long way from his rookie year, when he struggled through basic linebacker drills. "DeOssie would just fly through them and I'd be dragging behind - it made me question whether I should be playing college football," Brewer said.
After starting only one game last season, Brewer broke into the starting lineup permanently against Georgetown University in the opening game of this season, starting off the year with nine tackles, four of them solo hits. He then recorded nine solo tackles against the University of Rhode Island two weeks later and secured his season and career high of 12 total tackles against Princeton on Oct. 13. On the season, Brewer has racked up 55 total tackles, second on the team only to DeOssie.
"It takes an intelligent person to play the (middle) linebacker position, but it also takes a guy who can produce," said Head Coach Phil Estes. "Eric's done that and is playing with great confidence. I don't want to take him off the field because he makes too many good plays."
Brewer's success has also allowed Estes to avoid making lineup shifts like those made during last season, when James Frazier '06 had to move from the defensive line to linebacker.
"We moved James Frazier to inside linebacker last year because Eric wasn't ready," Kelleher said. "In the off-season he worked very hard to the point where we moved Frank Nuzzo ('08) back to outside linebacker because we had confidence in Eric."
Heading northAs a second team All-State selection and first team All-Area selection in Florida, Brewer led his high school to the state quarterfinals his junior and senior years while leading the team in tackles with 100-plus in both of those seasons.
His high school football program has a long history of success, routinely playing in front of 6,000 to 7,000 fans, and one of Brewer's first football dreams was to "just play for the Vero Beach Fighting Indians."
Brewer was planning on attending the University of Florida - not as a student-athlete - before Lou Ferrari, his high school defensive coordinator, whom Brewer calls the harshest coach he's ever had, suggested he consider Ivy League football. After sending out letters to all of the Ivies, Brewer was invited for official visits to Brown and Cornell. After seeing Brown's campus and hanging out with the team, Brewer didn't even feel the need to take his Cornell visit.
"I definitely had some hesitation about coming to the cold Northeast, but I knew in the long run it'd be a good experience and I liked all the upperclassmen and Brown was exactly what I had pictured an Ivy to be," Brewer said.
Keys to successA business economics concentrator from Vero Beach, Fla., Brewer is quick to give credit to his coaches and teammates for his success.
In addition to DeOssie, Brewer said fellow linebacker Justin Gallagher '07 "has helped me with learning the defense since freshman year - he's always very encouraging."
Brewer also attributed the great defensive chemistry among the linebackers to Kelleher, who occasionally has the linebackers over to his house for dinner.
"Kelleher day in and day out tries to make us better and work harder," Brewer said. "I've always respected how he treats us as his peers instead of talking down to us."
"They're both very good blitzers so we try to set some things up for them," Kelleher said of Brewer and DeOssie. "Zak has reached a very high level of play in the last couple of years, and I think Eric is working each week to get better."
Brewer also points to his grandfather, Paul, a linebacker at Haverford College back when it had a football program, as a source of motivation. Brewer said Paul used to write him letters before he died telling him how proud he was of Eric "bringing pride to the Brewer lineage."
"He always made an effort to make games, so when I play I want to make him and my parents proud," Brewer said.
In addition to familial support, Brewer also uses his spirituality for motivation.
"My faith in God puts things in perspective for me. When I'm stressing out about opponents, I can just go out there and glorify Him without worrying about what could go wrong," he said.
Looking aheadAs the team tries its best to defend its Ivy League title with only four games left, Brewer said the most important opponent is always the next one on the schedule, be it the University of Pennsylvania, Yale, Columbia or Dartmouth. Once the season ends, Brewer said he will miss the work ethic and intensity that DeOssie and all other seniors bring to practice every day. As for next year, his final season in a Brown uniform, he will not be happy with anything less than an Ivy League championship.
"We've got some great leaders and a really strong freshmen class, so it's definitely doable with the guys we got," Brewer said of winning the Ancient Eight title in 2007. "I know I won't have any regrets." - With additional reporting by Chris Mahr
