Forced March : Brown’s Road to Northridge Led Through South Korea

The development of LeVelle Brown as a football player has not followed a conventional path. That is, unless you consider South Korea a good place to learn the finer points of the game.

The Cal State Northridge junior played high school football at a military base in Seoul.

His father is a master sergeant in the U.S. Army. His family has lived in San Francisco, Sacramento, Alaska, West Germany and South Korea. Brown holds the distinction of being the only player in CSUN history to make the South Korean all-star team.

In a few weeks, he’d like to be known for more than that. He’d like to be the team’s starting fullback, and Coach Bob Burt says he just might get his wish.

Earlier this week, Burt announced that Jimmie Gray, the team’s No. 1 fullback coming out of spring drills, is academically ineligible and will redshirt this year. That left Brown and Duane Lawler, a transfer from Pasadena City College, to battle for the starting position.

Brown (6-2, 225) has the size and the speed, Burt said, but lacks experience.

“The competitive level of high school football in Korea just isn’t the same as playing in the Del Rey League or the Angelus League,” Burt said. “He’s a little green, but his potential is unlimited.

“He’s not what you’d call a nimble-footed scatback, but that’s not what we want him for. We’re hoping that blocking will be his forte.”

At Seoul American High, Brown played against teams from other military bases and several Korean universities. He said American players--even high school players--are role models for Korean athletes.

“They play the game a little different over there,” said Brown, who was a high school quarterback. “They’d hurt themselves just to put a good hit on you.”

In one game, he said, his team beat a university team, 16-14, after the university team ran a reverse in its own territory with less than a minute left in the game. The ball was fumbled, and Brown’s team recovered and ran it back for the game-winning touchdown. “They do things like that over there,” he said.

Brown played on an all-star team that traveled to Japan to play a team of Americans from military bases in that country. His team lost, 68-0, but he was voted the most valuable player in the game.

“I think they gave it to me because they felt sorry for me,” Brown said. “They were much bigger than we were and we had no blocking. I was the only person on our team who was even trying to run the ball.”

Brown had better success moving the ball after his family moved to the San Francisco area and he enrolled at City College of San Francisco. A part-time starter as a freshman, Brown was an All-Golden Gate Conference selection last year, averaging 4.5 yards a carry and more than 10 yards a catch. City College was 1-9 but didn’t lose a game by more than seven points.

And Brown played well enough to earn a scholarship to a four-year school, something that had been only a dream in Korea.

“I used to say I would play college football, but I don’t think I ever really believed it,” Brown said. “I knew the competition in the U.S. was a lot better and the players were a lot bigger. Back there I was always one of the bigger guys.

“That’s one of the biggest differences between football here and in Korea. I can’t get away with just being a good athlete anymore. Here, everyone is.”

CSUN Notes

Highlights of CSUN’s rookie show Thursday night were imitations of assistant coaches George Naum, Mark Banker and Jerry Campbell. Dustin Nichols, a defensive tackle from the Boston area, impersonated Naum, who is also from Massachusetts. Ray Williams, a freshman nose tackle from Placentia, did Banker. Mike Zandi, a junior defensive tackle from Reno, did Campbell. Jim Aiono, a junior nose tackle from Hawaii, performed a Samoan fire dance with flaming swords. He has performed in the past with a Polynesian dance group at nightclubs and parties. “Our athletes showed a lot of creativity, stage presence and personality,” Burt said before Friday morning’s practice. “It was nice to do something different and have some fun after working so hard all week.” . . . The Matadors will end their week of two-a-day practices with a full-contact scrimmage at North Campus Stadium today at 2 p.m.