Freshmen Brown, Phelan share thoughts on Miami camp
Thursday, August 07, 2008
This is the second in a series of diaries from Miami University's football training camp. Defensive back D.J. Brown and offensive lineman Andrew Phelan are beginning their freshman seasons at Miami. Both are graduates of Lakota West High School.
D.J. Brown: Practice isn't tougher than I thought it would be, but it's a lot tougher than high school, for sure. College football is faster, bigger, everything else. It's a lot of fun getting to know the guys.
Andrew Phelan: The biggest difference between high school and college ball has been that we run longer and more sprints here. The conditioning tests are way tougher. I've never run any hundreds before. They always told me I wouldn't have to run those.
Brown: At first it was kind of weird fitting in, but now everyone's accepting us. I feel like I'm part of the team and it's pretty cool. I haven't had to sing my high school fight song yet. But they pick on us during dinner, having us stand up on chairs and sing.
Phelan: It's tough learning all the new plays and coach's techniques. It seems like everyone else knows what they're doing. They know what the standards are, so I've got a lot to learn. Coach (Matt) Hohman is definitely more intense than any coach I've ever had. He's demanding. He expects a lot out of us since we're now college football players.
Brown: The veteran DBs are really understanding about me being the new guy. They help me with the drills if I'm having problems. They're like big brothers.


