Color him Orange: Dwyer star Malik Brown commits to Syracuse

Thursday, December 20, 2012
by Matt Porter

Malik Brown had several ACC and Big Ten schools recruiting him through his senior season at Dwyer. Coaches often visited his Riviera Beach home in the frenzied period after the college football regular season.

Syracuse's coaches always made him feel comfortable when they arrived, which is one of the reasons he committed Wednesday night to play there next season.

"It just felt like home away from home, you know?" Brown said. "I had an amazing bond with coaches and players and plus I have a [lot] of family that lives in New York."

Brown, a 6-foot-3, 220-pound defensive end, was hotly pursued by Minnesota, which showed up to talk to him just as often as Syracuse. Brown said the Gophers were one of his final two schools.

He also had offers from Cincinnati, Purdue, Mississippi State and USF. Tennessee visited him at home in December. Brown said several SEC schools showed interest, but not enough for him to seriously consider playing there. Bethune-Cookman made a late push as well; Brown's older brother, Mark, plans to transfer there from New Mexico.

At Syracuse, he'll join a former Dwyer teammate, freshman safety Julian Whigham. American Heritage senior tight end Tyler Provo plans to sign with the Orange on signing day, Feb. 6, 2013.

Brown, the No. 6 prospect on the PBGametime Big Board, was voted Mr. Gametime as fans' choice for Post preseason player of the year. He had 62 tackles, 16 sacks and 8 tackles for loss as a senior. Dwyer (9-3) allowed 6.83 points and 113 yards per game, both best in the area.

Additionally, Dwyer teammate Wayne Brown, who is not related, committed to Wagner. Brown, a 5-10, 200-pound linebacker, will enroll at the Staten Island, N.Y., school in January.

USA Today honors two: The top two running backs in Palm Beach County were named USA Today second-team All-Americans. American Heritage's Greg Bryant and Glades Day's Kelvin Taylor were chosen for the list, which was released Thursday.

Taylor, who plans to enroll at Florida in January, finished his prep career with 12,121 rushing yards and 191 touchdowns, the most in state history. He was fifth all-time nationally in rushing yards. He won state championships in 2009 and '10.

Bryant, who has committed to Notre Dame, finished his career with 4,836 yards and 61 touchdowns. He lifted American Heritage to a title in 2011.