A 415-pound recruit, a father's (SCSU/NFL) legacy and the making of a star

NORMAN, OKlahoma -- Sweaty and fatigued after practice, Oklahoma's Orlando Brown, an All-American left tackle, giggles when he thinks about the day his father tried to use Adam Sandler to motivate him.

Disappointed by his son's lack of aggression in a youth football game, former NFL veteran Orlando "Zeus" Brown (S.C. State) rushed home and told his son to sit on the couch while he sifted through his DVD collection. Brown assumed that his father, who died in 2011 from a diabetes-related condition he never knew he had, would show him old clips from his lengthy pro career.

Instead, Zeus stood in his living room and preached about the strengths of Bobby Boucher, an angry, underdog linebacker played by Sandler in "The Waterboy."

As they watched the movie together, Brown -- an eighth-grader then -- wondered if his father had finally gone too far with his inspirational tactics.

"He's like, '[Orlando], you gotta be this guy,'" Brown said. "He said, 'You gotta go get him. I mean, I know it's a movie, but you get what the f--- I'm saying.' He showed me that clip, and he said, 'When you get out there, I expect you to put a m-----f----- on their back.'"

Today, the nimble, 6-foot-8, 339-pound offensive tackle chuckles when he tells stories about his late father.



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