Preston Brown wants to bring a championship mentality to Temple
Preston Brown had chances and opportunities to make the jump from Camden’s Woodrow Wilson High School to the college ranks over the last five years.
But he was looking for the right fit, and it had to be the right situation for him and his family. And when he interviewed with Rod Carey, Temple’s third-year head coach asked Brown about his career goals and his agenda, and Brown laid it out for him.
“I said, ‘Well, I want to be the first Black coach to win a national championship.’ That's my agenda,” Brown said when recalling that conversation. “And he said, ‘You know what? If I can help you, and we get you through this process, we'll do whatever it takes to see you through it. There are some other guys that’s interested in the job. We’ll go through the process.”
Now that the process is over, Carey and his staff have added one of the most respected high school coaches in the area to the program. Brown, who guided Wilson to the South Jersey Group 3 championship in 2018 and 2019, was also a two-time captain during his college playing days at Tulane.
Three of Brown’s former players – Muheem McCargo, Dyshier Clary and Travon King – are already at Temple, and Brown is hoping to have more of an impact now on recruiting with the Owls in his new role, working alongside running backs coach, recruiting coordinator and former St. Joseph’s Prep coach Gabe Infante.
Brown spoke with reporters Sunday during the program’s Cooking for the Community event with Temple Police at Edberg Olson Hall, and here’s the full transcript of the conversation.
On how things came together with him being hired at Temple:
“I think, you know, throughout the process as a high school coach or just being familiar with the area, I got wind that they were going to create a new position and looking for guys to hire. So a couple guys within the organization reached out and asked if I had any interest,” Brown said. “I kind of went through the process like anybody else would do. And it's just been a introduction to the college football world.”
On what it means to be part of Temple now given the connection between the program and South Jersey:
“Coming from the high school side, you have one perception of what happens on the college side when it comes to recruiting. Some guys are no brainers, right? Then there’s a whole money side to scholarships and positions and things like that. So being on this side is a tremendous blessing. It’s an opportunity. It took a guy like me 10 years to coach high school football to get here, and it’s a part of one of my ultimate goals. And so, this side of it just gives … I guess I got the best of both worlds now, because I understand what high school guys go through mentally - wanting to get recruited, what they've done to get recruited. And then I kind of know what they’re looking for on this side.”
On what goes into the job and what he can and cannot do in this role:
“All things inclusive when it comes to players here on the team. I'm not tied to one position group. If guys need a lending ear, I can assist and help out with the offense, help guys out, talk to them. I don’t do any on-field coaching or anything. But when it comes to recruiting, I'm full tilt, full steam ahead, like working with Coach (Gabe) Infante. Reaching out to the right guys, finding the top prospects in our recruiting database that we want to get here and be part of Temple football.”
On when this opportunity came about and how long the hiring process took:
“It takes several months. You have to go through the HR process, and there are other candidates that they're looking at. So I prepared for it for many, many years, and then, when the opportunity presented itself, Coach Carey thought I’d be a great fit for the staff.”
On whether or not he thought of advancing his coaching career to the college level when he was coaching at Woodrow Wilson:
“So tomorrow, which is the 26th of July, 10 years ago was the first day I started coaching high school. My little brother also passed away on that same day. So my goal was to always be a college head coach that won a national championship. So the process of how I got here, it took me 10 years to be a high school football coach, and this is my first starting block. It's not my ending block. But I'm grateful and appreciative for the opportunity to get my next phase and that chapter in my career going.”
On whether he had other college coaching opportunities:
“I definitely did. I interviewed for jobs, and I went to the (college coaching) convention and interviewed with other staffs over the years. I had some job offers over the last four or five years at some different small colleges and other universities around the country. It's kind of like, you know, the right fit, right opportunity. My family dynamic is in a better situation now. My kids are older. I didn’t have to move us far. I can live in the same house and transition here, so a lot of those factors played into it over the years.”
On how difficult it was to break the news to the Woodrow Wilson players that he was leaving to work at Temple:
“It was a very difficult conversation. One, I grew up in the community. I've known most of those kids, probably some since the day they were born. I know their families. I went to the high school. We had a really good team coming back. I coached some really amazing players. And so some of the guys, especially the seniors, they wanted to see it through to their senior year were they wanted to see through their senior year. But the one thing that they understood is that everything that I've ever instilled in them is that when the opportunity comes to take that next step that you'd be ready for it. And I was ready, and they understood that.”
There are three Woodrow Wilson players on the Temple roster now that Brown did coach (Dyshier Clary, Muheem McCargo and Travon King.) What has he seen from their development since they moved on from high school, and what will it be like to be in the same program with them again?
“I think from a maturity standpoint, as they’re growing into manhood, seeing some of the transitions that they made, they're doing amazing academically. One of them, he's a father now, I had him a few years ago in Trayvon King. Just hearing the great things that all the other staff members say (about them) and how hard they work and in the weight room, how well they're doing out here. It is an amazing feeling, because I had those guys were, like, really young, wet behind the ears and trying to figure life out.”
On what it will be like to recruit players from South Jersey and compete against programs like Rutgers and Texas A&M and against coaches he knows like Camden natives in former Temple assistants Fran Brown and Elijah Robinson:
“Recruiting is a competitive thing in this world. We all know that. But I think the one spotlight, I had a question maybe a couple of weeks ago about, why recruit local? And Temple, for the guys in this area and this community, it’s local because of geographically where we live and where we reside. But it's the fourth-largest media market out there, and so it's actually an international brand. It's a lot bigger than anybody ever really imagines or even talks about. So we want guys to commit to being here and being a part of that. So, you know, expand that international brand, even as they think about the new age, image and likeness and those things where they don't have to go far to do that. They can do that here and have great presentation, and a longstanding tradition in recent times of competing for conference championships and doing really well.”
On the perception that Brown was brought in to compete with Fran Brown and the Rutgers staff with recruiting, and would South Jersey fall into his area where he would be the lead guy with recruiting?
“I mean, it does. Fran Brown has always done a tremendous job here and every place that he's been. He and I, we go way back, growing up in Camden, and we got great respect for one another, and he's a great guy. Elijah (Robinson) was my high school teammate. We graduated high school together. Great respect for those guys. But, you know, again, it's a competitive world, and I have experiences on the high school and high school level in South Jersey, that those guys didn't have. So a lot of families have known me and connected with me, when our kids were really, really young, the things I was able to do when I started the 7-on-7 program, and coaching at Woodrow Wilson and both Camden High. So, I look forward to the competition as we move forward.”
On what it will be like from a recruiting standpoint to reach out to high school coaches who were once his competitors when he was at Wilson:
“That's where maturity and growth comes in as well for myself. Again, when you're competing in those different capacities, I've always respected the game, and I've paid my dues. I've give just due to those guys who've done a tremendous job. And I've already been talking to some coaches that we competed against them for quite some time when I was a head coach at Woodrow Wilson. But again, the respect comes first. When you respect your opponents, at some point, you can become family.”
As a high school coach, he might have pushed opportunities for one of his players and tried to convince the Temple staff that the player could be a fit there. On what it’s like to be on the other side of that now:
“I mean, there's a certain genetic makeup to teams, right? Some really, really good players don't always fit at every program. And so as a high school coach, it took me a while to really understand that, but as I traveled around the country and had seen a lot of programs and spoke to a lot of coaches, I’ve done a lot of sitting in meetings with different staffs all over the country. And so I do understand that piece, and I think I can articulate that really well with some high school coaches that may be pushing a guy. But you know, again, I kind of know the diamonds in the rough that exist out there in the high school world because I lived it. I experienced it, and I worked with those guys. And I can kind of bridge the gap between here and there, maybe a lot smoother than somebody who hasn't had that experience.”
How much does he lean on someone like Gabe Infante when it comes to transitioning from being a high school head coach to a college assistant now, especially when it comes to recruiting now and reaching out to coaches he used to compete against?
“Well, you know, Gabe was in a unique experience, because he recruited a lot of the top prospects, both in Philadelphia and in South Jersey, to play for him as a high school coach, and they were nationally ranked. They want a bunch of titles. So he probably had a more difficult time than I have. But he's been very instrumental in giving me feedback on how to maneuver on this side of the ball, and deal with some of those experiences. So again, being at a traditional public school, I didn't think it was such a difficult thing. It’s probably more along the lines of me competing with other coaches and now recruiting their kids.”
When Brown was hired, it was regarded as a smart hire and a key local addition for a staff with mostly Midwestern roots that didn’t have a lot of ties to the area. What feedback has he received since taking the job, and what was Carey’s pitch to him to join the Temple staff?
“The vibe for the most part has been, get it done or else … and that's how I operate. Because I only believe in being a champion, and that's like, on the field, as a student athlete, as a man, you know, in a community. Like those things, those championship-winning efforts and all those things. And I think of me and Rod’s conversation, when he asked me if I had any interest in being on the college level, and he said, Well, what's your agenda? I said, ‘Well, I want to be the first Black coach to win a national championship.’ Like, that's my agenda. And he said, ‘You know what? If I can help you, and we get you through this process, we'll do whatever it takes to see you through it. There are some other guys that’s interested in the job. We’ll go through the process.
“And so I think Rod has been a man of his word. Where he's been, he's won. And now he's figured out that, you know, North Philadelphia is different. And you’ve got to get the right blood. And I think we got the right pieces here collectively to move the stable where it needs to go.”
On what he believes is the right balance to strike between recruiting local players and recruiting those outside the area:
“Well, you go back to the years when this place was really, really successful. Most of the guys who were all-conference, most of the guys who went pro, they were from a four-hour radius from within here. Those kids fit the tough mentality of this blue collar city. They bought into the mentality that you have to be tougher than everybody else. And I think strategically going back to that focal group, and then picking the best and the rest from afar, makes the most sense. Because the analytics and statistics show that the success of this program over all the years was built by the blue blood for within a four-mile radius. A lot of guys from Jersey, a lot of guys from Philadelphia County, you know, guys from the Baltimore area, maybe small parts in Northern Virginia. You don't have to go really, really far to get the right guys to fit what we want to do here.”
On what day one on the job was like:
“Well, the first guy I saw on day one of the job was (former Rancocas Valley High School star and Florida transfer) Iverson Clement, a kid that played for me in 7-on-7. And he sees that I have on a Temple shirt, and he's just talking regular like, ‘Hey, what's going on? Are you coming here to hang out?’ He had no idea. So I was like, ‘No, I’m here.’ And he said, ‘Wait, you’re here now? You’re here?’ So he runs in the weight room and grabs Muheem McCargo, who played for me (at Woodrow Wilson), and he was like, ‘Look, look, look who’s here!’ So that was my first 10 minutes on a job. I walked into the weight room, I introduced myself to the strength staff. I started dapping guys up and I said, ‘Look, I believe in being a champion, so anything I can do to promote this championship mantra here in every way imaginable, that's what I'm going to do.
“Being amongst the rest of the pack is not good enough in my eyes, and I told Rod that from the very beginning. At the end of the day, this was a one-win football team last year. I don't believe that it's one-win talent here. But the mentality that we have to have continue to press forward is everything is a championship winning effort, from the coaching staff to the strength staff to everybody all inclusive with Temple football. And I'll never let anybody be less than greater off than when they met me. I refuse to do it. And that's just my energy, and that's what I bring here.”
You mentioned Iverson Clement. What do you think is possible for him this season?
“I mean, the sky's the limit. He has pro football talent. I played college ball with Mewelde Moore and Matt Forte … he's as good as either one of those guys at every level. So I think once he really puts it together … and now in today's college football in today's world, you don't have to play 90 snaps to really get a really good look. You just had to be productive in the snaps that you do get. And I think what that (running back) room there, Coach Infante’s doing a great job with some really good talent and really good players, and all of them can be great assets to the team for this year.”