VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - The waiting game isn't something Andrew Brown was used to. After dominating in the high school ranks at Oscar Smith, every college was hoping to land the 2013 Gatorade National Player of the Year. He would stay in-state and head to UVA.
Andrew Brown at UVA.
It was there where he became a polished, versatile, defensive lineman. Splitting time on the inside and edge, Brown would leave Virginia with 26.5 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks.
He knew he would have to wait to hear his name called in the NFL Draft, but it went a little longer than expected. Leading up to the draft, Brown told News 3 he expects to go "anywhere between rounds two and five,". Round two passed, no call. Round three went on, no phone rings. Round four finished, still no calls.
It wasn't until round five, pick No. 158, that Brown would get a phone call from a Cincinnati area code, signaling the end to a long wait, and the start of a new chapter.
Andrew Brown at UVA.
"Next thing I know, I'm putting deodorant on and my phone rings, I look, it's a Cincinnati area code, and I look on TV, and I see that Cincinnati is next to pick. I'm like, oh my God, so I picked my phone up, ran in the den, I'm like yo! They called me!"
And now he gets to learn from one of the best defensive lineman in the league in Geno Atkins. "Being able to play alongside him man, that's going to be crazy, and being able to learn from him as well."
Brown's first Bengals minicamp will start on May 11th.
