As Matt Brownlow punched the seemingly immovable blue pads, his feet slipping from underneath him, Bo Beck sat atop Montana State’s blocking sled simply shaking his head, the former MSU defensive line coach waiting impatiently for one of his scholarship studs to take their turn at the drill.
In the spring of 2014, Brownlow was irrelevant. The Missoula Sentinel graduate was a start of school walk-on, a player who emerged from a group of 25 hopeful MSU students who tried out for Rob Ash’s coaching staff a few weeks into the 2013 school year. The 5-foot-10, 285-pounder had the girth to provide some semblance of practice repetitions as he battled All-Big Sky Conference offensive guard J.P. Flynn during Brownlow’s two years on the MSU scout team.
Few thought Brownlow would be any more than that: a blocking dummy who brought a vibrant personality to the Bobcat locker room but not much clout to the defensive line.
But Brownlow has served a unique purpose for the duration of his five years on Montana State’s campus. His African-American heritage combined with his Montana upbringing helps him serve as the envoy of the Bobcats, the bridge between a roster flush with players from the Treasure State and sprinkled with minorities from across the country.
Brownlow’s affable, engaging personality helped him stay around longer than most expected for an undersized walk-on with almost no preexisting pedigree. He was accepted into the locker room right away, connecting with players from all across the country and building a fan following along the way. During the spring of 2015, his interception return for a touchdown at the Triangle Classic scrimmage in Great Falls put him on the map and drew a resounding ovation from the smattering of fans at Memorial Stadium.
Around that same time, Brownlow began working as a correspondent for the MSU athletic department, recording a video segment deemed “The Downlow with Brownlow” a set of quick-hitting, humorous clips in which Brownlow interviews athletes from across all Bobcat sports.
Still, Brownlow played sparingly as a redshirt junior on Montana State’s much-maligned defense last fall. He appeared in just two games — MSU blowouts of Division II Fort Lewis and upstart FCS program East Tennessee State — otherwise serving a role he had the previous two seasons.
Following a 5-6 finish, MSU’s first losing season since 2001, Rob Ash and most of his staff were fired. Jeff Choate was hired in December of 2015. MSU’s new head coach didn’t get much of a chance to see Brownlow in action because he had a senior level marketing class that interfered with Montana State’s practice times during the first spring drills under Choate.
During the first few weeks of fall camp in August, suddenly Brownlow flashed signs he might be able to contribute in his final season as a Bobcat. Always a powerhouse in the weight room — the 305-pounder can squat more than 700 pounds — Brownlow finally figured out how to use his weight to his advantage.
“He’s come out of nowhere and something has really clicked with him,” MSU sophomore nose guard Tucker Yates said the second week of fall camp in Bozeman. “Today he was shadowing me in a drill. We do these backfield reads and he said, ‘Holy cow, it just clicked today. Something just blew up in my head.’ I was like, ‘Finally Matt. Finally, you are using your body.’ He’s a freak. He squats 700 pounds, runs a 4.9 40 probably. He’s come out of nowhere this last week and it’s sweet to see.”
Under the tutelage of first-year defensive line Byron Hout and Choate, a well-regarded defensive line coach before coming to MSU, Brownlow finally turned the corner.
Montana State defensive tackles Matt Brownlow and Tucker Yates front split-squatting
“Matt has been so surprising,” Choate said earlier this season. “A year ago it was like he was the mascot, the ‘Down low with Brownlow,’. He was a fun guy to have around. He was Matt, the kid who was going to run for governor someday and win in a landslide.
“But I think Matt has figured out that with the style we are playing on defense, he can be a real live good football player. He is very good against the run and he should be. He’s a 600-pound-plus squatter. He has a natural pad level which is a nice way of saying he’s not tall. He’s been very coachable. I think he’s embracing this is his last chance to play football and he can help this team.”
On Saturday in Ogden, Utah, Brownlow is sure to get plenty of snaps. Either he or junior Brandon Hayashi will start at Montana State’s nose guard spot with sophomore Tucker Yates on the shelf with a shoulder injury. Brownlow has already produced more this season than in the previous three combined, playing in five of Montana State’s six games and carving out a role in specific packages. He has 10 tackles, including two for loss. In MSU’s 41-38 loss at Sacramento State, Brownlow beat a Sac State offensive lineman with an explosive inside move to notch his first career sack.
“I think Matt surprised just about everyone,” said Flynn, a senior captain who lives off campus with Brownlow. “I don’t think anyone expected Matt to be where he is today.
“Sundays now, he wakes up and rolls out of bed and is not full of energy like normal Matt (laughs). He’s earned it…I give Matt all the props in the world because he deserves it.”
Brownlow’s upbringing is as unorthodox as his path to becoming a contributing senior. Dori Brownlow adopted Matt from a Washington D.C mother when Matt was just two weeks old. She named her son Matthew because the name means “gift from the Lord” and a foundation of faith would be instilled in Matt by his mother from a young age.
At the time of his adoption, Dori, a Helena native, was finishing up her law degree at Gonzaga in Spokane. Before Matt started school, the two moved to Missoula where Dori took a job in the Missoula County attorney’s office.
“My mom is such an angel,” Brownlow said as he stood on the Bobcat Stadium turf following Wednesday evening’s practice. “I’m fortunate enough for my mom to financially support me so I owe my life to her. She adopted me out of D.C. to Spokane and she was a single mother.
“Mama Brownlow has been there since Day 1 and I have so much respect for her for what she’s given me.”
Brownlow and his younger sister, Katie, attended all their elementary, middle and high school in Missoula, engaging in various activities and consistently attending Holy Spirit Parish, an Episcopal church near the University of Montana campus. When Matt reached his senior year at Sentinel, he became curious about his birth family.
“My mom was really good from the beginning with being comfortable with me calling and finding out,” Brownlow said. “I never really asked why she adopted me or how it happened and I don’t care. She’s my mom. When I first reached out, it was kind of weird because they (birth family) are someone who brought me into this life but someone I haven’t been around for any of my 19 years at the time. It was a weird step to hear the voice and hear the situation they were in.”
Brownlow has a deep understanding of what his life could have been like compared to how it’s played out. He knows he would “not be nearly as privileged” and he is thankful for the opportunities his mother has provided him.
“It’s your blood but at the same time, family is about whose there for you at the end of the day, not the blood that runs through your veins,” Brownlow said. “My mom has been there for me every day of my life.”
At least in part, his appearance — not his skin color but his substantial girth — led him to try out for the Bobcats in the first place. During his first semester in Bozeman in the fall of 2012, Brownlow set a goal to meet a new person every single day. More often than not, his new acquaintance would inquire if he played for the Bobcat football team. After awhile, Brownlow, a player who only received passing interest from Frontier Conference schools out of high school, began to think to himself, ‘Why can’t I play football?’
So in the summer of 2013, he returned to Missoula and began working out with local trainer Doug Lefler, a former champion javelin thrower who has trained athletes around the Garden City for years. Brownlow worked out with Montana Grizzly stars like Tyrone Holmes, Zack Wagenmann, Brock Coyle and Jordan Tripp, all four future NFL players. Cody Kirk, a Frenchtown native like Lefter and an All-Big Sky running back for Montana State, was also part of the group.
In September of that year, Montana State held an open tryout for any students to display their skills for the coaching staff, a customary practice for Ash and his staff. Following the tryout, former MSU offensive line coach Jason McEndoo told Brownlow the Bobcats would be in touch. Beck asked the defensive line what they thought of adding a player in Brownlow’s circumstance to the roster. Former captain Taylor Sheridan, a standout who grew up in Missoula and attended middle school in a Sentinel feeder district, spoke up on Brownlow’s behalf.
The fall of 2013, the spring of 2014 and the fall of that year were filled with nothing but brutal practices and a mind clouded by doubt as Brownlow toiled on the scout team. He heard the whispers of him being undersized, not fast enough, not strong enough.
“It was really discouraging,” Brownlow said. “There was a lot of times where I just wanted to walk out. The guys are what kept me around. I just kept working my ass off.”
His outgoing personality helped him forge relationships with leaders on the team like Flynn, and running back Gunnar Brekke. They encouraged Brownlow to push through and not listen to the doubters.
“There’s been many times when he could’ve hung it up,” Brekke said. “But I don’t think it ever crossed his mind to quit because that’s not in that kid’s DNA.”
In the D’Agostino Training Center in Brick Breeden Fieldhouse on the MSU campus, Brownlow shined right away. To say Brownlow has a low center of gravity and to say his legs are built like tree trunks are understatements to say the least. He is stout, barrel chested and vertically challenged, making him perfectly built to squat and bench press with prodigious strength.
“The kid is a freak in the weight room,” Brekke said. “I think his last squat was like 750 pounds. He is built perfectly for it. He’s got short levers and he’s thick. He’s all muscle in those legs.
“It’s fun to watch because there’s times when (MSU strength coach Alex) Wilcox will be like, ‘C’mon Matt, quit BSing with guys.’ It’s not that he’s not working hard but he’s always talking to someone. He’ll be BSing with some dudes and then he goes and throws 700 pounds on the bar and reps it out like it’s nothing.”
MSU defensive tackle Matt Brownlow
His abilities in the weight room gave him clout within the team and confidence in his own mind. Brownlow’s ability to relate to others regardless of their background showed both coaching staffs he’s played for his value to the Bobcats.
“Being raised by a white lawyer, I definitely get more hard times from the inner city guys,” Brownlow laughs. “They come and meet me and think I’m going to have a type of accent or talk a different way. I live with all white roommates (Flynn, Brekke, sophomore Logan Jones) but I am friends with everyone on the team, African American or not. I’m blessed for who I am and my ability to connect to everyone.”
Brownlow will earn his degree with a double major in business marketing and management with a minor in entrepreneurship next spring. His personality and work ethic have helped him garner a slew of job offers, from an opportunity with a local insurance company as a commercial producer to several sales rep positions in state to the possibility of exploring opportunities in sports marketing in athletic departments outside Montana.
But first, Brownlow wants to finish his current chapter. He believes Montana State can win its remaining five games after a disappointing 2-4 start. He believes maintaining a positive attitude and a consistent work ethic is an example he and his senior teammates owe the program as they attempt to leave their own legacy under a first-year coaching staff. He believes the choice he made to stick with the pursuit of a once impossible dream is one of the most rewarding decisions of his young life.
Matt Brownlow during a session of “The Downlow with Brownlow” and the McCarthy Brother
“Time management is huge, building character, you learn to juggle 15 credits of school, social life, your own personal time and football,” Brownlow said. “That all together is a job and some. It’s been a long ride but it’s definitely shaped me into more of a man that I wanted to be and aspire to be.
“The one thing I’ve always respected about the Bobcat football program is no matter who you are or where you come from, you are always welcome. That’s the No. 1 thing I will miss about the program.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved
Editors note: This senior profile is brought to you by the Rocking R Bar. Matt Brownlow’s senior graphic will be updated on Monday – October 17, 2016.
