Jared Brown knows he'll 'get it back' after dropped pass play in Week 1
Amongst mistakes made against Old Dominion, Jared Brown made a big one in South Carolina’s 23-19 win over Old Dominion this past Saturday. On a long throw from LaNorris Sellers, the Gamecocks’ new wide receiver had the ball in his hands but couldn’t hold onto it.
“Those are just catches I gotta make,” Brown said. “Lost focus on it a little bit. I make those plays 100 times in practice, so I know I can make them. I’ll get it back.”
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At this point in his career, Brown can be considered to be a veteran. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy to flip a switch and make big plays. There’s always going to be some nervousness in that first game.
Due to his younger age, Sellers also went through some game one jitters. However, even as someone younger than Brown, Sellers focused on keeping his teammates head up despite his mistake.
“It was the exact look that we had in practice from film,” Sellers said. “We expected that to happen. Then after I threw it you know he dropped it or whatever. It’s like, ‘Hey, he’s fine bro, we all dropped passes, we all miss throw and stuff.’ So that was just the biggest thing for me with him. Just keeping him in the game, keeping his head up in the game.”
Brown ended the game versus Old Dominion with 16 yards off of one carry. Saturday’s game marked Brown’s first with South Carolina after three seasons with Coastal Carolina. In 2023, Brown recorded 789 yards with six touchdowns and even took reps as the punt returner.
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Brown was not the only member of the offense who showed signs of struggle against Old Dominion. Sellers couldn’t get much going in the passing game and ended Saturday’s game with just a 43.5 percent completion rate.
“I mean, it’s frustrating but it’s the first game,” Sellers said. “You can only get better from there. Still young, still got time but just need to get better faster.”
Despite struggles with focus and nerves, Brown is ready to move forward to face a tough Kentucky defense. With the addition of many transfers and freshmen on offense, the first SEC game of the season will be a true test to see if the jitters are gone.
“Kentucky’s a great team,” Brown said. “They just came off a W from Southern Miss. So we’re going to come in Saturday at 3:30 and get the job done.”
