LSU Fan's Favorite QB, Quad Brown, may reclassify to 2020

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Calera senior quarterback Cornelious Brown earned an Alabama offer last month, but Nick Saban already has commitments from Thompson's Taulia Tagovailoa and Hewitt-Trussville's Paul Tyson.

Alabama isn't taking three quarterbacks in the Class of 2019 and with Tagovailoa recently re-affirming his commitment to Alabama after a visit to Tennessee, it cast even more doubt on any possibility of Brown signing with Alabama.

But Brown, a strong-armed 6-foot-5 senior, may have found an elegant solution: Enroll in prep school for a year and re-classify to the Class of 2020.

"It'd be a fresh start for me since my 11th grade season was my truly first (high school) season," he said. "There are so many quarterback slots available in 2020, not just in the SEC, but the Power 5 in general."

And what would be the benefits of postponing his college enrollment for a year?

"I do believe I'd receive better offers," Brown said. "It's also another year to get bigger and stronger and work to put another 10 pounds on my 185-pound, 6-foot-5 1/2 frame. It's just another year to get better, another year to get bigger and stronger, and it'll open more doors for me because there aren't too many slots open for the Class of 2019, especially at the Power 5 schools, and that's where I believe I'm talented enough to play and that's where the pros come from. That's why it's something I definitely want to look into."

Brown emphasized re-classifying to 2020 is only a possibility, as he also holds offers from Vanderbilt, Rutgers, UAB and others. He's also received attention, but no offers yet, from Tennessee, Ohio State, Michigan and South Carolina since Alabama extended its offer a month ago.

Brown said there's also the possibility he could walk on and pay his own way-- whether at Alabama or another Power 5 school -- and try to earn a scholarship after a year. He said he's essentially eliminated the idea of going to junior college for a year and would prefer to head to prep school as way avoid burning a season of NCAA eligibility.

Alabama, Auburn and virtually all of the Power 5 begin evaluating and extending scholarship offers to quarterbacks as early as their sophomore seasons. Brown attended three different high schools and didn't really earn a recruiting profile until last year when he completed 157-of-281 passes for 2,334 yards and 25 touchdowns at Calera. He added 344 yards and two touchdowns in the spring game against Chilton County.

The Alabama offer clearly raised his recruiting profile, but the Crimson Tide's situation also complicated matters. Alabama also already has a quarterback commitment for the Class of 2020, Carson Beck, a 3-star prospect from Jacksonville, Florida.

Auburn has shown little interest in Brown, perhaps because Bo Nix is committed in the Class of 2019. Auburn also has already extended an offer to Hoover's Robby Ashford, a four-star prospect who is considered the state's top quarterback prospect in the Class of 2020.

"I feel like it's going to open some doors for me," he said of the Alabama offer. "Some things change during the season. I think Tennessee is the only SEC school without a quarterback commitment in the 2019 season. Things can definitely shake up during the season. ... I'll see how it goes from here."

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