OXFORD — A.J. Brown is one of college football’s premier wide receivers, and he knows it — despite his best efforts.
After going for 1,252 yards and 11 touchdowns last season, the former Starkville High School standout and Ole Miss wide receiver is a favorite to win the Biletnikoff Award, which is given to the nation’s best pass catcher. He is a preseason All-American by any publication that hands out the honor. Improving on that track record from a statistical standpoint won’t be easy, but Brown won’t judge himself that way.
“It’s about being a well-rounded football player,” Brown said.
Brown has navigated an offseason of hype — launched by 167 yards and a touchdown in Ole Miss’ 31-28 victory against Mississippi State in the Battle for the Golden Egg last season — and enters his junior season, which could be his last at Ole Miss confident he is a better player.
“A.J. is very, very driven,” Ole Miss coach Matt Luke said. “He’s a tremendous competitor, and it’s been fun to watch him push the other receivers and other receivers push and continue to develop.”
Quarterback Jordan Ta’amu has seen it, too, and he hopes to benefit from that work.
“He’s hungry,” Ta’amu said of Brown. “He’s a good leader. He’s always correcting the young guys and correcting himself when he makes mistakes. He is hard on himself. His work ethic is super hard, and he knows what he wants.”
Brown wants to be the nation’s best wide receiver, a height most feel he has reached. The Athletic, Sports Illustrated, Phil Steele, and Athlon have named Brown a first-team Preseason All-American. NFL mock drafts by CBS Sports and Bleacher Report list him as a top-10 pick for the 2019 event.
With at least one more season at Ole Miss, Brown is forcing himself to ignore the status he covets.
“It’s surreal. That’s what you want, everybody wants that. Now that you have it, you set the bar high for yourself,” Brown said. “I see it. It’s hard not to see it. I try not to focus on all that. If they say I’m the best receiver, I have to go prove that. That’s cool. That’s fine, but every day, you have to go show that. It’s a target on your back.”
Those in the Southeastern Conference already believe Brown ranks among the nation’s best.
“He’s a big body guy,” Arkansas defensive back Santos Ramirez said. “He’s very physical. He’s a patient route runner and he has strong hands. That combination, it’s really tough to challenge him at the point of attack or when the ball’s in the air. He’s such a strong guy. He makes you be in good position all the time to beat him.”
Brown still looks to outside sources to learn. He said he takes notes on Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones every time he watches him, but he also knows his current strengths have helped him get where he is today. Ta’amu said Brown worked to refine those tools in the offseason. That’s because Brown knows that target on his back forces him to keep working.
“There will be people trying to take him away,” Luke said.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
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