Southside football offensive lineman Jamin Brown details why he committed to Duke

Southside High School football offensive lineman Jamin Brown committed to Duke this off-season due to the strong mix of athletics and academics that the Blue Devils' program provides.

Brown is one of the top students in his class at Southside with a 4.5 GPA, so he wanted to make sure that whatever school he went to also would challenge him academically. A look at his top schools show that with Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech being in the mix. On the football side, it was the Duke culture that sealed the deal for Brown.

"Duke is a very prestigious academic school and a degree from Duke is better than a lot of degrees from other colleges. I really liked the culture there a lot more than places I've been. It's not really about themselves but about the team and that's something you don't see often," Brown said. "... Being with the players, it was awesome. I can see myself fitting in with them. I was bonding with and I wasn't even on the team yet."

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New Panthers coach Ben Stewart quickly took notice of Brown on and off the field. Stewart appreciates that Brown saw an education from a school like Duke could set him up for his future, especially off the field.

"That's the first thing I would tell college coaches when they came in and wanted to talk about him. I said, 'Look he's got Vanderbilt, Duke and Georgia Tech and I'm going to be honest, those are the ones he likes,' because, the first thing he tells me is not, 'Hey coach, I love their O-line coach; it's they have this there or they have this there.' He gets it, after football life goes on, regardless of the NFL, he wants a degree and wants to make an impact in whatever field he goes into," Stewart said.

Brown is coming off a junior campaign that saw him pave the way for a 2,000-yard rusher and only allowed one sack. He is a 6-foot-5 offensive tackle who is a three-star prospect by 247 Sports. He earned ASWA second-team all-state honors while being an honorable mention all-area selection by the Gadsden Times.

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Southside football offensive lineman Jamin Brown details why he committed to Duke