"The maturity level and experience that we've gained," he said. "We've been together four years now, and we're getting a lot more comfortable and we're still improving."

But what about YOU, Freddie?

"The opportunity," he said, simply. "I'm trying to do my best in terms of getting the opportunity."

Coach Kyle Whittingham can't say enough good things about his senior receiver.

"Freddie's a great kid and nobody's more deserving (of success)," he said. "He's humble, he's competitive, he's high character — he's everything you want in a student-athlete."

Roderick echoes Whittingham in saying of Brown, "He's an awesome kid. He comes from a good family and is a very polite and respectful kid. He's a guy who tries to do everything right on and off the field. I want to coach more guys like him."

Brown takes the student part of student-athlete seriously. He completed his degree in human development and family studies last spring and is taking classes toward a second major this fall.

His parents are both educators and his mother is Korean, so he grew up learning a second language in his home.

"Academics were a priority," he said. "I went to a private Catholic school my whole life and education was stressed. Being a student-athlete, student comes before athlete. It's important to do well academically."

Coming from La Verne, Calif., east of Los Angeles, Brown chose Utah because "everything clicked" for him from the coaching staff to the players to the city and the family-type atmosphere.

"I knew this was where I needed to be," he said. "It's been the experience of a lifetime, and I'm so grateful to have been a part of it."

And now he's a big part of one of the best college football teams in the country and will get to play in front of family and friends this week when the Utes play at San Diego State Saturday.

"I'm excited for what we have going on right now," he said.

Utes on the air

No. 8 Utah (10-0, 6-0) at San Diego State (1-9, 0-6)
Saturday, 6 p.m.
Qualcomm Stadium,
San Diego
TV: The mtn.
Radio: 700 AM
Live game blog: deseretnews.com/blogs

Freddie Brown's career stats

Year ... Catches ... Yards ... TDs
2005 ... 5 ... 43 ... 0
2006 ... 17 ... 196 ... 0
2007 ... 20 ... 219 ... 0
2008 ... 46 ... 568 ... 5

---

E-mail: sor@desnews.com