Friday Night Football magazine had an article this year about the talent around the state that is coming from small schools. The magazine is on newstand now. {{more: Read more …}}Find out more FNFmagazine.… football in this state is just not about size.The article was written by Matt Wixon who notes that “…football in this state is just not about size. And you don?t get a complete picture of Texas high school football by watching two large big schools playing in a huge stadium with an enormous crowd and a monstrous jumbotron.?
He goes on to say that ?? more than half of the state?s high schools have less than 1000 students. And those schools can have just as much star power as their larger neighbors.?
This is the story that he wrote about Kennedale Wildcat Barron Browning (Sr).
Not long after Barron Browning was 3 years old, he was thinking about playing football in high school. But he didn?t think it would be at Kennedale until he moved from Everman, a nearby 5A school, in the eighth grade.
Now the senior, who is one of the nation?s top linebacker recruits, can?t imagine playing anywhere other than Kennedale, a 4A Division I school near Fort Worth.
?I love being a Kennedale Wildcat,? he said. ?The people in the community, the coaches and the teachers, and just the vibe, they?ve made me a better person and a better football player.?
When Browning started playing pee-wee football, he was on the offensive line.
?l was short and fat.? he said, which is hard to picture when you see Browning now. He?s 6-4, 230 pounds and as physically impressive as any recruit at any position.
You?ll find him at a school with a little more than 1,000 students.
Coach Richard Barrett always tells us, ?It doesn?t matter what classification you play in,? Browning said. ?If you can play, the recruiters are going to find you.?
Recruiters have found linebacker gems at some really small schools over the years. Back in the Sixties, the University of Houston found Greg Brezina at Louise High, a school that is about 80 miles southwest of Houston and has a current enrollment of 140. Brezina ended up playing 12 seasons for the Atlanta Falcons.
Before that, there was Jerry Tubbs of Breckenridge High, which is about 60 miles northeast of Abilene and has a current enrollment of just under 400. Tubbs actually played lineman in high school, and also at Oklahoma, where he had a 31-O record as starter. He played linebacker in the NFL for 10 seasons and was a longtime assistant to Cowboys coach Tom Landry.
Browning, who last season made 74 tackles and was named first-team all state for a team that finished 12-1, comes from a larger school than Brezlna or Tubbs. But Kennedale still has a small-school feel that Browning enjoys.
?The fans here love Kennedale football,? he said. ?It?s so great to go out and play for them.?
