There’s always a connection.
Air Force’s best player, senior safety Weston Steelhammer, played in high school with Arizona Wildcats receiver Shun Brown. The two were teammates at Calvary Baptist Academy in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Steelhammer was two years ahead of Brown and preceded him to college. In his final game, Steelhammer will play at Arizona Stadium, site of the Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl. Air Force faces South Alabama at 3:30 this afternoon.
Brown enjoyed a coming-out party at the very stadium where Steelhammer will conclude his college career. In his second season at the UA, Brown led the Wildcats with 521 receiving yards. He averaged a team-best 18.0 yards on 29 receptions, scoring three touchdowns. He also gained 62 yards on two end-around runs.
Brown was a rare bright spot in a 3-9 season. Steelhammer, a football junkie, saw promise in Brown years ago.
“At a young age, I could tell he had a lot of potential,” Steelhammer said Thursday. “He was only a sophomore, so he was getting through those growing pains and whatnot of high school football. He was a tremendous athlete. It’s been fun to watch him here the last two years in Tucson, to see what he’s been able to do.”
With Nate Phillips, Trey Griffey and Samajie Grant having used up their eligibility, Brown enters 2017 as the leading candidate to be Arizona’s leading receiver.
Asked about Brown’s production late in the season, UA coach Rich Rodriguez said: “It’s not a total surprise to see the way he works, the way he’s progressed. He’s a really good football player and a tough guy, and he’s made a lot big plays for us this year.”
