GREENSBORO - They say it takes a village to raise a child. For Gary Brown, it took that much to pick a school.
"I can't even begin to count the number of people (who have helped with the decision)," said Elesha Brown, Gary's mother. "Some of it was as far as spiritual guidance … different types of experiences that other people have been through."
Between the parents, principals, coaches, pastors, school board members and uncles, practically half of Greensboro was in the West Gadsden High media center Wednesday morning as Brown announced his decision to play football at UF.
Brown, a 6-foot-3, 275-pound defensive tackle, committed to the Gators last March, but was rumored to favor Florida State as of late. He eased coach Urban Meyer's anxiety a few hours before going public with his decision.
"(I) told him, 'It's great to be a Gator,' and I had a nice little conversation with him," Brown said.
The defensive tackle said a football scholarship wasn't always in his plans. Brown originally had dreams of playing baseball and was a pitcher and first baseman. He described his feelings the first day he played football in high school as "nervous."
"My uncle said, 'You ready to be a Bulldog?' And I said, 'Yeah, sure.' Boy was I nervous."
Brown, a strong Baptist, says he would one day like to become a pastor. Elesha has been taking him to church since he was born and believes her son has been a good role model for his two younger sisters, Tarra and Stephanie.
His mother wasn't the only one to anoint Brown as a role model. West Gadsden's principal, Sylvia Jackson, said Brown had shown other students how important academic success is to an athletic career. A member of the county school board said he expects Brown to come back to Greensboro - after winning a national championship with UF, he noted - and reach out to the children.
"I can promise, when I go to school, I'm coming back and helping this community," Brown said.
The community has put so much emphasis on Brown's ability to impact his surroundings off the field that his abilities as a football player were almost overlooked Wednesday. The West Gadsden lineman let it be known that he hopes to compete immediately and that he will be hitting the weights hard until June, when he will move to Gainesville.
But while playing time, and eventually a national championship will be his on-field mission, it is not his ultimate goal.
"Truly, without (God), I would be nothing," Brown said. "I plan on leading a lot of people to Christ."
