2012 NFL Draft: University of North Carolina Cornerback Charles Brown

Charles Brown is a naturally gifted athlete playing cornerback at the University of North Carolina.  At North Carolina’s pro day, Brown recently measured in at 5’9” and 209 pounds.  He is a thicker cornerback who carries more weight than the average cornerback and uses that size to his advantage. He is confident and feels that he can play with the best of them.

Brown plays football at what is considered to be one of the nation’s best basketball schools.  I had the chance to talk to him in the middle of March Madness, and I asked him what it was like to play football at North Carolina.  He said, “I mean obviously North Carolina, they love basketball up there.  I mean they have a great tradition there and it's working, I mean they win championships.

“We haven't won national championship as a football team but our fans are great.”  He talked about how the football players knew that the fans loved them.  He mentioned that they support the football team 100 percent.  He said, “For me it's fun because I'm a big Carolina basketball fan so it's fun for me, just being around those guys and seeing those guys win.”

I asked what moment as a college football player stood out to him.  He told me, “I remember it was around Halloween time in 2009.  We beat Virginia Tech on a Thursday night on ESPN.”  He said that Virginia Tech was a power-house in the ACC and beating them was great for the North Carolina program.  He said that sharing that with his team-mates was special.

I asked him if he felt his size gave him an advantage because he plays around 205 pounds.  He told me that he was always a muscular kid and coming out of high school he was 195 pounds.  He said, “I think it gives me an advantage because you get some skinnier guys or guys that are not as physical and I mean I'm not scared to stand up and get physical and make tackles so I think it helps me in that area.”

When I pressed him to give me an example, he said, “I can get in the mix and play some nickel back and make some tackles in traffic, beat up on some larger receivers, jam them at the line, it allows me to play bigger guys.”

I asked him about the mentality he takes out into the field with him when he plays.  He said, “I want to play fearless, that's how I like to play.  I just want to play fearless and give it my best.  I want to give everything and put it all out on the field for that game, but overall I just want to play fearless.”

He talked about not being the tallest player and that if he played fearless and strong that there would be no advantages to anyone else.  "I mean we're on the same playing field.  I’m giving it the best I can, no matter how big the guy is.  I'm just going to execute my game plan and execute my technique regardless.”

We talked about the NFL and what the possibilities were for him going forward.  I asked him what he could offer to an NFL team.  He said, “I feel like I'm going to be a guy that’s not going to shy away from the best receiver on the other team.  I feel like I can lock down that receiver.”

We talked about what a team will be getting by drafting him.  He told me, “I feel like the team that gets me will be getting a versatile player.  I'm a player that can return kicks and punts, a cornerback that can tackle, and cover.”  He told me that some cornerbacks don't like to tackle and that he didn’t mind tackling, in fact he enjoyed it.

He told me that he looked up to a player like Charles Woodson and that he appreciated that Woodson can make plays in the back-field and wreak havoc on offenses.  He said that he wanted to be known like that one day.

When I asked him if he had a message for the fans of the team that draft him he said, “You are getting a guy that loves football, a guy that loves the game and appreciates the opportunity to play football.”  He said that he had been working for this his whole life and that he was going to give it the best he could.

He said more.  “You are going to get a guy that's not going to be scared of anything and a guy that’s going to be out there competing at 100 percent, no matter who the opponent is.”

Charles Brown is a confident, big cornerback who is out to prove some things.  He is a hard worker and a guy that is physically capable of good things in the NFL.  He does not strike me as the kind of guy that will be overwhelmed at the chance.

Scott Bischoff is a Contributor for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained first-hand or from official interview materials.