PULLMAN – Deon Burnett first met Isaac Brown because he wanted to fight him.
It was El Roble Intermediate School, seventh grade and Burnett had determined this loudmouth wasn’t going to make it through the day. “He was running his mouth,” Burnett said. “Loud. Wouldn’t shut up.”
That would be Isaac all right: Seventh grade to senior at Washington State and not much has changed. “In spring ball he is target No. 1,” teammate Billy Knotts said. “Everybody hates him in spring ball.”
Again, running his mouth, loud, doesn’t shut up. And the defensive end has that little dance, too. “He is so fast and he will beat a tackle on the edge,” said Knotts, one of those aforementioned tackles. “And then he will do his little dance and I’m like ‘Damn it.’ “
But not one person would trade him. Not even his one-time hallway rival Burnett. “You learn he is one of the nicest and the most loyal friends you can ever have,” Burnett said. “I wanted to fight him, we ended up talking and now we have been best friends for all these years.”
That’s Isaac too. Beneath the bravado and bluster, the Claremont, Calif., product has a more sensitive side. Burnett learned that lesson when he exited the locker room and Martin Stadium during halftime of the Apple Cup in 2000. Brown, who came to WSU because Burnett was coming, too, decided not to leave with his best friend. But he didn’t desert him.
“When Deon left a lot of people thought I was going to leave, too,” Brown said. “I thought about it. I came here probably because I was scared to be out on my own and wanted to come here with my friend. But I decided that at some time you have to stand up and be a man and make your own decision.
“Deon made his and I made mine.”
The pair are still close and talk constantly. Burnett transferred to UNLV. His career didn’t pan out. But he will be in the stands at the Holiday Bowl to watch the end of Brown’s college career.
Brown’s entire career has been something to watch. At just 225 pounds, he is undersized for a defensive lineman. But his speed off the edge has more than made up for his lack of size. As a sophomore, Brown was second on the team in sacks with 9.5 and second on the team in tackles for loss with 12.
What makes those stats even gaudier is that Brown only started one game that season. The next season Brown had eight sacks and 34 tackles for loss.
This season his numbers slipped a bit (three sacks, 30 tackles), but his mouth never stopped. “I see myself as a disruptive force out there,” Brown said. “Anything I can do to be that disruptive force, I’m going to do it.”
“He is confident enough to say that he is going to be doing these things and knows he can back it up,” defensive coordinator Robb Akey said. “He can get in (the offensive linemen’s) grill a little bit and bait them and an undisciplined guy will pull the trigger on him.”
Take last season’s game against Stanford, for instance. Brown matched up against Kwame Harris. Harris, who would come out early after the season and be selected in the first round, wasn’t having a solid day.
“I kept telling him, ‘Here you are, a 325-pound guy and you can’t stop my 225 pounds,’ ” Brown said. You’re better than that. C’mon you don’t need to hold me. You’re going to be a first-round pick.’
“I just kept jabbing at him and my mouth got to him a little bit.”
Finally, Harris took a swing at Brown. The ref caught it. Stanford was penalized 15 yards. That penalty moved the Cardinal from the WSU 29 to the 44. The drive ended one play later.
“He has drawn more personal-foul penalties than he has ever been called for,” Akey said.
But Brown has caused a few, too. Along with some offsides. The latter have almost always been forgiven.
The coaching staff, knowing Brown’s speed and ability, have allowed him free rein in timing the snap count. There are times, particularly when the opponent is in the shotgun, Brown doesn’t even watch the ball for the snap. Instead – thanks to several hours of watching video to detect tendencies – Brown can usually time when the snap is going to occur by counting in his head.
“He will get caught offsides,” Akey said. “But there have been a lot of times when he will sack the quarterback on the next play.
“The thing about Isaac is he hates to be wrong. So when something like that happens, he does everything he can to correct it.”
“When he is out there he plays with an attitude,” Knotts added. “And his attitude is ‘I’m the best man out here.’ And he is going to let you know about it in every way. That’s part of his playing style.
“But, you know what? I’m glad he is on our team.”
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